The
Austin and Furnace Mountains loop is one of the most strenuous
day hikes in the Shenandoah National Park. Not only is the hike long, at over 13 miles, but the steep descent down the Austin Mountain ridge, and long climb up the exposed Furnace Mountain trail, make the 3000+ vertical feet of gain seem even that much harder.
From the Browns Gap parking area pass the closed gate, and start down the yellow blazed Madison Run Fire Road (FR). In 0.8 miles look for the yellow blazed Big Run Spur Trail where the FR makes a right bend. Turn right and follow the Big Run Spur Trail uphill for 0.3 miles to the ridge, and intersection of the blue blazed Rockytop Trail.
Turn left on the Rockytop Trail for 0.4 miles to the intersection of the blue blazed Austin Mountain Trail. Stay left on the Austin Mountain Trail as it follows the ridge, then gradually begins to descend. Pass several vistas of the Furnace Mountain summit, before passing through four rock slide areas. In three miles from the Rockytop Trail, the Austin Mountain Trail will make a sharp left turn, and descend the mountain very steeply for the remaining 0.3 miles to the valley, and ending at the Madison Run FR.
Return the 0.5 miles to the Furnace Mountain Trail, and turn left uphill. In 2.1 miles the Furnace Mountain Trail ends at the intersection of the blue blazed Trayfoot Mountain Trail. Stay left, on the Trayfoot Mountain Trail as it descends, then climbs to the intersection of the AT/Blackrock Connector Trail in 0.6 miles. Stay left towards the Blackrock Summit, and in 0.2 miles pass through the lower section if the Blackrock area, before arriving at the intersection of the white blazed Appalachian Trail AT and Blackrock Summit.
Turn left on the white blazed AT. In 0.3 miles pass the Blackrock parking area, before crossing Skyline Drive on the AT in another 0.6 miles. After crossing Skyline Drive, pass the Jones Run parking area in 0.2 miles, and stay on the AT for the remaining 1.2 miles back to the Browns Gap parking area.
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Hiker
Reviews For The Austin/Furnace Mountains Hike (5 Most Recent)
I did this hike on a warm and clear day for November and had a great time. I kept a pretty good pace and took a few short breaks since the Skyline Drive closes at dark. It took me 6 hours, but I wish I had spent more time taking in the scenery this trail provides. I'd recommend hiking boots and poles for this one. Great workout and on this clear day some great views. I recommend this trail,just allow enough time and remember that it gets better after you get up Furnace Mountain.
By:
Andrew Tucker
Rating:
Date of Hike: Saturday, February 07, 2009
Since the high for the day was above 60, and we had just come out of a stretch of days when the temperature did not top freezing, I decided that it was high time for a hike. On this day, I simple started on the Trayfoot mountain trail, following it for 3.4 mi until the Furnace Mountain Summit trail branched off. After another 0.5 mi jaunt, we had reached the summit. At the summit, there was a great view of Austin Mountain, the Blue Ridge Parkway, and Massanutten Mountain in the distance.
I found this trail to be quite enjoyable. It's approximately 4 mi to the summit, for a round trip of 8 mi. It is pretty much all uphill to the top - no reprieves. This, however, is not as strenuous as Austin Mountain, so it seemed easy. The round trip took about 2.5-3 hours, but we didn't take many breaks at all, except for at the summit and one other point where were some nice boulders (on the Furnace Mtn. Summit trail) to climb and play around on. I highly recommend this trip for able bodied people who enjoy a nice hike.
By:
Greg and Pearlly
Rating:
Date of Hike: Saturday, November 08, 2008
This was our first hike in the SNP (we did Old Rag the next day). We stayed in the Big Meadow campgrounds (the only ones open this time of year), and were surprised by the number of other campers there. By Saturday night all the sites were full, so our advice is to get there early. But about the hike: it's very vigorous, but there are great payoffs along the way with spectacular views. Make sure to carefully follow the instructions since this hike switches between trails several times along the way. However, we never had any trouble finding the right way to go and the trails were well marked the whole way. We ran into about 25 other hikers along the way and everyone was very friendly. Late fall seems to be an ideal time of year for this one there is still plenty of color on the leaves and the temperature is nice and cool.
By:
Rating:
Date of Hike: Saturday, October 18, 2008
My trail experience is much like Blueridgetreks reviewer. Did the full loop starting at Browns Gap and going in the direction of the Austin Mtn. Temps were around 45-50 degrees so with it being cooler, didn't use up my 2 litre camelpak of water. Fall colors were definitely showing and it was a great endurance hike which I did in 6 hours.
By:
Rating:
Date of Hike: Sunday, September 14, 2008
The climb up Furnace Mtn was quite tough indeed, even on a moderately hot day . Next time I'll hike it in the opposite direction. Madison Run is a good place to wash up, relax and look at the butterflies.
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