This is a secluded out and back hike in the Veach Gap area of the George Washington National Forest near Front Royal, VA. Most of the hike is a gradual ascent through Veach Gap, with a beautiful overlook and campsite at the high point.
Start by passing the closed gate and heading up the yellow blazed Veach Gap Trail. Cross from the right bank over the run in 1.0 miles. After crossing the run meet the intersection of the orange/blue blazed Massanutten/Tuscarora Trail in another 0.1 miles.
Continue up the orange/blue blazed trail for another 1.4 miles, where the trail will turn right for
0.1 miles before turning back to the left. From this point there is a nice view of the Massanutten Valley to the southwest.
Continue up the trail passing a small rockslide, and in 0.2 miles as you reach the ridge line, arrive at the first of three overlooks. The second overlook is in another 0.2 miles. The third, and most spectacular overlook, is in another 240 feet at the high point of the hike, along with a great campsite. The sunrise is fantastic as it comes over the Shenandoah National Park to the east on a clear morning.
To return just retrace the route
back to Veach Gap Trail, turn right, and continue down to the parking area.
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 Veach Gap hike:
=
Hiker
Reviews For The Veach Gap Hike (5 Most Recent)
LOTS OF TICKS!!!! My friend found 7 or 8 imbedded in her. Luckily mine were still roaming around, but I found at least 20 total during the hike and after. The views are stunning, but picking off the ticks took away from the vistas. We had to venture off the trail a few times to avoid water and mud. I did this hike the end of October last year and would have rated it at least a 4. No one I hiked with found a tick then, and the trail was a lot dryer. It also had spectacular views of the fall colors. I recommend sticking to this hike during the late fall and winter months.
By:
ricenpeas
Rating:
Date of Hike: Monday, September 01, 2008
Like someone else wrote, the middle 1/3 of this hike is isn't the greatest. Once you make the left turn up the blue/orange blaze, the trail gets "ugly", with a lot of sand mixed with rock. I'm sure it gets pretty gross when wet (it was bone dry when I hiked it). That aside, this is a pleasant hike with several large rockslides to the side of the trail, but still in the woods. The trail terrain itself is not very difficult, the rocks were easily managed. I was fully expecting to see a snake on this trail, with the hot sun and rocks everywhere, but never did see one (plus a recent rattlesnake encounter has me seeing them everywhere!) The overlook is very pleasant, with a gorgeous view to the east and a great view of the river as it snakes through the valley. The camping spot at the overlook is nice for one tent, but I believe the nearest water source is about 2 miles away. Plus, I saw some ant holes right at the site, so be sure to keep your tent zipped up!! I put my hiking pole tip into one and instantly had dozens of tiny ants crawling up. Overall, a nice little hike that is easily done under four hours and provides a great vista as payoff.
By:
ricenpeas
Rating:
Date of Hike: Monday, September 01, 2008
ADDENDUM TO MY LAST POST:
About 24 hours after this hike, I broke out with some WICKED poison ivy on my lower legs. I'm not sure if it was from the overgrown first part of the trail, or the section of trail beyond the top overlook that was also quite overgrown (I walked about 3/4 of a mile past it, just to see what was up there), but man I'm dying today!! The oil must have bled through my Smartwools that I keep pulled up high while hiking.
SO HIKERS ALLERGIC TO POISON IVY ... KEEP AN EYE OUT FOR THAT EVIL PLANT ON THIS HIKE!!!!
By:
Someone
Rating:
Date of Hike: Friday, August 01, 2008
The view from above was absolutely amazing, but the path all the way up is annoyingly rocky. There are MASSIVE amounts of ticks here, too.
By:
jk
Rating:
Date of Hike: Sunday, May 25, 2008
Nice easy hike, but the middle 1/3 of the trail is very wet and muddy, making those parts of the trail a mess to hike along. We've had a wet spring and for significant stretches in the mid section of the trail water actually flows down the trail. You can either slop through the mud or try to pick your way along the edges of the trail or from rock to rock. Water proof boots are a good idea. We also picked up lots of ticks, so check yourself regularly - being forced off the trail into the edge of the vegitation probably made the tick issue worse. The top 1/3 of the trail was very pleasant and the laurel and azaleas were just starting to bloom. The view of the Shenendoah River from the top is great. We didn't see anyone until almost all the way back down when we passed a good size group heading up to camp.
icon 
