Hikes
We encourage you and your family to get out and enjoy the abundant scenery, trails, wildlife, and solitude our Wilderness areas and proposed Wilderness and National Scenic Areas offer. We are sharing some of our own favorite spots, focusing on areas that are kid- and family-friendly.
We encourage you to follow leave no trace ethics on every visit to the Forest.
Live in or near Staunton/Harrisonburg? We have created a new brochure that highlights three Wilderness areas (Shenandoah, Ramseys Draft, and St. Mary's) all less than an hour drive from Staunton/Harrisonburg. You can find it by clicking on the above highlighted Wilderness areas or by downloading the following file:
We encourage you to follow leave no trace ethics on every visit to the Forest.
Live in or near Staunton/Harrisonburg? We have created a new brochure that highlights three Wilderness areas (Shenandoah, Ramseys Draft, and St. Mary's) all less than an hour drive from Staunton/Harrisonburg. You can find it by clicking on the above highlighted Wilderness areas or by downloading the following file:
| Find Wilderness Near Harrisonburg |
Proposed Shenandoah Mountain National Scenic Area Hikes
The following hikes are on Shenandoah Mountain, west of Staunton/Bridgewater/Harrisonburg in the George Washington National Forest. All maps were created with ESRI ArcGIS software that was provided to assist our work via a generous grant.
For additional information regarding visitation to the National Forest, visit the George Washington and Jefferson National Forest web site. A good map of these areas is the Trails Illustrated/National Geographic map for "Staunton - Shenandoah Mtn". It can be purchased from the North River Ranger Station or from any outdoor store.
- Hidden Rocks 3.3-mile trail out and back. Near Hone Quarry Recreation Area west of Bridgewater
- Shenandoah Mountain Trail-Jerrys Run to Sexton Cabin 6-mile trail out and back. Starts at top of Shenandoah Mountain on Rt. 250 west of Staunton
- High Knob 3-mile trail out and back. Starts at top of Shenandoah Mountain on Rt. 33 west of Harrisonburg
- Trimble Mountain Trail and Todd Lake 4-mile loop trail. Near Todd Lake Recreation Area southwest of Bridgewater
- Johnson Draft Trail / Braley Branch Trail / Braley Pond 2.5-mile or 1-mile loop trails. Near Rt. 250 17 miles west of Staunton.
- Reddish Knob / / Headwaters of North River 1.5-mile trail (or longer) out and back. Top of Shenandoah Mountain west of Bridgewater
- North River Gorge 4.5-mile trail one-way. 13 miles southwest of Bridgewater.
- Hone Quarry Ridge 5.1-mile loop trail. Hone Quarry Recreation area west of Bridgewater.
- Wild Oak Trail from Camp Todd to Little Bald Knob 6-mile trail out and back. 22 miles southwest of Bridgewater.
- Hardscrabble Knob 7-mile trail out and back. 22 miles southwest of Bridgewater.
For additional information regarding visitation to the National Forest, visit the George Washington and Jefferson National Forest web site. A good map of these areas is the Trails Illustrated/National Geographic map for "Staunton - Shenandoah Mtn". It can be purchased from the North River Ranger Station or from any outdoor store.