This is a 1.5 mile out and another 1.5 miles back for a total of 3 miles round trip hike to the…read morelower falls . The hike is not too bad majority is tripping hazards , it has a few spots that get a little steep . As someone who has had double digit knee surgeries I would say it falls in between easy and moderate . Took just under an hour to make it out to the lower 3 falls . Now the trail gets very steep and rough after the 3 lower falls so unless you are in some good shape you might want to just take in the lower falls and call it good .

Beautiful hike with lots of waterfalls. The trail was supposed to be a loop but we couldn't find…read morewhere to cross above the waterfall so ended up doing an out and back.

Sorry for the 1-star (you may change my "review" to 5-star when this is fixed). Often referred to…read moreas "Afton Mountain," Rockfish Gap is not in Bedford, VA. This is the intersection of the Appalachian Trail (abt mp 863.5), Blue Ridge Parkway, Skyline Drive, I-64 exit 99 (I think), and US Rt 250. To the west is Waynesboro, Stuarts Draft, and Staunton. To the east is Afton, Crozet, and Charlottesville. How do I know? The gap is about 2 miles out my back window. Not much commerce at rhe gap itself, except the wonderful old-time "King's Gourmet Popcorn" stand which has much more than popcorn. There is a motel and a couple of B&Bs a mile or so West on Rt. 250 near the Western edit of the famous Blue Ridge Tunnel (check it out on YouTube), which then pops you out in the village of Afton on the east side of the Blue Ridge. A longer walk back to the Gap, but adequate parking is at either terminus. Afton is in an area rich with wineries, distilleries, and breweries. Blee BleesRockfishRetreat.com

I've been hiking the AT, section by section, for the past 20 years. I'm currently in the process of…read moremoving Stuarts Draft, just 20 minutes form Rockfish Gap. A great section with The Priest not far south of this road crossing

Really beautiful set of trails all very well maintained with a variety of distance/challenge loops…read more Easy and ample parking and Was able to manage with baby in carrier + dog and got some great views!

I had been to Monticello a few years ago but had no idea this trail even existed and better yet…read moreit's free and you don't have to pay Monticello admission to check it out. I believe it's about 4 miles there and back and much of it is on boardwalks but parts could get muddy if it rained. Luckily, it was sunny when we checked it out. It's not too strenuous and very well marked as long as you stay on the main trail. Parking was tough but we found a spot at the overflow lot just down the road from the trail lot and this way you get a little bit of bonus hiking to get your step count up. The trail itself wasn't too crowded and I assume 99% of Monticello tourists don't even know about it. It's worth checking out though if you're in the area.

This is a sweet and relaxing little park near to Monticello. It is 89 acres and comes complete with…read morea nice hiking trail complex, a pond, some great paved and wooden walkways, an arboretum, a woodland theater, and even a "secluded farm." Walk off all the fried chicken at Michie's Tavern by coming here. It will totally make your visit to Charlottesville greener, healthier, and more refreshing. Also, you will meet lots of locals, their kids, and their dogs. This place has a lot to offer those who just need to stretch their legs, fill up the memory cards on their cameras, or really pound out the miles on the trails. Highly recommended to tourists and longer-term residents alike!

Park here and walk multiple trails up the mountain for lookouts or over a boardwalk to Monticello…read more(you can reach the new visitors center / gift shop and restrooms without an admission ticket). Beautiful area. Nice for running, although it was absolutely freezing the day we went. Monticello stop was a nice warm up before heading back to Kemper.

My favorite hike in Virginia!…read more I love the rock scrambling that this hike has. The view at the top is worth the hike! There are many spots with great views of the mountains around. Because it is a longer hike and the rock scrambling it makes it a harder hike than many others in Virginia. It's a hike you won't forget! Make sure to bring lots of water and snacks.

I've been wanting to tackle the Old Rag hike for quite some time. My friends from Outdoor Afro…read moreorganized a group hike. I couldn't resist! We began our hike at 0930. I've gotta say, I was surprised at our starting location. I didn't have to drive through the 'booth' and pay to actually enter the park. That was weird to me, but our hike leader explained that, during the busy season, rangers are on site to check for passes. So.... I assume you'd have to purchase a pass online and place it on your dashboard. I'm a Veteran so I have that pass so I couldn't tell you how that works. Right off the bat you're climbing. No easing into your hike, you're THERE, at elevation. Of course, the higher you climb the mountain the more elevation you gain, but at the start you're already gaining. There are a lot of false summits. You think you've made it to the top, but you're not there yet! Ha! Because it was January, the trees were barren, so I could see the vastness of the forest. There was a bit of ice, but nothing that impeded our climb. I had always planned to do the hike in fall, to see the colors, but this was great as well. It was a perfect day. And then there's the rock scramble-----AMAZING! I loved climbing over, under, and through the rocks. There are times you have to jump over a small gap or squeeze between rocks, but I was down for it all! I was on the trip with people who had done the hike before so that helped in a few situations where I could have gotten lost or didn't quite know how to get over a rock. Once we finally made it to the actual peak, the view was amazing! The entire hike was awesome! Some of the rock placements, like, how does a rock just sit in a certain spot, have you wondering HOW. It's that 'Awe' factor. We had some slower hikers and we didn't want to leave anybody behind. So, that brought us to the point where we were coming down in the dark. Luckily, I had my head lamp and so did many others. A quick note to be prepared for anything. Those worst case scenarios are possible. It's a GREAT hike and I'll definitely do it again with ONLY seasoned hikers.

We were pumped to try this easy trail but quickly found out it's more moderate than easy. My…read morehusband has a broken vertebrae in his back so he had to turn around. I decided to push forward and was so happy I did. Such a breathtaking hike. The falls are gorgeous and the path is very nice. They have steps built in to many steep places that makes it very easy to navigate. It was a very warm spring day and I did not bring enough water. Bring water or at least a filter so you can have as much drinking water as you need. I enjoyed the hike down but was quickly humbled on the way back up! When I say breathtaking I mean I was out of breath and breathing hard on the way up. So worth it though. I actually hiked down to the Rose River Loop Trail and that's where I turned around to go back up and it's like a 945 ft elevation gain in 1.5 miles. I had to take some breaks and even cooled myself down a bit in the water. What an epic hike though and I even saw a deer!

Amazing waterfall! It was well worth it. It gets steep coming back up but it's nothing anyone can't…read moredo.

After staying overnight at the Big Meadows Lodge, we stopped in a second time at the Harry F. Byrd…read moreSr. Visitor Center to get a few more recommendations from the Park Rangers on a hike we could do that day before making the long drive back home to Georgia. Among her recommendations, we chose Doyles River Falls Hike because it was south of where we were, which is the direction we needed to go back home. The real incentive was the two waterfalls on the trail. Having lived in Hawaii for 3 years and hiking on a weekly, if not, on a daily basis, I really missed the mountains and especially the waterfalls hikes! Might as well get all the waterfalls in while we can, because the only waterfall I have found in Savannah is at Big Bass Pro Shop LOL. If you know of any others in Savannah, please do tell! - Trail Description - Doyles River Falls Hike is found on Mile Marker 81.1, just after the Loft Mountain Wayside & Camp Store. Distance - 3.3 miles RT Elevation Gain - 1189 ft Level - Moderate, downhill first, uphill on the way back, so keep that in mind. Multiple stream crossings (none that we got our feet wet in). It's a well maintained trail, mostly shaded, but beware of the sharp loose rocks throughout the trail. We went on a day after it rained and some parts were pretty slippery. There is a spring that you come across at the beginning, but make sure to boil it if you are going to consume it. There are two waterfalls on this trail (approx. 20 ft and 60 ft) and also a bonus waterfall. You will arrive at the bonus waterfall first and you might think that it is the Upper Falls, but the Upper Falls is actually the next one as you continue and the Lower is after the Upper Falls. The bonus falls is probably about 10 ft high and you can easily step into the pool of water that it falls into. Just be sure to read the etched markings on the cement posts to guide you. The Upper Falls (28 ft) has 2 tiers of falls, with large boulders to get to it from the path. The Lower Falls (63 ft) has about 3 tiers of falls. It's pretty tricky to get down to this one. Most climbed down the pretty steep way which I would suggest climbing down with extreme caution. We have small kids, so we decided to go down a little further (not much further) on the trail and then climb down (it was still pretty steep), and then crossed over on the water to get to a small patch of pebbly rocks to look at the waterfall (on the right side, if you're looking at the waterfall). There was a huge tree that fell over about three quarters of the way up the waterfall and it was difficult to get a whole shot, but what can you do about Mother Nature? She does what she wants! It's all part of the charm. - Kiddos - Our kids are still young, but they did it no problem. However, just a note, they lived in Hawaii most of their lives and started hiking at an early age. and did some pretty advanced trails on their own by the time we left Hawaii. Some of the parts of this trail has steep drop offs. On the way there, you're going downhill, so just watch your kids that they don't pick up speed and lose control. Bonus - The Appalachian Trail (AT) crosses over at the trailhead of Doyles River Falls Hike, so at least you can put your two feet on it and say you were on it! I will be back for you AT! I'm sure you can't go wrong with any of the hikes in Shenandoah National Park and I wish we had had more time or even lived close by, but we did two waterfall hikes during our time in Shenandoah and my heart is full, at least for a little while, to have seen another beautiful waterfall!

So pretty a hike! Creek crossings are beautiful and a great spot to cool down. The falls, upper and…read morelower, and great photo spots as well. You will need to remember as you hike downhill all the way in that the hike out is going to be rough, and uphill all the way. There is a great vine to swing on about 1/3 of the way down.