What a beautiful place. A reclaimed old iron ore mining area, St. Mary's Wilderness has an abundance of diverse scenery from waterfalls, fern forests, open meadows, valley vistas, and high mountain wetlands, in Virginia's largest designated wilderness area. No wonder it's one of the most popular circuit hikes in the northern section of the Blue Ridge Parkway.

I met up with BGordon, a long time reviewer here, and we got started on the trail at about 9:30. The Mine Bank Creek Trail has been cleared and was easy to negotiate, especially near the valley, where the rhododendron gets thicker.

Once past Green Pound, and on the forestry road hike up to Flint Mountain, we met up with Mike who was doing the hike solo, and had left the same starting point just before us. When we caught up with Mike he had just taken this shot of a large Timber Rattlesnake sunning on the road.

One important note if you’re planning on doing this hike, just past the high point of Flint Mountain is a grading area off the road with a small unmarked trail at it’s end. The trail leads to the best vista on the mountain, and as far as I’ve seen, isn’t mentioned in any hiking books for St Mary’s Wilderness. A definite must see.

The remainder of the hike is a pleasant hike down the valley, then back up to the Blue Ridge Parkway. Didn’t make it down to the falls this time, but look forward to doing it next time around.

Laurel Fork is one of the few secluded backcountry areas left in Virginia. With high meadows, wetlands, and the fast running Laurel Fork in the valley, this has to be one of the best backpacks in the region.

The Laurel Fork trails had fallen into poor shape over the past five to ten years, with very faint, if not missing blazes, as well as numerous blowdowns. In conjunction with the USDA Forest Service we reblazed the Locust Spring Run, Locust Spring Run Spur, and Slabcamp Run trails in June 2007, as well as removing the more obstructive blowdowns.

The Slabcamp Run Trail passes through spectacular old growth forest and meadows. Because of its infrequent use, the trail itself is difficult to locate in places, but now can be hiked following the new blaze markings. This gives the route a real backwoods feel where you’re hiking from blaze to blaze, as apposed to following a narrow trail.

If you're a backpacker looking for a secluded hike, I'd highly recommend this circuit. Although we did see another car in the parking area, we didn't see another person all weekend. The whole area has breathtaking scenery.

Douthat State Park is one of Virginia's jewels. Voted as one of the nations 10 best, the park has over 43 miles of trails. With Blue Suck Falls/Tuscarora Overlook and the Beards Mountain loops, the park has two beautiful day hike circuits. The vistas and overlooks at the park are some of the best in the Old Dominion.

We couldn't have asked for a nicer day. The temps were perfect, and it seamed like the views just went on and on. We've been meaning to do this hike for years, but have always put it off for one reason or another. Our loss! Even though the lake, and camping areas of the park were busy, we saw no one on the trails! Not a single person! Can't wait to go back and hike the Beards Mountain loop, as well as the multitude of other trails.

Although there isn't any camping on the trails in Douthat State Park, there are over 75 campsites in two camping areas near the lake, as well as a large group camp area. Douthat State Park is a great place to either tent or trailer camp for a couple of days, and hike the multiple loops available in the valley.

Buzzard Rock on the Massanutten Mountain is just one of several great hikes in the Elizabeth Furnace area near Front Royal. With trails that loop around Signal Knob and down to Mudhole Gap on the western range, plus High Peak, Shawl Gap, and Veach Gap on the eastern range, this is one section of the GWNF full of great hikes!

With the weather passing through the region Saturday we weren’t able to make the complete hike out to the main overlook. About halfway along the ridge we started to hear the first rumblings of thunder on their way in from the southwest. Turned around (didn’t particularly want to be on the exposed ridge during a thunderstorm), and sure enough halfway down to the valley the lightning and downpour started up.

Still this was a nice day to be out in the mountains as the storms kept the temps cool. Next weekend we’re hiking in south central Virginia at one of the Old Dominion’s favorite State Parks, Douthout State Park just north of I64 and Valley Forge. The park has over 43 miles of hiking trails, and was voted one of the nations best. We’ll be reviewing the 8.0 mile loop hike that passes Blue Suck Falls and the Tuscarora overlook. Be sure to check back for the review!

The Overall Run circuit passes one of the largest continuous waterfalls in Virginia. The trails also pass through valley streams and meadows, no wonder this loop is another local hiker favorite.  This is the best time of the year to catch the falls at there highest flow. With the rain we’ve had this spring, the run and falls are at their peak.

Of the hundreds of miles of trails we hike in the region each year, we generally only come across one or two black bears. However, Saturday on the Beecher Ridge portion of the Overall Run Hike, we had three different bear sightings. A cub 20ft up a tree, a juvenile that caught our scent and scrambled down the valley, and a large adult of about 400lbs wandering around one of the hollows along the ridge.

Most people start this loop from the parking area at the top near the Mathews Arm Campgroup. However, this loop version starts from the valley at the end of VA630.  Heading upstream on Overall Run provides better views of the falls, and you also get the steep climb out of the way at the beginning of the hike.