Spy Rock would be a great hike to do after hiking Crabtree Falls as it's just a few miles up VA56 from Crabtree Falls near Montebello, VA. Our original intent was to map this as a day hike and continue on the A.T. to The Priest Shelter and camp the night. Deep snow (1 to 2 feet) prevented us from continuing so we spent the night at Spy Rock There are plenty of good campsites here but no water sources. Two feet of snow in the winter does not count as a reliable water source!
We also did this hike in May so there will be photos from then plus photos from our snow hike. The views from Spy Rock are spectacular (360 degrees) giving you a great view of the Religious Range: The Priest, The Little Priest, The Friar, The Little Friar, and The Cardinal. This is a short hike but well worth it to see the views from Spy Rock.
From VA56 turn onto SR690 to the Montebello Fish Hatchery. A small parking area for hikers is available beyond the hatchery buildings (follow the sign). From the parking area cross the road towards the yellow road barriers and head up this uneventful fire road, with occasional blue blazes for 1 mile until you reach the Appalachian Trail (A.T.) intersection. The fire road looked nice in the snow but during normal times it is your basic fire road. In about 0.5 miles the road bears to the left with a very unique tree to your left, keep your eyes open.
At the A.T. intersection take a left towards Spy Rock which you will reach in 0.6 miles. There is a short Spur Trail to take you over to Spy Rock. A little bit of scrambling , winter view, is involved to reach the summit. This is a short hike but well worth it to see the views from Spy Rock, late Spring view. As an overnight backpack in better weather I'm sure the sunsets would be great from the top of Spy Rock.
HikingUpward Note: We hope to be back in this area to map out a 2-3 day shuttle A.T. backpack from the Montebello Fish Hatchery to Reeds Gap near Wintergreen, our original intent with this hike.
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Reviews For The Spy Rock Hike (5 Most Recent)
This hike ranks as one of my favorites because the summit view is absolutely stunning and the effort to get there is relatively easy compared to other hikes. The views are 360 degrees wide and you can see into both the Shenandoah Valley and Rockfish Valley through the mountaintops. Plus, there's an amazing amount of space up at the top to run around or find a spot for a picnic. And to top it off, the road getting there (Rt 56) is one of the prettiest around and follows the Tye River as it cuts down the mountain. Stop off at the Fish Hatchery if you can at the base- it's also worth your time.
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Date of Hike: Saturday, October 22, 2011
Disclaimer: I am a 53 year old desk jockey, weighing in at 216 pounds at 5'8". I carried a 35 pound back pack with me, HUGE mistake. This hike took me 90 minutes from the fish hatchery to the top of the rock. It was NOT an easy hike for me since I'm out of shape, but the payoff was well worth it. The vistas are fantastic, it is one of the best experiences of my life. According to the calculator, I would have burned over 10,000 calories on the hike and I believe it. It's Monday, and muscles that I forgot I had are still sore. I will continue to do this hike until I can do it in under and hour. I climbed the face of the rock to get on top and got down the back of the rock where there is a rope but the path is NOT very clear. When I do the climb again, I will leave paracord to lead the way. Good luck to anyone wanting to try it.
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Mike Yankovich
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Date of Hike: Sunday, October 16, 2011
Went up there last week. It's peak season for the leaves. Don't delay!
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Date of Hike: Saturday, October 15, 2011
My friend Derek and i were looking for a short hike since we got out of town late.Thanks to hiking upward we found Spy Rock.I was very pleased with this hike.It is a steady incline from the parking area and since we were packed for an overnight ,it made for a good "initiation" for the weekend.It continues upward until you get to the camp sites.Finding your way to the summit can be a little tricky and its a good scramble up for the novice hiker.The reward at the top is well worth every step.We had 360 degree views of the entire range.The fall foliage was beautiful all around us while lower elevations were only starting to change.Derek and i continued up to maintop then joined the A.T. to head to the Priest.In Conclusion this is a great hike for most ages with the hardest part is the sketchy rock scramble to the summit of Spy Rock.We hiked Mcafees Knob a month earlier but this is number 1 for me so far.With a combination of solitude,views it is hard to beat.Ive got some great photos but i gotta figure out how to upload to the sight if possible P.S. even if its a nice temp. be sure to bring a jacket.There were high gust the day we hiked and having my nano puff helped to extend the time we got to enjoy the beautiful views.
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Date of Hike: Saturday, August 27, 2011
I hiked Crabtree Falls, The Priest Wilderness, and Spy Rock as a day hike, taking 8.5 hours. I did it the day we had the hurricane, so solitude was definitely not a problem. I parked at the first parking area and followed the small trail up to the second parking area and restrooms. I continued up the trail to the top of Crabtree, and took the trail to the right and eventually saw blue blaze. Once reaching a clearing where restrooms were available and also a map showing the surrounding trails, I took the gravel road to the left heading to the AT in about .5 miles. There were large boulders intersecting the road, with white blaze. To the left was there was a map showing the area, and I made it to the Priest Wilderness and Shelter in about .9 miles,. I turned around and went back to the gravel road and continued on to Spy Rock. I passed a second fire road and kept steady on the trail until reaching Spy Rock. Once reaching the huge rock, I was able to navigate my way up, which was quite the challenge with all of the wind and rain. It was well worth it once reaching the top. The view was amazing! Follow the trail back and when coming back to the marked rocks by the gravel road, head back left to the restrooms and take the right to get back to Crabtree. All together it was a great hike, well worth the challenge, and definitely happy to see the couple of restrooms along the way (bring your own toilet paper). Saw a few deer but other than that it was quite and peaceful.
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