Morgan Run, on the southern end of the Massanutten mountain range, passes the wonderful Fridley Gap swimming hole that is also accessible on the Fridley Gap Hike. Mountain streams and waterfalls are at every turn on the Morgan Run section of this secluded loop hike.
After parking, continue walking along the Cub Run gravel forestry road as it gently ascends the valley. This forestry road is not heavily traveled, however, keep an ear out as one or two vehicles may pass by before you reach the intersection of the Martin Bottom Trail 3.0 miles from where you parked.
Turn right up the blue blazed Martin Bottom trail as it climbs through the pass before arriving at the purple blazed Fridley Gap Trail. The blue blazes of the Martin Bottom Trail end, and at this point the trail continues as the purple blazed Fridley Gap Trail.
Turn right uphill on the purple blazed Fridley Gap Trail for the steepest portion of the hike as it climbs Third Mountain, crosses the ridge, then very steeply descends to the intersection of the orange blazed South Trail.
Turn left downhill for 150 yards, then turn right at the post, cross a small run and in 75 yards the Fridley Gap swimming hole will be on your left. This is an excellent place for lunch and a swim in the late summer.
To continue, retrace your steps back over the run, turn left up the orange blazed South Trail, again passing the purple blazed Fridley Gap Trail descended earlier. Continue on the orange blazed trail for 2.8 miles as it crosses Morgan Run several times, cresting the high point then gradually descending and meeting the intersection of the yellow blazed Morgan Run Trail on your right.
Turn right on the narrower yellow blazed Morgan Run Trail which in 200 yards meets Morgan Run then descends through the gap. The trail is rocky in places as it crosses back and forth across the run, passing small waterfalls and old growth forest. 1.2 miles after joining the yellow blazed Morgan Run Trail pass a campsite on your right and emerge onto the forestry road returning to the parking area.
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Hiker
Reviews For The Morgan Run Hike (5 Most Recent)
Access to this hike and any other that uses Cub Run Road will be altered for a few months because the Forest Service is replacing some low-water bridges:
"Access to the Cub Run and Big Mountain areas in Page County may be affected between April 27 and the end of October 2009. A Forest Service contractor is replacing two low water bridges. The first to be replaced is the crossing near Catherine Furnace where Roaring Run empties into Cub Run. While this section is closed, access will be available from Runkles Gap Road (State Route 636) in Rockingham County. The second low water crossing to be replaced is located at the confluence of Cub Run and Pitt Springs. While this section is closed, access to Pitt Springs Road will be via Newport on Sate Route 685, and access to Cub Run will be available from Runkles Gap Road."
upon arriving , entrance to g.w. national forest, only way we knew how to access this trail, road was closed, apparently a bridge crossing was washed out, could not hike this trail, upset after 3 1/2 hour drive, learned it pays to have a plan B. guess we will check back on this hike another time.
By:
Brandon
Rating:
Date of Hike: Sunday, June 08, 2008
This is more like 4.5 stars than 5, mostly because of the road walking and too often hearing a stream but not actually seeing it. Nice diverse scenery. Tons of mountain laurel right now. Lots of gigantic ferns as well.
The Fridley Gap swimming hole was cold, but great in the heat.
The Cub Run Rd. walk wasn't so bad because only 2 cars drove by me the whole 3 miles.
The final descent along Morgan Run was really quite fun - rocky as crap with multiple crossings. You'd see the most obvious way to cross, but sometimes the slippery rocks won't allow it and you'd have to come up with a different route.
If you want to do this in reverse (WHY?), there does seem to be a small area for parking area at the trailhead for Martin's Bottom trail to get the road walking out of the way first.
Also... what exactly is Martin's Bottom? I just thought it was the name of the trail, but it shows up on the Topo map too as some type of feature.
By:
Rating:
Date of Hike: Sunday, August 26, 2007
Despite the heat and humidity, I really enjoyed this two day backpacking trip. As noted earlier, the fork on 685 is confusing so watch out for that. You actually veer to the right off 685 onto a road named Catherine Furnace. You will then see the GWF sign. Also, the Morgan Run sign can be easy to miss on the right side so keep your eyes out for that. The road section of the hike is a little tedious, but other than that, this is a really good hike and worth walking the three miles on the road. I didn't see another person during the two days. Camped at a really nice spot on the Morgan Run section. There was also a camping spot up the hill from the Fridley Gap swimming and near the intersection of the purple and orange blazes that looked nice. The swimming hole is great. Very refreshing in August. Also, there is a great place to eat in New Market called the Southern Kitchen which hits the spot after a day of hiking. Overall, really enjoyed the weekend.
By:
Chris & Megan
Rating:
Date of Hike: Saturday, May 12, 2007
We did this hike along with the Fridley Gap loop over the weekend as an overnight trip. The old growth forest along parts of the Morgan Run trail is serene and spectacular. The trail is extremely rocky in certain places and very soggy in others. Sturdy waterproof hiking boots are highly recommended. We did not pass any other people on this trail. Campsites were few and far betweeen. We found two at the Fridley Gap swimming hole and one site on the south side of the Martin Bottom trail, farther into the woods near Cub Run creek. Overall a good hike.
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