Signal Knob Hike

Signal Knob - Front Royal, Virginia


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Length	Difficulty	Streams	Views	Solitude	Camping
10.5 mls
Hiking Time: Elev. Gain: Links: Resources:	5.5 hours plus a half hour for lunch 2,680 ft with two different ascents George Washington National Forest Printable Topo Hike Map (PDF) Front Royal Weather Forecast Graphic Precip/Temp Forecast Current Weather Radar Loop (Java) Garmin (GDB), GPS eXchange (GPX) (What's this?) 3D View of Route!
From:	e.g.. 12000 Government Center Parkway 22035 or Fairfax VA Signal Knob parking area on 678/Fort Valley Rd.

The Signal Knob hike, in the George Washington National Forest, boasts some of the best vistas we have seen in Northern Virginia. Situated 8 miles west of Front Royal, it takes approximately 1.5 hrs to get there from the metro Washington area.

The hike starts from the right hand side of the Signal Knob parking area and is marked by both yellow (Signal Knob Trail) and Orange (Massanutten Trail) blazes.

Start uphill on the yellow/orange blazed trail as it shortly passes a old stone house on your left and curves to the right around the mountain for 1.5 miles until arriving at Buzzard Rock Overlook.

The trail will take a hairpin turn back to the south then in 0.7 miles turns back to the north again following a ridge and passing a couple of great camp sites before meeting the intersection of the white blazed Meneka Peak trail that enters from the left 1.1 miles further.

Continue straight as the trail winds around the ridge to your right and passes the transmission tower in 0.7 miles before arriving at the Signal Knob lookout area. Continuing take the orange blazed service road down the mountain for 1.2 miles where the blue blazed Tuscarora trail crosses the road.

Turn left on the blue blazed trail crossing Little Passage Creek as it ascends Green Mountain/Meneka Peak until reaching the ridge line and white blazed Meneka Peak Trail in 0.7 miles.

Continue straight now downhill on the blue blazed trail as it winds back and forth through the Bear Wallow area and passing the pink blazed Sidewinder Trail on your right in 1.7 miles.

Continue straight on the blue blazed trail as it winds downhill passing a white blazed connector trail for Elizabeth Furnace just before you cross a creek 1.0 miles from the pink blazed trail.

Continue straight on the blue blazed trail as it winds around the mountain before reaching a flatter area close to the valley and an intersection in 0.9 miles where the blue blazed trail now turns right downhill.

Again continue straight on the now orange blazed Massanutten Trail (this section was formerly the the Tuscarora Spur Trail and was reblazed in 2002) for only another 0.5 miles as it descends slightly then parallels VA678 before arriving back on the right side of the Signal Knob parking area.

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Hiker Reviews For The Signal Knob Hike (5 Most Recent)

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By: Peter	Rating:	Date of Hike: Tuesday, May 08, 2012
Hiked to the second overlook today. Parts of it were beautiful because the bushes were blooming. Upon arriving at the second overlook I had to turn around because there were FOUR bears (mom and cubs) only about 20 yards off of the trail. I hike this hike alot and this was the first time I had ever come across bears on this trail...

By: PeteandhisdogJordie	Rating:	Date of Hike: Saturday, March 10, 2012
Wow. All I can say is what a difference between a weekday and a weekend with this hike. Almost every day during the week I hike to the second overlook (and further, if there is time) after work. I am literally by myself, and the solitude is pretty close to a 5. (occasionally someone is there) BUT apparently on the weekends it's a glorified, (and yes, I mean glorified), 1. I arrived at about 8:30 AM to find the parking lot completely full, (which is quite large) save for about two spots. There was a tent set up on the far side. I started out walking behind a caravan of about 10 hikers, but thankfully they let me go ahead, and I continued up the hike. I didn't go a 1/2 mile at any portion of this hike without running into at least one person. The reason why the tent was set up is that there appears to be a trail running group that comes there on Saturdays. I think they run the trail in reverse, and after passing Signal Knob they run the mile and then turn at the Meneka Peak trail (I took the extra 1/2 mile to go see what was at Meneka peak, don't bother, there isn't a view there) and thats where everyone was headed. All in all it was still a very nice hike on a beautiful day, with everyone being very friendly and seeming to like Jordie. The only trouble that I had the whole time was with a woman who was sitting on a log and had two dogs that were not socialized well either to animals or to humans. Probably not the best idea to bring them on a trail that at times is packed with runners and hikers and is very narrow at times....

By:	Rating:	Date of Hike: Sunday, February 26, 2012
Perfect weather and perfect time of year to hike this with the leaves down yielding some nice views. Apparently everybody and their mother also picked today to hike it too. We had a two or three groups of 4 people, one group of 10, a group of 30+, and some single hikers as well. Way too much traffic for my liking as I love the solitude and that's why I tend to hike more when it's colder out. I really enjoy the first section of hike along the creek as I find the noise relaxing. The two overlooks have great views for a minimal amount of effort before you turn in to cross over the ridge and head to the back-side starting toward the tower. There is lots of smaller rock (bowling ball and larger) that you need to navigate so be careful and hike with ankle support if you can. Trekking poles help save the knees and keep your balance too. This hike always gets old after I summit and am headed back down and takes me slightly longer than I would want it to but I love the views from the first two look-outs.

By:	Rating:	Date of Hike: Thursday, January 12, 2012
I've restarted hiking Signal Knob every day after work. It's a great starter hike because of the gradualness of the incline. If you want to avoid bikers, come during the week. I've been up on the mountain by myself with my dog basically every time I've gone for the last two weeks. The only thing I don't like about it are the rock outcroppings. Some of them are not secure and care is required at times. The views are much better during this time of year than in the spring or summer. B1gazn if you liked Signal Knob other hikes fairly nearby that are good as well are Buzzard Rock, Overall Run, Big Schloss (1/2 hour away), Tibbett Knob (1/2 hour away), and Overall Run (1/2 hour away)

By: b1gazn	Rating:	Date of Hike: Saturday, January 07, 2012
This is my first time ever hiking and I loved the experience. The weather was beautiful and there wasn't that many people out. My hound dog loved the trail and the random hunting dogs that accompied us along our hike. The only issue I had with the trail was that we shared the trails with mountain bikers. I love mountain biking myself and I know how annoying we can be but some of those switchbacks were hard to navigate when you have people flying down the trails. Most of the trails are singletrack so it felt like we were literally pushed aside on the trail.

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