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| By:
Kelsey
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Rating:  |
Date of Hike: Sunday, March 04, 2012 |
| Did Rose River Loop. Rose River and Dark Hollow Falls were awesome. Not an extremely painful hike either. Temps in lower 30's to upper 20's. Probably the reason we saw maybe 8 other hikers there.
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| By:
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Date of Hike: Saturday, July 16, 2011 |
| I hiked this yesterday with 10 members of the Central Virginia Trailblazers group. We started from the Visitors' Center and walked on Skyline Drive toward Tanners Ridge Overlook. From there we took the fire road toward Lewis Falls and hiked on from there. Lewis Falls was pretty, but everyone really liked Rose River and Dark Hollow Falls. Save energy for the last couple of miles - it's all uphill. After the hike, we found a shady spot and hung out at the blackberry festival at Big Meadows. It was a perfect day!
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| By:
TAOW
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Rating:  |
Date of Hike: Sunday, April 17, 2011 |
| Nice hike overall..did the Lewis Falls circuit...challenging in some places but not a very strenuous hike..solitude definitely a zero on this hike. The falls were beautiful after the rain but I have no plans to return. If you decide to hike the circuit, stop by the visitors center on the way to amphitheater, the ranger was a great resource for navigating the mid section of the hike.
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| By:
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Rating: |
Date of Hike: Sunday, April 17, 2011 |
| The hike was ok. The hike start was difficult to locate and we ended up getting turned around for a couple of miles. Once we were back on track the path was descent (not very challenging), and the views of the river/streams and waterfalls were amazing. We lucked out this weekend because of the recent heavy rains raising the water levels significantly. Great for some scenic pictures. I've been on a lot of hikes from Hikingupward, but this was by far the most popular in terms of people. I have gone an entire day without seeing anyone, but on this hike we saw well over a 100 people, so the solitude is definitely a ZERO!!! Overall, the scenes were amazing, but the rest of the hike was quite average with tons and tons of people which was a turn off.
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| By:
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Rating: |
Date of Hike: Sunday, January 30, 2011 |
We had planned on doing this hike and although had anticipated Skyline Drive being shut down, had not anticipated 1' snow in some parts. We used the Tanner Ridge fire road to access the park, ran into a park official who asked us if we had "cramp-ons"(?), where we were heading, etc. When we replied we didn't have cramp-ons and that we were doing the Three Mile hike, she just smiled. Looking back on it...we now know why. It was very nice of her not to laugh her head off. When we started on the Lewis Falls portion, someone had been there before with snow shoes, which was great. After that portion heading toward Big Meadows, we were the first on the trail after the snowfall...it got a lot more brutal, especially given our lack of planning.
What we saw/experienced despite failing miserably to do the entire hike was tremendous, lots paw-print tracks, large-ish (50-60lbs) animals - definitely not deer - running in the distance at Big Meadows...very rewarding hike - can't wait until the snow melts to complete the circuit.
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| By:
Woodland Hiker
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Rating: |
Date of Hike: Saturday, September 11, 2010 |
| Although we were not too impressed by the trails (they're quite wide in most parts, but nothing too special), we absolutely loved the Falls. This is a hike that is definitely worth taking in SNP, for its nice waterfalls. We are already planning to go back with more friends.
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| By:
Scott
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Rating: |
Date of Hike: Monday, May 31, 2010 |
| I went on this hike on Memorial Day with my wife and two small children (ages 1.5 and 2.5). We cut out the last three miles, and were glad we did, because we were getting pretty tired. We spotted a mother bear and her two cubs along the route. We had to wait for 15 minutes or so while the bears crossed our path and went into the woods. Overall, a great hike.
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| By:
Molly
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Rating:  |
Date of Hike: Sunday, May 16, 2010 |
I wish I had read the write-up on this hike a little more thoroughly before heading out. I'm not sure i would have chosen it if I knew I'd be walking across the Big Meadows Visitor Center parking lot. But that was just a short section of the hike. I think the hike could be re-routed around the visitor center without adding too much mileage. It would be worth it.
Other than that it was a lovely hike. There was a great combination of lovely Shenandoah vistas and fabulous waterfalls. The highlight of the day was when I had the privelidge of spotting a bear and her cub on the Rose River section of the hike.
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| By:
Patrick
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Date of Hike: Saturday, October 31, 2009 |
We did this hike and it was a good hike for me. There were definitely lots of people on the trail, but not until you got to the second set of falls (where people park in parking lot and make the 1-mile or so trek down and then go back to the cars). But if you do the entire hike- once you reach the bottom- the hike to the top is a long climb. I've hiked a lot, so I was just a little winded, but the others in the party that don't really hike were red in the face and out of breath- so be ready for that. I can't say much about the last fall because the group decided not to do it from being too tired- and I can't blame them.
There is an old copper mine on the trail, but it wasn't anything that I considered too spectacular... but then again it makes sense because they wouldn't just leave a mine open to let you walk in and die in.
Overall- it was a good hike. There are better ones, but if you want to have some nice waterfalls and flowing water- this is one you don't want to miss!
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| By:
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Rating: |
Date of Hike: Thursday, October 01, 2009 |
| Actually hiked August 31- wont let me change the date. Hike was nice. Lots of nice views of falls, particularly Rose River and Dark Hallow. Lewis seem relatively slim after the other wider and more fluid. You dont really feel that remote on this hike though, lots of road crossings, parking lots and tourists. One note, after turning right down the Authorized Vehicle Road, then left on the unmarked yellow blaze trail/horse path, you seemingly take a right at a concrete marker, with no marks, then take this to the blue blazed fire road and take a right.
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| By:
John
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Rating: |
Date of Hike: Sunday, September 27, 2009 |
Lots of bears out today. Wind and rainstorm last night may have shaken lots of acorns down. Saw FOUR bears and numerous deer, all with muzzles to the ground, scarfing up acorns. First 3 bears were a sow and 2 cubs on Skyline Drive, near MP 38. Then on Rose River section of the trail, saw one very large boar about 30-40 feet off the trail. Two other hikers saw a bear on the fire road up near Dark Hollow Falls.
Trail wet and slippery but beautiful nonetheless. Park is getting crowded, as it always does in the fall. Excellent hike, although I only did part of it.
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| By:
Willow
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Date of Hike: Wednesday, September 23, 2009 |
| My boyfriend and I did just the Rose River Loop circuit of the hike this afternoon. The hike was BEAUTIFUL! Until we got to Dark Hollow Falls at the fire road we only saw two other people. I'd like to come back later in the fall when the leaves have a little more color, but it was still a very beautiful hike. We actually saw a mother bear and her cub about 20 ft off the trail. I got really freaked out and kind of panicked the rest of the hike, but I still managed to enjoy the scenery!
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| By:
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Rating: |
Date of Hike: Thursday, April 09, 2009 |
The fog was thick, thick, thick on Skyline which made for a different kind of hike. We started @ the Visitor's Center which I would recommend that since they've got restrooms. Had a great hike meeting very few people even near Dark Hollow Falls because of the weather. Rocks were indeed slippery which added a nice challenge to the day.
Hint: DO NOT take 340 & think you will get into Skyline even though Google shows it possible.
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| By:
Doug Leins
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Date of Hike: Saturday, April 04, 2009 |
| Hiked this loop on a Saturday. The weather was clear, around 50 degrees and very windy in exposed areas. Was worried from some of the other reviews that we might find the trail crowded, but the only place that there were many people at all was the section between Skyline drive and Dark Hollow Falls. Otherwise we saw only a handful the entire hike, despite the good weather. Due to recent rain all the streams were running high making the waterfalls even better. This hike is about 95 percent either ascending or descending, so be prepared. Saw very little wildlife except the deer around the visitor center. Although this trail is listed as 9.3 miles long in the description, my GPS recorded 8.5 miles at the end of the day, including a couple of short side trips.
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| By:
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Rating: |
Date of Hike: Thursday, August 07, 2008 |
| Couldn't have asked for a better day to go hiking. I did this trail in reverse of how it is laid out in the description. I started off at Lewis Falls and ended with the 1000 ft elevation gain that passed Dark Hollow falls. It was extremely tough on the last leg as it was all uphill. The only time I encountered scores of other hikers was near Dark Hollow falls since it is advertised from Skyline, and for the typical passerby easy enough to get out of your car and walk down to see the falls. For most of the time you are secluded in the woods with a few glimpses of neighboring mountains and views below. All three falls were not roaring but beautiful none the less. Happened to run into a black bear cub walking on the trail near lewis falls but never saw its mother. Was very close as I came up on it around a corner (about 20 yds). Soon as I saw it, stopped, slowly walked backwards, once it was out of sight, made a lot of noise and continued on about 20 minues later while making my cell phone ring over and over again until I felt safe. Great trail all round, and highly recommed it.
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| By:
Jon Nicholson
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Rating: |
Date of Hike: Monday, May 12, 2008 |
Overall, a decent hike. The falls are spectacular and the terrain is as expected for the SNP, but the combined circuit is overly populated. We hiked on an abnormally wet and cold May and afternoon and still encountered hordes of hikers. The Lewis Falls portion of the hike was by far the less travelled and it provided the grandest vista, however the overall hike had way too many people for my taste.
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