Ashby Hollow Hike

Ashby Hollow - Mt Weathers, Virginia


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Length	Difficulty	Streams	Views	Solitude	Camping
6.5 mls
Hiking Time: Elev. Gain: Resources:	2.5 hours plus a half hour for lunch 2,005 ft Printable Topo Hike Map (PDF) Bluemont 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 Park on Morgans Mill Rd where the Appalachian Trail crosses.

One of several out/back day hikes along this section of the Appalachian Trail. This 6.5 mile hike passes through several small hollows, unique different rock formations, as well as two mountain streams. The first stream, Ashby Hollow, has a wooden footbridge as well as several nice camp sites.

This part of the Appalachian Trail (AT) is affectionately known as the "Roller Coaster" as you can tell from the hike profile. The AT descends and climbs through several hollows and small ridges as it passes between Route 50 and Rt 7. One other nice aspect of this up/down/out/back hike is you can always turn around at any point if you want to cut the hike short.

From the parking area on Morgans Mill Rd. start downhill/south on the AT as it winds down to the largest stream in Ashby Hollow and nice camping area in 0.4 miles. At the stream there is a large wooden footbridge. Immediately after crossing the footbridge turn right and cross a fire road where the AT begins to climb Piney Ridge.

At the top of the Piney Ridge the trail descends through a hollow than climbs and descends to the second stream. After crossing the stream the AT will turn left following an old fire road for 100 yards before turning back to the right climbing to the next ridge.

At the ridgeline there are several views to the west of the Winchester valley through the trees. The views are best during the colder months when there are no leaves on the trees. From late spring through fall most of these vistas are obscured by foliage.

Follow this ridgeline for another 0.3 miles to a point on the AT where it passes through a small rocky area, and views to the west.

This is the turnaround point we have mapped here to make a 6.5 mile out/back hike. Continuing from here the AT will pass through another hollow and shelter before the trail arrives at Rt 50 just north of Sky Meadows.

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Hiker Reviews For The Ashby Hollow Hike (5 Most Recent)

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By:	Rating:	Date of Hike: Sunday, February 24, 2013
I found the hike as described - scenic streams and limited views. Parking by the AT crossing is convenient. After I finished this hike, I stopped at my car for a drink, then hiked north on the AT to Buzzard Hill.

By: b ridge	Rating:	Date of Hike: Monday, February 18, 2013
Great rocks, nice streams, good workout, but no views at all, even in February. Might as well stop at the top of the second hill.

By:	Rating:	Date of Hike: Saturday, August 04, 2012
Parking area is well situated allowing access to both Buzzard Hill and Ashby Hollow. I went out with my four year old and hiked first to the waterfall North on the Buzzard Hill trail then returned, grabbed gear from the car and headed south. Saw seven or so other hikers and learned that the creek at Rod Hollow shelter was dry so opted to stay at the Ashby Hollow creek camping area near the footbridge. The creek here is still flowing with a low but ample supply of water for drinking and cooking. Another group of three hikers stayed the night at the camping area with us and we enjoyed their company. Seems to be something of a thruway for wildlife as both during the first hours of dark and at dusk was passed by one single - suspected - ursa a (heard not sighted) as it was dark. Animal never bothered us (nor did we bother them, at least I think). Trail is quite green now but still beautiful. Never made the length of the marked trail but was a great 1st taste of the AT for my 4 year old:) Beautiful rock formations for photographs. The rock formations would be great for mild vista photography and with the right angle could look quite NatGeo.

By:	Rating:	Date of Hike: Saturday, October 01, 2011
This is an ok hike along the rollercoaster AT trail. First of all No Streams, No Views, No Animals, and A few cool changing color trees. It took us 5 hours to hike this trail and we did keep going after the turn around spot and arrived at the Rod Hollow Shelter on the AT finishing up about 9.5 miles. I think the Shelter and the Geocaching by the P.A.T.C were the greatest part of the hike. The drive up Morgans Mill Rd is a gravel road all uphill but made it fine in my little Honda CR-Z hybrid.

By: Bigship11	Rating:	Date of Hike: Saturday, May 28, 2011
My husband I hiked Ashby Hollow after being out of commission, for a while... what a great work out! If you are looking for a hike that's challenging, physically, this is a great hike to complete. It is easy to see why this part of the AT is known as the "roller coaster"! On the other hand, this hike does not offer any views during the spring/summer months in fact, we were unable to find the "overlook", which is described in the hiking directions, and over-hiked the trail about a .5 mile or even a mile. The trail was well-marked and is nice and shady, which is great during the summer months. Even on a holiday weekend, the trail wasn't crowded, and we only passed a couple of back packers. The great thing about this hike is that it can really help build one's endurance!!

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Early March