This hike is very similar to the Little Sluice and has
nearly as much solitude. The big difference between the two
is the great vista you get by taking the short walk along Mill
Mountain to the Big
Schloss vista. This is one of the best
vistas in Virginia and shouldn't be missed.
Start by waking down FS92 for 0.5 miles to reach the Big Schloss
Cut-Off Trail (don't take the old faded trail but continue for
100 more yards and turn right
on the light blue blazed trail). Turn right and ascend on the Big
Schloss Cut-Off Trail for the steepest part of the hike for
1.9 miles to the ridge line.
At the ridge turn left on the orange blazed Mill Mountain Trail for 0.9
miles then turn left again uphill on the lookout trail to go
to the Big
Schloss
vista.
Return
to the Big Schloss Cut-Off trail intersection to continue the
hike.
Now continue on the orange blazed Mill Mountain Trail hiking along the ridge
for the next 3.4 miles and arrive at the intersection of the blue blazed Tuscarora Trail that comes in from the right.
Turn right downhill onto the blue blazed Tuscarora Trail for 0.6 miles
to reach the four way intersection of the yellow blazed Stony Creek Trail
just past a great camping
spot on the right.
Interactive Hike Map BelowPrintable
Topo Hike Map (PDF) Hike route in Drag the map with your mouse using the icon Zoom with the controls on the left Click the icons in the map below for location shots
Calculate roughly how many calories you could burn on the Mill Mountain hike:
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Hiker
Reviews For The Mill Mountain Hike (5 Most Recent)
Went for a long/fast walk with the dog and the view from Big Schloss was absolutely fabulous. Definitely one of the better hikes I've done in this area. Weather was clear and temps were in the high 60's which made the view that much more spectacular without the usual summer haze. Didn't see a soul even though there were a few cars in the parking area. The dry weather we've been having has definitely made water scarce, but it's not such a big deal on a day hike - do keep it in mind if you're staying out overnight. We did it the way it shows in the description & map and the climb really wasn't quite as steep as I expected, but it was a long slog down Stony Creek trail with not much to look forward to except the car. Next time I'll try it the other way, but if you have any doubts about your fitness, the way shown gives you the option of cutting the route short without missing Big Schloss. The trails are rocky enough I wouldn't recommend doing it without boots. If you're looking for a great view, this route definitely delivers!
By:
MJ
Rating:
Date of Hike: Monday, September 03, 2007
This was a wonderful trip! Backpacked this loop with the husband and another couple over the Labor Day weekend. We were a little worried about it being crowded but aside from day hikers at the top of Big Schloss we only passed a few other campers over three days. Great scenery and solitude. The difficulty level wasn't too bad, very rocky trails could do a number on the ankles though.
We followed the route in the opposite direction as suggested with Big Schloss as our motivator. We camped near the FAA beacon site (couldn't actually see the shelter) at a nice campsite with stone fire ring our first night. Second night was spent at a beautiful campsite just before the bridge to BS with an eastward overlook to catch the sunrise. We passed a few other established potential campsites during the trip, nice to know you don't have to clear your own tent area. Water is a concern on this trip. The morning of Day 2 we passed Sandstone Spring (very clear water!) and filled up all our water bottles and extra Platypus to make sure we had enough for the remainder of the trip.
Definitely a route to come back to! Maybe in the fall to enjoy the colors, or once the leaves have dropped for better views.
Great website too! Lots to choose from!
By:
Rating:
Date of Hike: Saturday, August 18, 2007
Thank you for this wonderful website - the directions are very accurate and the scenery was breathtaking. The side trip to the Big Schloss is a MUST (we left our backpacks at the intersection between the blue and the orange-blazed trails, went to Big Schloss, and came back to pick them up and continue the trip). I'm not sure if this was an unusually dry winter, but we didn't see any streams until the very end of the hike, about 2 miles from the road. The two springs were almost completely dry - I'd recommend bringing all the water you'll need if you do this hike in the summer. There are plenty of great camping spots pretty much everywhere on the 2nd part of the hike.
By:
Dave M.
Rating:
Date of Hike: Saturday, May 19, 2007
Campsites located about 100 yards from the parking area were a welcome treat when we arrived Friday night in the rain. Weather was sunny and warm the next day and our crew of nine had a great time hiking up the switchbacks of the cut-off trail (with full back packs) and then onto Big Schloss. The view from on top of Big Schloss was fantastic! Sandstone spring on the Mill Mountain trail was a good place to enjoy lunch and top off our water bottles. Stony Creek trail is a bit rocky and (from what some other hikers told us) turns into a creek itself in a storm. Total time for this hike including a 30-45 minute break at Big Schloss and a 30-45 minute lunch break was 8 hours 30 minutes.
By:
Donna
Rating:
Date of Hike: Saturday, September 10, 2005
Although the hike was very enjoyable (and the directions flawless), the solitude was not what I had expected or hoped for. My husband and I hit the trail about 11:00 a.m. on Saturday and were surprised to find the parking lot on FS92 completely full. Once on the trail, we saw several sets of hikers; one set of hikers containing a group of 10, who we saw throughout the day. We set up camp by the past the intersection of the blue and yellow trail, and continued to see hikers until 6:00 p.m. when it got blissfully quiet. The nearby spring was very low but supplied enough water for the night. We finished the hike by 10:00 a.m. the next day and passed another group of 10 hikers as we walked into the parking lot. All in all, a nice hike but we would have liked to see less people on the trail.
Thanks for the great web site.
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