This
is a short and pleasant hike, and has
some of the best vistas in the Shenandoah National Park. Little Stony Man, just below the main peak, has a popular rock wall with local climbers. Make
sure to pick a haze free day, because you don't want
to miss all the views along the the ridge!
Start the hike on the left of the parking area at the trail junction. Turn right on the on the yellow blazed Stony Man Trail for 0.5 miles to the intersection of the Horse Trail.
Turn left uphill on the Horse Trail for 0.5 miles and come to the first of the
Shenandoah Valley overlooks. Continue up the trail for another 50
yards to the junction of the the
blue blazed trail, and horse rail. Turn left, and in 80 yards arrive at the main Stony Man Mountain overlook.
Return back, passing the trail you turned off in 80 yards, where the blue blazed trail splits. Stay left, and in 0.4 miles the trails rejoin. Continue downhill for another 0.1 miles to the the four way intersection of the white blazed Appalachian Trail.
Turn left on the white blazed trail for
0.7 miles to the Little Stony Man overlook. As you continue
downward make several switchbacks before reaching the left turn for the blue blazed Passamaquoddy Trail. The Passamaquoddy Trail turnoff is easy to miss. Look for a concrete post marker and a double white blazed tree marking the junction.
The Passamaquoddy Trail will pass a lower vista at the base of the Little Stony Man Mountain cliff face. Continue around the mountain for 1.0 miles to the junction
of Furnace Spring Road. Turn left uphill for 20 yards, then make a sharp turn to the left again onto the yellow blazed trail. Follow the yellow blazed trail as it winds uphill, arriving back at the Stony Man Mountain parking area in 0.5 miles.
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Hiker
Reviews For The Stony Man Mountain Hike (5 Most Recent)
I am rating this high to boost its rating. It is a terrific hike, for those who are not experienced in hiking, in poor shape, or who are just a little intimidated by the idea of going a longer way up and down slopes on other trails. In fact, the views that are possible at several points are spectacular. I have done this trail so many times for more than 25 years, it would be fair to call it a favorite - Every season, every temperature, snow, heat and humidity, spring blooms and fall colors - its all beatiful. I usually go here with non-hikers and feel it is a good choice for such folks. If you are with older folks, younger kids - make it easy and just take the "nature walk" up to the stony man overlook. Awesome.
Mr. / Ms. hiker - maybe not for you, but anyone who complains that it is shorter and fairly crowded -- well what did you expect ? A short, not-too demanding trail to one of the very best overlooks in the park....please. OF COURSE there are other people here. So many other choices if you want more solitude. That does not mean it isn't a good trail, with a great set of views, just that its accessability and short length make it popular for newbies and those who may be pressed for time because you got to the park later than you wanted in day 1, or are squeezing in a quickie before heading out for home at trip end !
By:
B. Gordon
Rating:
Date of Hike: Friday, November 23, 2007
I would have given this hike a higher rating if it were a little longer and for the amount of people on the trail. I guess a lot of people spent Thanksgiving at Skyland as we ran into quite a few people on the last half of the trail. We did the trail in reverse with the temps around 31F and with the wind blowing quite strongly. If you do it in reverse you can do a little scrambling up a pretty steep "trail" just as you get to the bottom of Little Stony Man. This "trail" cuts out the switchbacks on the other side of Little Stony Man. Take a left at the top and you are almost at Little Stony Man. I wouldn't recommend coming down this way but it was fun going up. The views from Little Stony Man and Stony Man are pretty spectacular for such little effort to get to them. While eating lunch at Little Stony Man we were privileged to have a Bald Eagle soar overhead, what a great sight!!! I would recommend this trail as a good winter hike to get the kids out of the house and yet not spend too much time on the trail in the cold. If you do the trail in the morning there is still time to get back on Route 211 over to Luray to visit Luray Caverns as we did.
By:
hfogg
Rating:
Date of Hike: Sunday, September 23, 2007
Nice Fall Day. Morning was cool and foggy, but by the time I got on the trail, it was clear/sunny blue skies. Had some traffic on the Stony Man Lariat part, and No One else on the rest of the hike. Great views to the east.
By:
Eric
Rating:
Date of Hike: Wednesday, August 29, 2007
Good hike with great views and it's easily accessible. I went on a weekday afternoon, so I only saw a few other hikers. The hike took about 2.5 hours since my friend and I stopped for a while at both little stony man and at the summit.
It was cool and cloudy with poor visibility. However, standing in the clouds and watching them cascade over the mountain face was cool. I could see how this would be very crowded on the weekends with its proximity to Skyland. Don't forget to bring a camera.
By:
Jerry W.
Rating:
Date of Hike: Sunday, October 22, 2006
I'm with phall: The directions left a little bit to be desired. This was my second attempt at finding this hike. If you turn right at Skyland and follow the signs you'll find the parking area for Stony Man. But it's not 'right off Skyline Drive.' Once you're there it's pretty easy. The hike was relatively short but the vistas were excellent albeit a bit hazy on this Sunday. It was a bit crowded with all the leaf-lookers but I was able to find some solitude by taking the yellow-blazed trail about 100 yards away. The highlight of my hike was seeing first a bear cub romping through the woods away from me and then a black bear crossing the trail about 30 yards in front of me. I managed to snap a picture too. The bear wasn't interested in me, thankfully, and kept going. It was kind of amazing considering the number of people out and about.
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