Overlooking Old Rag Mountain, the Robertson Mountain hike has one of the steepest trails in the central section of the Shenandoah National Park, with an elevation gain on the Robertson Mountain Trail of 1,700 feet in just over 1.5 miles.
From the parking area, pass the closed gate hiking up the yellow blazed Berry Hollow Fire Road for 0.8 miles. Here you reach the intersection of the Old Rag Fire Road on the left, the Saddle Trail on the right, and Weakley Hollow Fire Road that continues straight.
Continue straight on the yellow blazed Weakley Hollow Fire Road (concrete post points towards Old Rag Parking Area) for 1.2 miles and arrive at the Robertson Mountain Trail.
Turn left uphill on the blue blazed Robertson Mountain Trail for the steepest section of the loop, and gain 1,700ft in just over 1.5 miles to the top of Robertson Mountain.
Continue down the other side of Robertson Mountain on the Robertson Mountain Trail where it ends at the junction of the Old Rag Fire Road in another 0.6 miles.
Turn left downhill on the yellow blazed Old Rag Fire Road as it descends for 2.2 miles back to the intersection with the Berry Hollow Fire Road.
Turn right on the Berry Hollow Fire Road for the remaining 0.8 miles back to the parking area.
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Reviews For The Robertson Mountain Hike (5 Most Recent)
Great hike away form the crowds of Old Rag. We found the summit overlooks wonderful and not too difficult to find once you reach the summit.
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Date of Hike: Monday, July 11, 2011
Well this was an adventure. Robertson is one tough steep climb up a densely forested ridgeline, with fairly steep dropoffs on either side that would likely afford great views if there weren't so much vegetation. It was way too hot for this hike today and I got pretty dehydrated but slogged it out to the summit. About halfway up I saw a bear cub climbing a tree not 30 feet away. Before I could draw a bead with my camera I realized its mother was real close by. Talk about an adrenaline rush. I didn't have so much as a good walking stick on me. After backing down the trail a ways and letting a few tense moments pass by, I was able to finish the hike and make the summit. Yea the hike down is all on fire roads and not that exciting but pleasant enough. If you want to avoid the crowd on Old Rag this is a good alternative.
By:
William
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Date of Hike: Friday, February 18, 2011
Overall it was a nice hike, I brought the wife, dogs, and a daypack. We ate lunch on the summit and then went over to the rocks and soaked in the scenery. Spectacular view from the rocks! Other then the summit there weren't many views, I'd say mabe only 1 more, a gap in the trees on the way up. The hike up had a huge elevation change in a short distance, so expect to get very sweaty even in cold weather, once it finally plateaued it was smooth sailing for the rest of the hike.
By:
Mark
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Date of Hike: Saturday, September 25, 2010
I hiked Robertson mountain with a friend on a longer loop of about 12 miles. We hiked down White Oak canyon and up Berry Hollow and Weakley Hollow fire roads to Robertson mountain and then back up to Skyline Dr on Old Rag fire Rd. It's a fantastic hike. Descending the steep White Oak canyon trail really works the quads and affords spectacular waterfall views. The hike back up Robertson mountain is one of the most challenging I've undertaken. Solitary and more pristine than the frequently hiked Old Rag. There is a very nice view of Old Rag about half-way up, and there is a near 360-degree view from the summit. There is a short summit spur trail to the left when the trail levels off that is not difficult to find. Just off this spur trail is a fantastic camping spot for anyone who carries sufficient water up the mountain. Very rewarding, and harder than Old Rag because it is steeper. I'd recommend this hike to anyone, but it may not be ideal for a beginner.
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Date of Hike: Sunday, August 29, 2010
I hiked up this trail with a group of friends and we actually were thinking that this was the old rag trail. Stupid me, I didn't have a map so we kept on going and going. We soon realize how tough it this trail was! This trail is definitely not for the novice hiker or anyone that is not in good condition. The ascent was steep and difficult. There were no signs or indicators on the summit, so we didn't realize that we had reached the summit until we were descending on the other side of the mountain. There also wasn't any signs when we got to the end of the trail on the old rag fire trail. We decided to go downhill on the old rag fire trail by instinct and luckily we hit the Weakley Hollow fire trail that took us back to the old rag parking lot. Despite getting lost, the worse part was that there was not much of any view at all. The trees obscure everything, so we didn't see anything and didn't even realize we were even at the summit when we got there. I certainly learned my lesson of not being prepared.
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