Seated along Hogcamp Branch in Shenandoah National Park, Va. (Compass Points Media / flickr) http://www.flickr.com/photos/compasspointsmedia/ / CC BY-ND 2.0
Yeah, we know Shenandoah National Park in northern Virginia has a well-earned reputation for mountain vistas along Skyline Drive and the Appalachian Trail. What’s just as idyllic, however, are those blue-blazed side trails into the hollows and along the rivers plunging off the Blue Ridge. And you won’t have to filter out the sound of traffic to enjoy the sound of rushing water against stone.
Try this 4.6-mile day hike to see what I mean. The path dives off Skyline Drive into a ravine cut by the Rose River, complete with a 67-f0ot cascade. Then as this hike takes you back up toward the ridgetop, you come across one of the most impressive waterfalls in the entire state of Virginia – 70-foot high Dark Hollow Falls. Neither of these waterfalls can been seen from Skyline Drive, and the famous roadway certainly can’t match the quiet solitude of these ravines.
Dark Hollow Falls tumbles 70 feet near Skyline Drive in Shenandoah National Park. (Compass Points Media / flickr) http://www.flickr.com/photos/compasspointsmedia/ / CC BY-ND 2.0
DIRECTIONS: Find the trailhead for the Rose River Loop Trail at Fishers Gap along Skyline Drive between mileposts 49 and 50 within Shenandoah National Park’s Central District. The park charges $10 per vehicle from December to February and $15 for the rest of the year. The price of admission gives you access to the park for an entire week.
HIKE ON: The start of the Rose River Loop Trail is across Skyline Drive. Descend into the forest staying right at the junction with the Skyland-Big Meadows Horse Trail, arriving at the top of Rose River Falls after 1.2 miles. The trail continues to descend along the Rose River, bending to the right where it meets after 1.7 miles the Hogcamp Branch. Keep your eyes open for an abandoned copper mine to the right as you begin ascending the ridge. By now, you have descended a total of about 700 feet since you left your car, and you’re going to have to make up for it. The trail follows the Hogcamp Branch as it moves up a lush ravine. At a junction with the Rose River Fire Road, stay left and arrive at Dark Hollow Falls after 0.3 mile. Snap photos, eat lunch, then backtrack to the Rose River Fire Road, which veers steeply up the Blue Ridge for less than a quarter mile back to Skyline Drive and your car.
