Fridley Gap, in the George Washington National Forest, has
a little bit of everything. From gentle mountain streams to
ridge climbs and a great swimming hole, this hike has it all.
The best part of this hike, which is nestled two hours away
from DC just south of the the town of Shenandoah, is its solitude.
Start by walking up FS65 (636 you were just on, not FS65A which
turns right uphill) to the orange blazed trail head on the left
side of the road at .2 miles.
Cross Boone run for the first time and ascend Massanutten Trail
South for .5 miles criss crossing Boone Run several more times,
until coming to the junction of the blue blazed Boone Shelter
Trail that comes in from the left.
Continue straight on the orange blazed trail as it gets steeper
before coming to a four way junction at a clearing in another
1.1 miles.
Turn left up Massanutten Trail South and reach the ridge in
another .5 miles before turning left and descends Third Mountain.
The trail will cross Fridley Run and turn right, ascend and
switch back before coming to the ridge line of Forth Mountain
1 mile from crossing Fridley Run.
Descend the Fourth Mountain ridge and cross Fridley Run in
1.4 miles. Take the left trail at the junction for 50 yards
and come to a swimming hole--a great place for lunch.
Begin your return by going 50 yards back to the junction turning
left on Massanutten South Trail for .1 miles.
Turn right on purple blazed Fridley Gap Trail. The next .8
miles is the steepest portion of the hike until cresting Third
Mountain and descending another .3 miles and reaching the junction
of Martin Bottom Trail.
Turn right on Fridley Gap Trail, gently ascending for .6 miles
to the clearing and four way junction you passed earlier. Continue
straight down Massanutten Trail South for the remaining 2.2
miles back to the parking area.
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Reviews For The Fridley Gap Hike (5 Most Recent)
Very challenging hike. I am more sore today than the day after hiking the Grand Canyon ( 10-12 miles each hike). We did the hike "backwards" and had a hard time finding the orange blaze after the swimming hole. A false trail and lack of clear marking were the cause. A post on this forum describes this. The swimming hole was great nice cold water. Watch for ticks!!! We pulled a bunch off of our dogs and several off of each of us.
By:
Justin Abel
Rating:
Date of Hike: Sunday, June 21, 2009
Yes, I agree about the poorly marked trail, I started out at the fridley gap parking area, the Massenutten South trail is poorly marked where it crosses the stream just past the Massenutten South Trail and Fridely Gap Trail intersection traveling south. I ended up following the bogus trail until it ended, looked at the map, and decided to just bushwack up along the fridley run until it crossed the trail again further south. I probably enjoyed this more that if I had followed the trail, the stream was very beautiful and obviously secluded. If you find youself lost on this part of the trail, just follow the stream, but beware of thorn bushes!
By:
Jessica
Rating:
Date of Hike: Monday, September 01, 2008
We did this hike yesterday -- it was a great hike and delivered the seclusion it promises. In fact, we didn't see one person and that seemed pretty remarkable considering that it was Labor Day. We set up camp the night before at a camp site about 50 yards up the trail on the right. This let us get an early start the next day and meant that we didn't have to lug our packs with us! It took us about 5 hours to complete with a 30 minute stop at the swimming hole (although we were walking pretty fast). As for other campsites, there is a great spot at the four way crossing and another one a Fridley Gap. Maybe one or two others along the way, but not too many options. All in all, a great hike with loads of scenic stream crossings and not to mention a great workout. That .8 mile ascent after Fridley Gap was a killer!
By:
Brandon Spurlock
Rating:
Date of Hike: Saturday, March 29, 2008
Just got back from this overnight trip. My buddy and I chose it because it was only 20 miles away from Harrisonburg and seemed to have plenty of water; and it did! There were several easy stream crossings within the first 15 minutes of the trail.
We really enjoyed the continual change in scenery. There were areas with bare trees, then pine trees, and then grassy footpaths. Much of the hike is along mountain streams. We had planned on spending the night at Fridley Gap, where 2 streams converged. We collected water here, but continued on to the toughest part of the hike; the .8 miles up 3rd mountain. It whooped us!
The map we had showed a stream crossing on Martin Bottom Trail, so we thought we would try to set-up camp there. Unfortunately, the Martin Bottom Trail was more of a fire road with pretty ugly brush surrounding the trail for .5 mile from the Martin/Fridley intersection. We decided to continue back to the 4-way intersection that we passed earlier in the trip, and there was an excellent camping spot there. A pre-existing fire ring with several logs to serve as seats. It was wide open and the sky was beautiful here at the intersection, and left us with just 2 miles out the next morning.
There weren't as many rewarding views as we had hoped, but if you keep your eyes open along the trails, you can catch a few glimpses of the valley. This was a very enjoyable close-to-home trip!
By:
Rating:
Date of Hike: Sunday, June 10, 2007
This was a great hike. We combined this one with the Morgan Run hike for a 17 mile overnight loop (it would've been 15 miles, but a wrong turn took us into Boone's Run). The trail network is pretty dense at times, so it definitely pays to be attentive. Plentiful water sources all around for a good, strenuous hike. I disagree with the 2 rating on views, however - I think the view from the top of Fourth Mountain rivals the view from Bull Run Conservancy which recieved a 4. To find the vista, summit Fourth Mountain and look for the campsite on your left. A sidetrail leads from the campsite (and from the main trail, a few steps after the campsite) to a white rock outcropping which has a commanding view the entire valley. It's easy to walk past it but it's not to be missed!
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