Overall Run slips into a turquoise pool in the northern district of Shenandoah National Park, Va. (Compass Points Media / flickr) http://www.flickr.com/photos/compasspointsmedia/ / CC BY-ND 2.0
Color is the most striking part of this 9.7-mile loop along Overall Run in Shenandoah National Park’s northern district. After steeply descending the Virginia mountain ridge for a little more than four and a half miles, you arrive in a wooded valley where the stream slips over smooth rock to create the turquoise pool in the photo above.
Find this pool in the summer, and take a cool dip. See this in winter, and enjoy the ice, the sound of water on stone, the mysterious color of the pool and the isolated solitude.
DIRECTIONS: Find the trailhead for Tuscarora-Overall Run Trail in the ampitheater parking lot in Matthews Arm Campground. The campground is located between mile markers 22 and 23.
A blue blaze marks the Overall Run Trail in Shenandoah National Park, Va. (Compass Points Media / flickr) http://www.flickr.com/photos/compasspointsmedia/ / CC BY-ND 2.0
HIKE ON: Give your legs a good stretch because this hike will be a muscle burner, but well worth the effort. Start on the Traces Trail for a little more than half a mile, then turn left onto the blue-blazed Tuscarora-Overall Run Trail. The path descends into Bear Wallow, which can be swampy due to a series of streams crossing the trail. Arrive at a pair of waterfalls – Upper Falls and Overall Run Falls – after a little more than two miles, hopefully full of water. Then spot a rock outcrop with views of Massanutten Mountain to the west. The trail drops fast for more than a thousand feet over about 1.3 miles to where the path finds level ground. Watch for several stream crossings, and at mile 4.6, stay left on the Overall Run Trail as the Tuscarora Trail branches off and begins its journey northward toward Pennsylvania. Watch for a sidetrail to the pool mentioned above. Continue on the Overall Run Trail for half a mile to a cement post, where you turn left onto the Overall-Beecher Connecting Trail. Cross Overall Run and begin a steep ascent as you have about 2,000 feet to climb to return to your car. At mile 5.8, go left onto the yellow-blaze Beecher Ridge Trail and 0.8 mile later, turn left onto the Heiskell Hollow Trail. This path ascends for 2.6 miles to a service road, where you turn left and follow to return to your car.
