The hills are steep at times and feel I got a pretty good workout, and I'm in good shape.  I hiked the entire thing, including all of the side trails and loops inbetween.  There was not another human being on the entire mountain the whole time I was there!  Just the solitude I needed and was my whole purpose for choosing this mountain.  Lots of scat, of which was either deer or bear, not sure and the only annoyance I had the entire time was about every 50 feet or so I was running into spider webs which I constantly had to wipe off all afternoon (little black and white spiders sometimes too).  Interesting...  This definately is a trail for the fall or winter, as I didn't see any views described because of the time of year it is.  The descent I found more challenging than the initial cilmb.  All in all a pleasant day that left me with a good appetitle when I was done.

Enjoyed this hike, although at this time of year it was completely enclosed in leaf cover with no views to speak of.  It was nice to be out in the cool forest, but there were times when you felt you were just mindlessly following rabbit trails around with no purpose.  We did this with moderate exertion in a little over two hours.  There were no difficult rock scrambles or anything, but in places it was steep enough that it would have been challenging for kids who are not regular hikers, or anyone who is looking for just a nice stroll in the woods.  We did the 5.2 mile loop, which we manually traced on the map before leaving home, and also followed the step-by-step directions to the letter.  There were a couple of times when there were debates about which way to go, but we ended up having no wrong turns.  One of the first intersections after leaving the yellow marked trail was a little hard to discern because the intersecting trail on the left was somewhat overgrown, so watch out  for that.  We saw one other small group of hikers and a small frog.

I really enjoyed this hike, more than I thought I would.  It was just tough enough to make me sweat but not too much to make me not enjoy the time out.  At just an hour from where I live, it is perfect.  I would recommend this to anyone in NOVA/DC area.  You can't beat the proximity that goes along with the remoteness

There are some good views from this hike but nothing spectacular and most likely very little when the leaves are on the trees.  There are a lot of interesting stone outcroppings and some creeks that needed crossing but I stayed dry.

There are maybe a half a dozen stone walls along the hike that used to serve as boundaries for a bunch of small farms that existed in the area during the 18th and 19th centuries.  You'll also come across both the small "Spring House" and the Smith house which is an old farm house that they have maintained.  I didn't know what the rules were for the house so I didn't explore it.

Wildcat Mountain is a great place to be out in nature.  I hiked this on a beautiful Saturday and only ran into a couple of people.

The main Wildcat Trail is only about 2.2 miles but you can go off on the longer loop that is recommended and you will enjoy it.  The whole area is a labrynth of trails so you could potentially create your own hike.

Like any time you go out into the woods, you should always bring a map.  It amazes me how many people I've seen on here who complain about the "confusing" trails at various hikes and how they got lost.  Always always always have a map with you.  While most of the trails in this area are decently marked, some intersections were not either because the sign had fallen down or whatever.  If you have a map, you'll do alright.

I can't really say anything bad about this hike.  Some might not like it because it doesn't have all that many great views or because its not strenuous.  I will definitely make this one of my regular hikes!

Volunteer Preserve Visitation Committee Members NEEDED at Wildcat Mountain!

THE NATURE CONSERVANCY
We need your eyes, ears and muscles!  With many preserves to manage around the Commonwealth, it's not always possible to monitor them as often as we'd like. Our goal is to form volunteer visitation committees at our public access preserves to conduct routine surveys of the preserve and note visitor activities. Committee members will also help to remove debris, fallen branches or overgrown vegetation from trails as needed with hand tools. We are looking for long-term committed people to monitor between 4 and 6 times a year.

Please contact Jennifer Rich, volunteer coordinator, at (434) 951-0572 or jrich@tnc.org to receive further information about these committees.

New positions are available at: Wildcat Mountain Preserve.

Positions also available at: Fortune's Cove Preserve (Nelson County), Alexander Berger Preserve (Spotsylvania County), Fraser Preserve (Fairfax County) and Bottom Creek Gorge Preserve (Montgomery County), Voorhees Preserve (Westmoreland County) and Falls Ridge Preserve (Montgomery County).

No complaints with this hike.  If you're looking for a relaxing stroll through the woods with limited physical exertion Wildcat Mountain is the hike for you.  The hike does seem to have grown in popularity however following its Hiking Upward debut.  We were excited over the 6 for solitude, but found the parking lot full.  We hiked in the opposite direction from the suggested route to avoid overtaking the groups in front of us.

Word the the wise- If you're looking for a dog friendly hike, as we were, please note that dogs are not allowed on the trial.  We had no choice but to bring our dog along on the hike, but we kept the leash handy.  We encountered others on the trial who faced the same predicament- after an hour long drive from DC we could not leave the dog in the car. 

All of that aside, Wildcat Mountain is a lovely hike.