The Buck Hollow/Mary's Rock loop in the SNP can be broken into two hikes; or done as one large loop. The Buck Hollow/Buck Ridge main portion of the hike offers much more solitude than the section from Skyline Drive up to Mary's Rock. However, both offer great scenery.
From the parking area on US211 head up the Buck Hollow Trail crossing Buck Hollow stream and in 0.2 miles come to the intersection of the Buck Ridge Trail. Stay right remaining on the blue blazed Buck Hollow Trail.
The Buck Hollow Trail climbs the valley crossing the stream several times before becoming steeper and arriving at Skyline Drive and the Hazel Mountain parking area. At this point you can either continue up to Mary's Rock or shorten the hike by 3.0 miles and turn left on the yellow blazed Hazel Mountain Trail.
To continue up to Mary's Rock cross Skyline Drive, walk 50 yards left uphill and turn right onto the Meadow Spring Trail. Head uphill on the Meadow Spring Trail for 0.6 miles passing ruins of an old homestead about halfway before meeting the intersection of the white blazed Appalachian Trail and ridge line.
Turn right on the AT following it for 0.8 miles before arriving at the junction of the Mary's Rock Lookout Trail. Turn left uphill on the Mary's Rock Lookout Trail for 0.1 miles and come to the Mary's Rock vista.
To return, retrace your steps back along the AT and down the Meadow Spring Trail to the Hazel Mountain parking area on Skyline Drive. To continue stay right through the closed gate onto the yellow blazed Hazel Mountain Trail and in 0.5 miles come to the intersection of the Buck Ridge Trail.
Go straight on the blue blazed Buck Ridge Trail as it continues downward on Buck Ridge. The last 0.5 miles of the Buck Ridge Trail is very steep on loose rock so watch your footing. Arrive back at the intersection of the Buck Hollow Trail you ascended earlier 2.5 miles from where you left the Hazel Mountain Trail.
Turn right on the Buck Ridge Trail and arrive back at US211 and the parking area in 0.2 miles.
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Hiker
Reviews For The Buck Hollow Hike (5 Most Recent)
This was a pretty enjoyable hike. Did it clockwise in about 4.5 hours going at a moderate pace. There were very few people in the buck hollow section, I only saw one group coming down while I was going up and two hikers going up while I was going down. Once you get above Skyline Drive, the hike changes and there are lots of people. What was great about the hike was that each section was different. Going up Buck ridge takes you through a couple different types of forests, the Mary's rock section has some great lookouts, and the buck hollow portion takes you through a wide open hollow within the forest along a stream. Would rate this a 4 on difficulty, the first 1.5 miles going up the ridge is tough, but the rest of the hike isn't too bad.
By:
Chris
Rating:
Date of Hike: Tuesday, July 06, 2010
I only did the Buck Hollow part of the hike and found it pleasant, but somewhat boring. Perhaps having done Old Rag yesterday spoiled me a bit. The hike was also pretty buggy.I definitely agree with those who suggest hiking it clock wise instead of the directions listed on the web site.
By:
Rating:
Date of Hike: Saturday, June 12, 2010
http://hiking.meetup.com/162/calendar/13698605/ Check out our gorgeous sunset pictures. Night hikes are definitely the way to go when it's hot, but don't forget your headlamp & extra batteries. We started @ 5pm going clockwise. 3 of the 13 turned back as they were not prepared for a difficult hike. The other 10 made it to Skyline Drive just before 7pm. Another 40 minutes & we were at Mary's Rock waiting for a spectacular sunset. Pretty unbelieveable since the forecase showed major thunderstorms. The stragglers said they saw a Rainbow b4 heading back. In hindsite we should have been sure everyone was hiking with someone. When we regrouped @ Skyline Drive, we were missing one person & it was dark. As we were figuring out the search party, she showed up and for that we were all thankful. We got back to our cars around 11pm....hiking roughly 4.5 hours. Absolutely the perfect summer hike.
By:
Rating:
Date of Hike: Sunday, May 16, 2010
This was very tiring hike. On the way up, it was very tropical like with all the water running and the trees and plants grown in most of the way. I was expecting this to be gradual most of the way with one really steep section but the elevation was fairly constant and steep most of the second half up to Skyline drive. I took numerous little 15 second stops to catch my breath enough for me to walk a little more before my next breather. I added on the Hazel mountain hike for a really long day. On the way back to the car on Buck Hollow I was wondering where the elevation was and when it would come. It came in the last 1/2 mile which was the steepest part of a trail I have ever seen. There was a PATC worker clearing all the rocks off the very steep part. It seemed a monumental task as he was working by himself but he was almost done when I passed him. I gave him a big thanks and got back to the car 5hr 45 min after I started and completed 14 miles of very steep trails and I was ready for a nap. For me, it straddled the barrier between fun and work a little bit which is why it only gets 3 stars. I won't do it again but am glad I did it.
By:
LarryP
Rating:
Date of Hike: Sunday, April 18, 2010
We hiked the Buck Hollow/Buck Ridge portion of the trail. Alas, not enough time to add the Mary's Rock segment. I agree with those who suggest hiking the clock-wise loop instead of the way it is listed. The PATC crews have done an awesome job of making the steep section of the Buck Ridge trail safer, but it is still way too steep. My friend fell twice on the loose rocks, and we both slipped numerous times. It would have been way better to climb up that section than come down. Having said that, though, this was an incredible day for a hike - sunny, breezy & cool. There were relatively few people on the trail except where it was close to the Skyline Drive. The Buck Hollow stream is beautiful, and the crossings were very easy. We will do this one again.
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