This hike is the the sister hike of Raven Rocks. Starting at Bears Den it heads south on The Appalachian Trail for 4.5 miles to the top of Buzzard Hill. Although the length is only 9.0 miles the vertical ascents over the ridge spurs add up to over 3000 feet of vertical gain by the time you get back.
From the parking area head up the dirt road towards the house where you turn left on the blue blazed nature trail just before the stone gates. In 50 yards pass a small nature trail on your left and in another 50 yards turn left at the intersection where a 20 foot trail connects to the Appalachian Trail (AT).
Turn left onto the white blazed AT and start your descent where in 0.6 miles you cross a stream over a old wooden foot bridge. Continue on the AT and in 1.0 miles cross the first fork of Spout Run. Begin another ascent as you cross another spur before descending and arriving at the Sawmill Spring/Moore Shelter blue blazed trail that heads left uphill.
Stay straight on the AT and shortly cross the second fork of Spout Run and and intersection of the other end of the Moore Shelter trail. The trail connects with the trail you just passed and is a small loop to the shelter. You can see the shelter through the trees in the winter.
Turn right remaining on the AT for another 1.6 miles as it crosses another spur before passing a short flat area and beginning your final ascent up Buzzard Hill.
At the top of Buzzard Hill the AT heads slightly left, turn right on a short side trail that goes to a lookout area and great spot for lunch. To return just retrace your route.
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 Buzzard Hill hike:
=
Hiker
Reviews For The Buzzard Hill Hike (5 Most Recent)
Instead of hiking from Bears Den, I chose to hike this from the other side. Take Ebenezer Rd. and left on Morgans Hill Rd. (There is a small parking area). The trail head has a sign to the AT and to Rt 7. It is a much shorter hike than from Bears Den. The trail has a beautiful waterfall about half way through. To get a close up view of the waterfall, follow the creek on the left side to reach the falls. Continue on the trail for another mile or two until you reach Buzzard Hill. Great views from the top although in warmer weather views may be more limited. It appears that there is a small camp site area at the top as well. Return the way you came. The total hike is less than 2 hours.
By:
Rating:
Date of Hike: Tuesday, March 18, 2008
Was my first time hiking the trail ever. Had no idea it was THAT rocky and steep in 3 seperate places. I went from VA Route 7 Bears Den Rock south though the 3 massive hills, and bailed on Morgan' Mill Rd and took the flat easy Ebenezer Rd all the way back to the parking lot near Raven Rocks. Totaled 13.1 miles and took 5 hours. Temp 44 degrees and some wind. Was rather nice actually, will be sore.
PS. Whatever you do, DO NOT go left on Morgan's Mill Rd ever. You will be stopped by armed guards as that is a top secret presidential bunker in wartime, complete with 3 helipads and a missile testing range, hence I heard 3 loud explosions just as I turned to go back north on my way back to Route 7.
By:
Brandon F.
Rating:
Date of Hike: Sunday, March 16, 2008
It's a shame really that there are so many hints at views, but really they're minimal, even in the winter.
This hike kicked the heck out of me, I'm sure I'll be sore for a couple days. My GPS measured 3500' in elevation change, and doing that in only 4.5 hours over rocky terrain will do that to you.
If you want a challenge moreso than a hike with grand scenery, this is the hike for you.
Also, with the recent rash of reviews for Raven Rocks (geez, all those R's) and the break-ins, it seems this is a safer place to park. But crossing Rte. 7 will probably be the biggest adventure you'll have that day.
By:
Rating:
Date of Hike: Monday, May 07, 2007
The day was beautiful (temps in the high 60's - low 70's with blue skies). I decided to do this hike due to it being close to home on a day off from work. It is also nice to get another small bit of the AT under my belt.
Anyway, I did the out in 2 hours 5 minutes (once I found the AT from the Bears Den - wasn't too obvious). I did the back in 2 hours 10 minutes and as I am wrinting this, I am very sore and tired. I did also take about 15 minutes for lunch on Buzzards Hill.
The reason for the 3 star rating is that this was a nice hike in the woods. When compared to the GWNF 3 Ridges area (that being a 5 star) this is a 3 star hike. But, any hike on a day off is a good hike.
By:
Rating:
Date of Hike: Sunday, April 23, 2006
I headed out on this Sunday morning with hopes that rain would not occur and curious as to why this section of the AT is considered some of the toughest to hike in Virginia. Well, about 20 minutes out I was noticing I had to keep a sharp eye on the trail because it was so rocky. Some real ankle biters. about 40 minutes out, the rain started. I decided to make my way to the Sam Moore shelter instead of retreating back to Bears Den. God love the PATC and the volunteers who make shelters possible. Fortunately my pack cover and emergency poncho kept me from being completely miserable. I held up at the shelter for about an hour with another couple until the storm passed. They decided to head back to Bears Den, I opted to continue my goal of reaching Buzzard Hill if not Rt. 605. I made it to Buzzard Hill and sat there wondering if I should bail out on 605 and call it a day. Man!! the roller coaster ride on those hills is murderous. I kept to my commitment of completewing the hike and hiked back to Bears Den. I was pretty exhausted by the time I got back to Bears Den. Now mind you, I think any hike is a wonderful experience. The burst of Spring Green was marvelous. Patches of various colors were everywhere with Dogwood and early pink Honeysuckle. A patch of Bluebells on Tomblin Hill was marvelous. I give this hike a 4 out of 5 due to the tough terrain and seemingly endless climbs. The hike is definetly worth it if you are looking for a tough workout. I would do it again, but stay over at the Moore Shelter, which was very clean and a beautiful setting. As always the map was flawless, but I did refer to my 'Exploring the Appalachian Trail' book a little more than the directions from this site. This puts me at over 50 miles hiked this year which I am thrilled about. Can't wait to review my next hike!
Good thing we had a nice cool day for this hike. The total elevation gain is over 3000 ft and by the time we were on the last ascent back to Bears Den our legs had just about had enough.
This was the first time we have hiked to Buzzard Hill and as we expected on this out and back hike the few people we did see were Appalachian Trail thru-hikers.
The one great vista is right at Bears Den, instead of turning south on the AT go north for just 100 yards and the view to the west is great. The hike itself had the streams full with melt water and Buzzard Peak itself has a nice south west view.
icon 
