The Stephens Trail Hike is at its best in early spring before
the the leaves start to bloom. The hike along the
Massanutten Mountain ridge line offers spectacular views in the
Shenandoah Valley. The panorama from Kennedy Peak is an unbelievable
360°. Stephens Trail and the whole loop in general
is popular with equestrians so don't be surprised to run into
groups of riders.
From the back area of the parking
area take the yellow blazed
Stephens Trail as it traverses the side of Massanutten Mountain.
The trail will pass over several streams before turning right
uphill in 3.4 miles.
The trail winds back and forth several times
for another 0.8 miles before reaching the
ridge line and intersection of the orange blazed Massanutten
Trail.
Turn right on the orange blazed Massanutten Trail continuing
on the ridge line for another 0.8 miles until reaching the intersection of the white blazed Kennedy Peak Trail (the orange blazed trail
now turns right).
Continue straight on the now uphill white blazed trail for
0.3 miles to the Kennedy
Peak lookout tower. Return 0.3 miles back
down to the intersection you just passed and turn left continuing
on the orange blazed Massanutten Trail.
The trail winds around Kennedy Peak before making a sharp
cutback in 0.6 miles and continuing on the ridge line for another
1.6 miles where it comes
out on US675.
Turn right on US675 and in just 30 yards turn right again
on the orange blazed Massanutten Trail as it now goes downhill.
The downhill
portion winds back and forth before returning to the
front of the parking area in 0.7 miles.
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
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Hiker
Reviews For The Stephens Trail Hike (5 Most Recent)
A great hike on a hot day. Parked at the picnic area, set off about 7:20 a.m. did not see any horses but ran into bear cubs and their mother within 20 minutes! Conitinued on and though the day was quite warm a good breeze sprang up. The views of the valley, the river and SNP to the east are fantastic. The long climb to the top well worth it. Took us about 4 hours with a nice stop at the top. We will definitely do it again, perhaps in fall or winter when there will be less foliage.
By:
Dogmama
Rating:
Date of Hike: Saturday, May 29, 2010
We did this hike in the reverse direction --- not sure why but I think it was because we would reach the observation deck quicker this way and wanted to make this our lunch stop. The downside with this was that we still had a good ways to go to complete the loop and some people in our group were exhausted by the end. All in all, it took us about 6 hours to complete including lunch and rest stops. We saw two groups of horseback riders and a couple other small groups, but definitely not crowded especially considering that it was Memorial Day weekend. Camping out on the Duncan Hollow Knob Trail worked out great and we were happy to make it back to our campsite after this hike for a cold beer and some smores!
By:
la-z-boy rider
Rating:
Date of Hike: Saturday, April 24, 2010
Boy Scout outing, 3 adults and 12 Scouts ages 12-14 carrying relatively full packs of 20 - 35 pounds. We set up Friday night at the campfire ring 100 yards down Duncan Knob Hollow trail, then awoke to an iPod at 4:45, broke camp in a sprinkle of rain, rustled up breakfast and started on Stephen's Trail at 7 (we'll need to work on faster camp-breaking, obviously). The directions issue didn't arise for us, since the trail is near a hunting cabin campsite loaned out to us 2x/year. But, I will say that there's a great parking lot for horse trailers about 25 yards from the sign that says "Massanutten Trail." Hike was excellent training to get the boys rolling in preparation for Philmont Scout Ranch next year. The first 3 miles were easy in minimal drizzle, then weather got great for the steep climb with multiple stops. We got the boys good and worn out, but their spirits were good. Views in several places were excellent, and especially at the top. 6+ hour hike with rest and lunch stops. They had a blast, and it was good exercise, but very manageable, even if you have a large pack. Honeysuckle was blooming nicely. On a future trip, we're thinking of combining this with Duncan Knob Hollow for a rigorous 2-day excursion.
By:
Rating:
Date of Hike: Sunday, March 28, 2010
http://www.meetup.com/CharityHikers/calendar/12928625/?from=list&offset=0 17 hikers struggled with driving directions & finding the parking lot, but once there the gods held off a downpour for the 4 hours it took us to hike the trail. It was a great hike and some wonderful views. Fog @ the tower kept us from seeing a lot but cell phone coverage allowed us to make reservations at our favorite Front Royal restaurant, Soul Mountain. We'll be back again for sure
By:
sunshyne
Rating:
Date of Hike: Saturday, March 06, 2010
Had not been on this trail in about 10 years. It was as beautiful as I remembered! Was not anticipating all the snow! Made the hike a bit more of a challenge, but was absolutely beautiful. Could not access the parking area due to the snow, but parked off the road at the beginning of drive back to the gravel lot and it was fine. Did the entire loop in about 6 hours, with a break for lunch at the Peak. The hike up to the lookout was a bit tough with the snow, but the view was well worth it. Coming back down the Massanutten Trail was a good break after the hike up. I highly recommend this trail!
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