This hike loops around the entire G. Richard Thompson Wildlife
Management Area and is one of our favorites in the winter months. Almost
8 miles in length and with an elevation remaining under 2,200
feet, you can still have a great hike when the daylight hours
are shorter.
The one thing to keep in mind is that this area
is very popular during hunting
season, so make sure you wear some blaze
orange if you are hiking anytime from late November to the
end of January.
If you do this hike in nice weather a great way to top this hike off is to stop for lunch at Maxwell's Pub in Middleburg on the way back and grab a seat on their outdoor deck, which is dog friendly.
Start by walking up the dirt road to Lake
Thompson. Turn right
walking beside the lake and then veer right
uphill. You
will run into several large blow downs from tropical
storm Camille obstructing the trails.
Continue straight (which now becomes the AT) for 1.2 mile
where the trail branches,
stay left on the white blazed AT until crossing
the Lake Trail in another .3 miles.
Turn left on the VST (the AT is part of this)
and in 70 yards the AT will turn to your
right. Continue
straight on the VST for 1.2 miles as it winds
around Wildcat Hollow before passing some
ruins and a small trail on your
left. Continue straight
on the VST for another .7 miles where it reaches a small
shed and intersects a dirt road.
Turn right on the dirt road for .1 miles until the road
branches, veer left as you continue downhill for another
.9 miles. This section of the trail runs
alongside a fence and private property as it descends the
mountain.
A trail will intersect
from the left (private property with a red barn on your
right). Turn left downhill for 100 yards. Then turn right at
the four way trail junction.
In 150 yards, you will arrive back at
Thompson Lake. Continue straight back to the parking lot.
Interactive Hike Map BelowPrintable
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Hiker
Reviews For The GRT Wildlife Management Area Hike (5 Most Recent)
A nice hike with some elevation closer in to the Northern VA area. Going from the lake to the AT was fairly steep, but not technically difficult. More of a forest floor view through most of the hike, but some nice mountain vistas are viewable off an unmarked path past the clear cut area off the second dirt road that intersects the AT. The unmarked trail goes on about 1.5 miles, mostly downhill, and reconnects to the lake circuit trail that empties out onto route 688. Look for landmarks as the trail has no blazes, but is pretty easy to follow. Recommend printing out trail guide with map AND description to take with for reference (we encountered hikers with a map and no trail description who were totally confused/lost on the unmarked trail). The trails in this area are supposed to have a lot of wild flowers in early May bring sunscreen, shade on the AT portion of the circuit varies.
By:
KRH
Rating:
Date of Hike: Sunday, February 01, 2009
This was a pretty nice hike in the winter. There were a couple of guys ice fishing on the lake and the cutest little puppy running around. The hike itself was a bit more difficult than expected, but that was probably due to the snowy conditions more than anything. Some trees/branches in the trail but my friend and I (former trail crew members) did our duty and cleared a bunch of them. Not too many views on this trail but it does, like someone said, have a lot of character. I can't wait to come back in the spring for the wildflowers!
By:
Southern Preacher
Rating:
Date of Hike: Thursday, August 21, 2008
I have some terrible news about Lake Thompson that I wanted to make sure your readers know about.
I recently ordered my yearly fishing license from the Virginia Department of Games and Inland Fisheries. When I asked about the licenses needed to fish for trout at Lake Thompson, I was alerted to the following press release:
***
Lake Thompson Is Draining
Fauquier County, VA — The Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries (VDGIF) recently discovered the water level was dropping at Lake Thompson, a 10-acre lake on the VDGIF's G. Richard Thompson Wildlife Management Area in Fauquier County, and immediately began an engineering assessment of possible causes. VDGIF, in consultation with contract dam safety engineers, determined that the bottom drain attached to the base of the principal spillway had failed somewhere along its course, near the lake bottom, upstream of the riser. Attempts to locate the source of the leak and to render an economical, quick fix have not been successful and, unfortunately, it appears the lake will slowly drain.
Thompson Lake's water level is dropping at a rate of approximately six inches per day and is expected to be nearly dry within the next few weeks. VDGIF will monitor the lake level and dam as the water continues to drop and will conduct additional assessments to evaluate potential long-term repairs.
Smallmouth bass have been and will continue to be removed from the lake and transported to the Department's Front Royal Fish Hatchery to serve as brood stock.
Anglers are advised that fishing access to the lake is becoming difficult each day as the water level continues to fall and more mud is exposed. However, there are a few rocky areas that can provide access to the water's edge. All visitors and anglers should use extreme caution under these changing conditions.
***
I was told that the dam at Lake Thompson will be further evaluated after it completely drains. I was also told that there is no guarentee at this point that the dam can be fixed and Lake Thompson restored. Apparently, at this point, no one really knows what the associated costs are going to be.
This is such a beautiful lake and one of my favorite places to visit during the winter. Lake Thompson freezes over during the winter and it's terrific fun to ice fish on the lake, which I did last year.
I hope everyone will call and write to the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries and let them know how concerned you are for the future of Lake Thompson.
By:
Rating:
Date of Hike: Sunday, May 11, 2008
MRSHyker and I got this hike done just before the heavy rains moved in. We had some sprinkles and high wind and about 45 minutes of bright sun right at the end of the hike. The wildflowers are unbelievable. If you are into wildflowers this is a "must do hike" in early May. The climb to the ridge was pretty gradual, helped by stopping to look at all of the flowers on the way up. Once on top the terrain is flat or rolling with only one other steep, but short climb. During the peak Trillium Viewing Season expect a lot of company, espesially allong a one mile stretch of the AT that is close to a ridge top parking area. On either side of that segment we were all alone.
There were literally millions of Trillium (Janet described them as fields of trillium in the forest and that's a pretty apt description.), thousands of Showy Orchis and a family showed us where to find some very impressive Yellow Lady Slippers in their prime. We even saw a rare double flower on one plant. They are only in one small area on the ridge. These were the most exotic plants. There were also Rue Anemone, May Apple and Wild Geranium - too many to count, several varieties of violets, a lot of Sweet Cicely, Star Chickweed, Fleabane, Dogwood, Blood Root (Out of bloom now but the leaves are quite obvious.), a couple varieties of mustard, Wood Betony or Louse Wort, Gold(en?) Alexander and way to much of that invasive garlic mustard. Don't know what blooms there in the summer but I thought I saw some Wild (Smooth) Hydrangea leaves and we found a lot of False Solomon's Seal that should be blooming in a couple of weeks..
Except for the AT the trails are not signed or blaze so take a map and these trail notes with you. I will definetly be bringing a group up here next spring.
By:
Southern Preacher
Rating:
Date of Hike: Saturday, April 26, 2008
My wife, 7-year-old son and I hike this route this weekend.
The Trilliums were impressive this past weekend. The forest floor, near the Upper Ted Lake parking area, was covered with them. The wild redbuds in bloom were impressive as well.
A thunderstorm rolled in over the mountain around 3:00PM. By luck we were less than 1/10 of a mile from the Manassas Gap Shelter on the A.T at the time when the worst of rain hit. We darted down the path to the shelter and found 13 other hikers at the shelter waiting out the storm. The 3 of us made 16 folks cramped into the shelter.
God bless the good people of the Potomac Appalachian Trail Club for mainting these shelters. Although crowded, it was a great place to wait for the storm to pass. All of the hikers were very generous in sharing food, drink and stories. A group of 7 hikers from South Korea entertained all of us with music, including one who was hiking with his guitar in tow.
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