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House Mountain - Lexington, Virginia


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Length Difficulty Streams Views Solitude Camping
7.3 mls N/A
Hiking Time:
Elev. Gain:
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5.5 hours plus a half hour for lunch
2,850 ft
Lexington Virginia
Virginia Outdoors Foundation
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e.g. 12000 Government Center Parkway 22035 or Fairfax VA
The parking area on Saddle Ridge Rd/VA643 is located between the parking signs befoir eht einformation kiosk.
Note: The 0.5 miles to the trail head is located on private property, and no vehicle traffic of any kind is allowed on the that portion of the road. Please respect private property.

The House Mountain hike near Lexington Virginia is really two out-and-back hikes in one. Big House Mountain, with great views to the west, and Little House Mountain, with its punishing direct climb to the ridge, and spectacular views of the Shenandoah Valley to the northeast.

Little House and Big House Mountains appear to tower out of the plains as they stand by themselves, separate from any other mountain range. The 950 acre House Mountain Preserve was purchased in 1989 through the efforts of the Rockbridge Area Conservation Council, the Virginia Outdoors Foundation, and many local residents, including Bill Stubbs a leader in conservation causes in the Rockbridge area for many years. The area is now owned by the Virginia Outdoors Foundation.

The saddle between Big House and Little House Mountains was originally a homestead, and more recently a orchard and pasture. With camping space for multiple tents, as well as a seasonal spring just past the shelter on Big House Mountain, this is a perfect place to take an overnight backpack.

From the parking area continue up unpaved VA643 and in 50 yards stay right uphill (private drive is left), pass the last house in 0.2 miles. Continue up VA643 for another 0.3 miles (please respect private property) to the closed gate and trailhead.

From the trailhead and closed gate, start up the unblazed House Mountain Trail. The trail passes private property on the left for the first 0.5 miles. The remaining 1.1 miles to the saddle becomes steeper and more rutted.

Big House Mountain
Out/Back - 1.7mls - 740ft gain - Moderate

Continue to the west uphill on the unblazed Big House Mountain trail and in 100 yards pass a shelter and privy on the right. Just past the shelter the trail will split, remain right uphill as it becomes steeper then makes a hairpin turn to the right in 0.5 miles. At the hairpin turn, stay straight on the blue blazed trail where it becomes narrow, steep and rocky for the short 90 yard climb to the Little House Mountain ridgeline. Turn left at the ridge line following the faint trail for 30 yards to passing a small campsite, then arriving at the first vista to the west. Continue for another 25 yards to the main panoramic view on Little House Mountain.

Return along the ridge to where the trail begins to descend, but continue to bushwack along the ridgeline for 100 yards where there is a boulder canyon. Just inside the boulders is Tabletop Rock. Return to the intersection down with the blue blazed trail and retrace your steps back to the saddle between Big House and Little House Mountains.

Return to the saddle by retracing your route.

Little House Mountain
Out/Back - 2.4mls - 940ft gain - Strenuous

Although the Little House Mountain out/back is shorter than Big House Mountain, it's significantly more strenuous because the blue blazed Little House Mountain Trail heads directly uphill to the ridge without any switchbacks.

From the saddle pass into the meadow where the road splits. Turn right uphill before leaving the meadow and head into the treeline. Once in the treeline look for the blue blazes.

At this point the trail is almost indiscernible. Follow the blue blazes as the trail starts uphill towards the ridge and in 0.2 miles pass through a rock slide. From this point to the ridge the Mountain Laurel and Rhododendron becomes more dense.

At the ridge follow the trail through a thick section of Mountain Laurel before turning left back to the north. In 0.2 miles the trail passes to the left of the main summit before beginning its descent to the overlook in another 0.7 miles.

Once passing around the main summit, the trail descends passing through a rock scree, then shortly afterward reach a small campsite. The blue blazed trail continues downwards and ends at the panoramic Little House Mountain overlook. Return to the saddle by retracing your route.

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Hiker Reviews For The House Mountain Hike (5 Most Recent)
Review the House Mountain hike here!   Average Rating:   Share Hike: 

By: Rating: Date of Hike: Saturday, March 02, 2013
The big fire pit was emptied and rebuilt in front of the shelter. There are several cords of stacked wood knocked down by last Junes wind storm to provide campers for the next year. There is also plenty of dead wood, both cut and uncut to warm your bones on these cold winter nights. I repaired the hole in the roof to the shelter and much of the storm debris has been pushed out of the immediate camping area. I'll be seeding it with some grass seed soon. If there is anyone who would like to help clear the Little House mountain side trail on a week-end day, please email me at diversq@cox.net I have accommodations at the base of the trail if you want to make week-end trip out of it.

By: Daniel Rating: Date of Hike: Saturday, February 09, 2013
This was an awesome hike! We hiked Big Mountain first and the views from the overlook were awesome. The hike up wasn't too bad and pretty enjoyable for a steady incline the whole way. There were still patches of snow here and there as well. We camped on Little House and the hike up was a monster! The hike up was slow moving, especially with our packs, but the challenge made it very rewarding when we reached the top. Awesome hike and I would definitely do it again. Note to first time hikers- Take your time up little house. There are a lot of spots that are tricky and using the trees on the side of the trail definitely help you get up easier.

By: James N. Rating: Date of Hike: Sunday, December 30, 2012
What a hike up. Slow moving and constant but not too tiring. Snow was still very much present and was the icing on this hike not to mention a great moral booster. On this particular trip I only got to do Big House Mountain not Little House.The ice and snow presented huge challenges on Big House let alone that huge steep monster. I was hiking alone and wasnt gonna become a cliche statistic. The directions are on point and great. Taking care on the ridge wary of the traps and pitfalls the snow could be hiding I saw the best snow views I've experienced. From the Peaks of Otter, the Priest, to Douthat State park neck of the woods you could see it all. I definitely will do a camping trip to combine the two. Wonderful. Try to catch them next time we get a 3-4 inch dusting.

By: Rating: Date of Hike: Saturday, September 29, 2012
I cleared the entrance to the shelter last Saturday. After 3 hours of cutting and stacking, the path is now accessible from the main trail and there is a large amount of firewood that will be seasoned enough to burn next spring. I drug over a large log near the shelter to be used for sitting around the fire pit. I plan on rebuilding the fire pit this coming weekend to make it useable again. Presently the ash build up is level with the surrounding rocks so there is not much shelter from the wind.

By: Rating: Date of Hike: Sunday, September 09, 2012
After several days of work by volunteers, the trail has been cleared up to the saddle. There is still work to be done on the new Little House trail, but that will take more time as the area is too steep for machinery. With all the rain we have had up here this summer, the leaves should be really colorful this fall.

    View all 25 reviews for the House Mountain hike
Early July
 
           
           
Mid November (Photos courtesy of Steve Martin)
Early March
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