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| By:
Bob Siegel
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Rating:  |
Date of Hike: Sunday, November 24, 2019 |
| Nice easy hike. Plenty of parking in a fairly big parking area off of 605. 605 itself is all gravel and quite steep in a few places. A vehicle with good ground clearance is preferable to a sedan. The trail in good shape, no blow downs blocking it anywhere. Very nice view from the top.
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| By:
Julie
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Rating:  |
Date of Hike: Saturday, August 24, 2019 |
| Ok so first, the parking for Hollow Brook IS on Morgan Mill Rd. They have NO PARKING signs for the actual road but they have an entrance that you can drive up and actually park near/ in front of the trail entrance. I wasn't sure what to expect after reading that you couldn't park on Morgan Mill Rd anymore but I figured I'd give it a shot and see... Anyways, Im glad I did because this is probably one of my favorite places now. My husband and I took our two boys (5 and 3) and they did great. It's a beautiful hike.. definitely recommend it!
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| By:
Syd
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Rating:  |
Date of Hike: Monday, May 27, 2019 |
| We really enjoyed this hike. It was a little muddy, we went after it had rained like a lot of people suggested so we weren't surprised by the mud. We went super early to get out of the heat. A lot of incline/decline but overall we had a fabulous time.
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| By:
Heidi W
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Rating: |
Date of Hike: Sunday, February 24, 2019 |
| Fantastic hike for clearing out the winter cobwebs, so to speak. Took my 13 yo niece and I about 3 hours, but we spent quite a bit of time at the vista and the main waterfall. Area had quite a bit of rain the few days before, so trail was quite muddy in several spots...(we were prepared for muddy, so not a big deal.) The plus side of all the rain was that the waterfall had tons of water. Also looked like the winter/storm has been hard on this trail. A lot of fallen trees across several spots on the trail. Nothing spring clean up crews won't be able to take care of...also nothing you can't navigate around. I've already recommended this hike to several friends.
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| By:
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Rating: |
Date of Hike: Tuesday, December 25, 2018 |
| We hiked this trail on Christmas Day with only a few hours of light remaining. Took us 2.5 hours, which included an hour of stopping to snap photos and take in the views. Was an easy effort, and we got a mountain stream, rocks and boulders, and a vista at the turnaround!
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| By:
Rob
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Rating: |
Date of Hike: Friday, November 23, 2018 |
| The No Parking signs on Morgan Mill Road are intimidating but we found plenty of space to park when we arrived around 10:00am. When we were done around 1:30 there were still some spots and looked like others even parked on Morgan Mill a few hundred feet from the trailhead.
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| By:
Kim
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Rating: |
Date of Hike: Saturday, November 10, 2018 |
| Please be aware that there are now posted No Parking signs along Morgan’s Mill Road on both sides of the road on either side of the trailhead. We were parked fully off of the road and were hoping we were far enough away from the trailhead not to be impacted, but we came back to find a $30 ticket on the windshield. There were at least a dozen cars there when we started our hike if they were all ticketed, Clarke County has a nice little revenue generator on pretty weekend afternoons. Such a shame because it is a nice hike and there are a number of parking spots like the one we had that are fully off the road and not impeding traffic. Hope the local environmental groups and the PATC can work with Clarke County to find a reasonable parking solution for this trailhead.
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| By:
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Rating: |
Date of Hike: Saturday, November 3, 2018 |
| Very nice waterfall, but parking was a bit of confusion. Evidently, the week before the county placed no parking signs near the trail head with signs not to park between the No Parking signs. But there were 4-6 No Parking signs so it was confusing. We were told the county would give tickets. Also at the trail head, there are no indication of which way to begin. You can go up from the road or down from the road. The waterfall is on the upward trail of the AT if that is what you're there to see. When going up, you'll cross a stream and the waterfall is to the right. There is a smaller lower fall, but a larger fall by a huge bolder if you hike farther up, so don' stop at the lower falls.
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| By:
Terri V
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Rating: |
Date of Hike: Sunday, July 29, 2018 |
| I have been battling some foot issues, so decided to try this one as my first hike out in several months. Thanks to the recent rains, the waterfall was flowing very nicely for late July. While the view from Buzzard Hill is not spectacular, it is a really pleasant spot to sit and relax and have a snack. The last climb up to Buzzard Hill was a bit more taxing than I had anticipated, but this was a great hike to get me back into the groove. I was surprised by the roughness and narrowness of Morgan’s Mill Road - and there were not many parking spots left when I got there at 8:30am.
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| By:
Chris
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Rating: |
Date of Hike: Saturday, September 9, 2017 |
| Nice and easy.The waterfall was little but never mind. Not too many people when I started around 9am but when on my way back at 11am I met a lot of noisy people.
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| By:
Chris
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Rating: |
Date of Hike: Saturday, September 9, 2017 |
To answer to Mike.
Take the Morgans Mill Road, State Road 605.
The gate you describe is a private property !
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| By:
Mike H.
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Rating: |
Date of Hike: Saturday, September 9, 2017 |
Trail is still open, I saw the gate and signs I think you saw but if you just keep driving about another half mile or so, you would see where some cars are parked.
Great little trail about 30 min outside of Leesburg. Wife and I spent a couple hours doing this hike before hitting a couple of wineries. It had rained just a few days earlier, so waterfall was flowing nicely. Perfectly clear day so also had a nice view at the summit. Would definitely recommend if you're looking to do a hike without driving too far or taking all day. Not too crowded, about 6-7 cars when we got there and only 3 when we left.
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| By:
Mike
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Rating:  |
Date of Hike: Wednesday, August 16, 2017 |
| The trail appears to be closed, there is a closed gate blocking any entry to Hollow brook Ln. and very large no trespassing sign where Ebenezer meets Hollow Brook. Does any one know of another access point?
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| By:
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Rating: |
Date of Hike: Saturday, October 29, 2016 |
| Great hike! I parked around 8:30am and was the first car there. When I left around 12, there were about 6 cars total. First stretch of the hike is a nice and easy incline and decline to the stream. Shoot off to the right and upstream for the waterfalls. The waterfalls were nice and relaxing but wish there was more water flowing. I'd like to go back after a big rain. Back on the AT, it was a nice climb up to the summit. A few challenging parts and some rocky stretches. Nice view from atop but nothing to write home about. I continued on for another 2 miles to the top of the next ridge which was a nice peaceful trail. Very few people on the trail early Saturday morning at the end of October.
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| By:
Angela B
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Rating: |
Date of Hike: Sunday, July 17, 2016 |
| Perfect hike for one of those days when you don't have a lot of time. Took us about 20 minutes to get there from Purcellville. Really easy access, and no crowds. We only saw four other hikers, which was nice. I'm really surprised this one isn't more popular! The hike wasn't difficult at all, and the waterfall was easy to find...very peaceful, but not a lot of water this time of year. I plan to make this one of my regular hikes, so I'm looking forward to going in the Spring when the waterfall should be heavier. We're also thinking of hiking from Hollow Brook over to Bear's Den, which I think is a little over six miles.
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| By:
Jo Jo
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Rating: |
Date of Hike: Sunday, July 3, 2016 |
| We had a beautiful day to hike today. We hadn't been to this area of the AT or this trail. We absolutely loved it. We went with two families which had 4 adults and 5 kids ranging from 8 to 15. It was a perfect hike for all levels. The kids loved following the creek up to the falls and up past it. Hiking and climbing the rocks. The water wasn't very high so they got to climb in the riverbed a lot. We then made it up to the summit and it was totally worth it. Beautiful view! The trail was easy with some parts that were challenging. Great workout, great fun, and great view. The path is rocky a times and then perfectly packed and flat during other times. The whole hike is covered so no hot sun burning down on you. Parking was on the gravel road which our mighty corolla had a tricky time getting up the gravel hill to the AT trailhead. But it made it and there seemed to be enough room to park on the side of the road. There were not a lot of cars there so I guess it could fill up if it was busy. The trail was not very busy. We definitely passed people but when we were at the creek/waterfall we were pretty much alone. Just a hop, skip, and jump from Winchester. Perfect!
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| By:
Biscuits
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Rating: |
Date of Hike: Sunday, May 22, 2016 |
| We got out in the rain today. The trail was in great shape and not rocky like it is further North. Unfortunately, with the clouds, we didn't get any great views. The falls are well hidden, but nice. The road down from Mt Weather should be is 1 1/2 lanes wide and not very easy without a 4x4 if its wet.
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| By:
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Rating: |
Date of Hike: Saturday, April 16, 2016 |
LOVED this hike. Took my 11 year old brother backpacking for the first time and wanted something short and easy with good on the trail campsites and great views. That is exactly what this trail was. We did park exactly where this map told us to and went to the overlook and came back which put us at just about 3 miles. There were only a few steep rocky parts of the trail but even with backpacking packs on it only took us about 10-15 minutes to do each of the short spurts that were more difficult.
We ended up camping right past the waterfall so that we could hear it at night which was fantastic. If you go past the waterfall and up the hill off to the right of the trail about 50 feet is a set of campsites that are hard to recognize from the trail. As soon as you go over that way you will notice some trees surrounding the campsites and then you will see two fire rings within 30 feet of eachother. This campsite was fantastic for multiple tents. We easily fit two 2-person tents and could have fit at least a few more close by. I wouldn't suggest larger tents as there were a lot of rocks/roots to avoid which was easy to do with a few small tents but could have been more difficult with a larger tent.
The views were stunning. The waterfall is not as large as I thought from the picture, although it has not rained recently. The overlook, unlike others said, was stunning! Many overlooks are blocked by trees being in the way but not here. At the top is the perfect tree to sit in and relax and you can see the entire valley from the perfect sitting branch. I will definitely be returning to camp at the top of the summit and watch the sunrise here sometime in the fall.
Fantastic hike! Highly recommended especially if you are looking for a quick easy backpacking adventure to get you started.
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| By:
The Dazzlers
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Rating: |
Date of Hike: Saturday, December 12, 2015 |
| This weather this weekend was unbelievably warm for the middle of December. It's an easy hike and the falls were quite spectacular, especially with no leaves on the trees. Perfect beginner hike for kids.
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| By:
aldikuma
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Rating: |
Date of Hike: Sunday, November 22, 2015 |
| Hiking this reminded me that I'm not a big fan of out and backs, but it was a nice hike overall. The solitude rating should be a 2, though. The waterfall is pretty. If you're looking for a short hike and a good workout, this is a good one. View from the top is beautiful.
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| By:
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Rating: |
Date of Hike: Wednesday, October 7, 2015 |
| Have done this hike many times. Very nice, lots to see (Waterfall, views, old foundations) and usually uncrowded. The Waterfall side hike is excellent if there's been rain lately. Even in dry weather it's worth it.
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| By:
Barbara
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Rating: |
Date of Hike: Saturday, September 26, 2015 |
| Peaceful hike. Not a strenuous hike but relaxing. Very dog friendly. We have not had much rain in the past few weeks and therefore the waterfall was minimal but still worth the 90 yards off path to see it. (very safe off trail 90 yards). Once passing Hollow Brook you climb up to Buzzard Rock. You do think you might have arrived at the summit but keep going just up and around the corner is a nice camp area with a firepit for your lunch break and then head another 75 yards up to the left to the Real Summit. Very pretty view.
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| By:
Jeff
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Rating: |
Date of Hike: Sunday, August 23, 2015 |
| Out with a group of 6 adults with 9 kids ages 6-12 and it was the perfect length for them. We enjoyed the waterfall as well as lunch at the top of Buzzard Hill. We ran into a few others on the trail, but it was mostly empty. Definitely a great starter hike for those wanting to try out a short hike through the woods. Took us about 3 hours from start to finish.
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| By:
Kevin
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Rating: |
Date of Hike: Saturday, April 5, 2014 |
Great Spring day for a hike with my little beginner (11 yr old). Temps hovered around 60deg.F with sun and small breeze. This hike was a perfect one for those beginning their hiking journey.
Beginning with a short uphill that levels off then slightly decends to the Falls which at about 1/2 the distance in had plenty of water this time of year.
From here it was another small ascent to a more level pace where you come upon an old "homestead" site. Nothing more than a stacked rock foundation at this point, it is an interesting site none the less as you walk right through it. From here you soon reach the short but steep and rocky ascent to the peak. My 11yr old daughter didn't like all the rocks in this section, but more adventurous kids would love jumping from rock to rock.
Definite recommend hike.
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| By:
Vikky C
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Rating: |
Date of Hike: Saturday, August 17, 2013 |
Parking is no problem if you get there early. Trail head is on the right, going uphill. Stream crossing was nice, the waterfall this time of year didn't have much water. The side trail to get to the waterfall is very overgrown.
Make sure you go all the way to the summit, its a nice view. Saw lots of wildlife which we were happy about. Overall a nice hike.
No issues with ticks, but lots of spiderwebs!!!
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| By:
Tim
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Rating: |
Date of Hike: Sunday, April 7, 2013 |
| We took this hike on the first beautiful day of spring. We brought along our two pups for their first hike. The hike to the waterfall was great. We spent way longer than expected climbing the rocks and just enjoying ourselves. We then proceeded to the summit for a beautiful view. Nice little leg stretcher to start the hiking season
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| By:
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Rating: |
Date of Hike: Sunday, March 3, 2013 |
| Easy hike for experienced hikers, but moderate for people who haven't been out in some time. It was a little muddy on portions of the trail, but overall a nice trail. The waterfall was spectacular as there was ice on the rocks and the water was flowing beneath the ice. The large rocks by the stream is a great place to rest or have lunch. We took our time on this trail as we haven't been hiking for some time and it took us about 2.5 - 3 hours including rests, stopping to eat, and taking some time at the summit. We only encountered a couple of hikers on the trail the entire time. Overall a very nice hike.
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| By:
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Rating: |
Date of Hike: Sunday, February 24, 2013 |
This hike was exactly what I was looking for: a relatively remote location where I/my dog could get away from the hustle and bustle/crowds that typically accompany trails on nice days, a solid 2-3 hours of hiking (with stops), a few streams for my dog to get a drink and cool off, a pretty view as a pay-off at the top, and relatively easy to navigate/not get lost.
I didn't think the trail head was difficult to find, but it was definitely much farther down the gravel road than I thought it would be. On nice days like the day I went, there will be cars parked around the trail head so it's obvious where it starts. After reading reviews I was a little nervous to drive my toyota corolla down the gravel road, and it was certainly steep...would not have tried it with any amount of wet mud/snow/ice (and a local walking her dog told me people often get stuck when there are wintery conditions). But on a 50-degree, nice day, I had no trouble getting down/back up the road.
Most importantly to me, this trail is DOG-FRIENDLY. And when I say dog-friendly, I mean off-leash dog-friendly. I didn't encounter one person who bristled at the site of my dog trotting ahead of me off-leash to greet fellow hikers, and I saw a couple of people with their dogs off-leash as well.
I still am not completely sure if I found the right "unblazed trail" to the waterfall...even though it rained the day before, the water was pretty low, and the trail I took to the base didn't really offer great views of what I think was the main waterfall. Maybe this was because the water was just low that day, so I couldn't really see it amidst the rocks and trees. Other hikers were standing up at the top of the waterfall on rocks, and I have no idea how they got there. This wasn't part of the directions I read but I'm sure they had a better view than I did. The summit was a nice surprise--very pretty view and nice little spot to take a rest, have lunch, etc.
I am not in the best shape as of now, and this hike was definitely more of a workout than I bargained for--if you are similarly not in your best physical form, this will certainly get your heartrate going and satisfy your workout requirement for the day. There are many sections of incline, moderate and steep, but there also many flat portions as well, so it is manageable and enjoyable. I also saw people who looked to be in great shape doing the trail, and even a few runners...so I think this is a great hike for all fitness levels.
All in all a beautiful, off-the-beaten-path trail to enjoy some solitude, nature, and get some exercise! Totally worth the drive (it took me about an hour from Reston, VA).
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| By:
Tom
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Rating: |
Date of Hike: Sunday, February 24, 2013 |
| I did this (minus the side trip to the main waterfall, which I did not know about at the time) after the Ashby Hollow hike. Views are better than on the Ashby Hollow hike, but I encountered no people on that hike, and many people on this one. One comment I have is that the overlook area is not the true summit of Buzzard Hill - but I suspect few people are interested in the true summit, anyway.
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| By:
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Rating: |
Date of Hike: Saturday, November 17, 2012 |
| Good short hike with a couple good inclines going both ways. This would be a good hike for younger children to the falls and back. Good view at the end of the line with a cool looking snarly tree growing out of a bed of rocks. The other really cool thing on the trail other than the falls was the remains of an old cabin or one room structure. I saw one other group of hikers on the trail and there were a couple more cars in the parking area than when I started. All in all, I&rsquom happy with the hike.
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| By:
Brian
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Rating: |
Date of Hike: Friday, June 29, 2012 |
| Very nice and easy hike. Great for everyone, including children. Heard and saw a black bear just uphill from the actual waterfall. The unmarked trail in the trail directions is very easy to spot so you shouldn't get lost too easily.
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| By:
Michelle
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Rating: |
Date of Hike: Saturday, April 14, 2012 |
| Got there around 1pm and several cars but not too busy. It took about two hours to the overlook and back, including short break. Saw lots of small blueberry bushes flowering near the peak. Looks like thre was a fire a few years ago, some regrowth coming back in. There is a bouldering rock about 30 minutes into the hike near a small creek. Not somewhere i would travel to get to, but a nice diversion for locals, espeially in spring.
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| By:
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Rating: |
Date of Hike: Saturday, February 18, 2012 |
| We were the first people in the parking area at about 9:30am. The white trail blazes were far and few in-between but the path is well travelled so there was never any chance of getting lost. All but one downed tree was cleared by PATC so other than the rocky ascent up Buzzard Hill there were no difficult parts of the trail to traverse. There was plenty of water flowing in the stream but the water fall is not visible from the AT, so it was a good thing we read the Hiking Upward review before our hike - otherwise we would have walked past it without noticing.
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| By:
John
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Rating: |
Date of Hike: Sunday, December 4, 2011 |
| Pretty good day on the trail. Trail head could be better marked I guess but once you see the trail of cars parked on the side of the road you shouldn't have a problem. A bit rockier than I expected. Take care with slippery rocks crossing the "falls". I guess that goes without saying. Beautiful view at the top.
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| By:
NathanT
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Rating: |
Date of Hike: Saturday, December 3, 2011 |
| Earlier reviews commented on the downed trees, so we were ready to climb over deadfalls, but PATC has done a great job of clearing the trail. The waterfall was nice, and climbing on the rocks was an enjoyable break too. My wife and I only had a few hours to do this hike as we couldn't get to the start until at least 1pm. We enjoyed the waterfall for a bit, then continued on to the top of Buzzard Hill, and still had time to get out of the woods before dark. Good day hike for us!
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| By:
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Rating: |
Date of Hike: Sunday, November 13, 2011 |
| Lot's of blow downs along the trail. Saw one hiker the whole trip. The waterfall was flowing and made for a pleasant stop along the way. This is an easy hike and a great view on the summit! Just past the waterfall area on the way out watch out for an area where the blazes are missing. Trail leads up the hill and with the blow downs and heavy leaf litter this year it's easy top lose the trail.
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| By:
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Rating:  |
Date of Hike: Wednesday, November 2, 2011 |
| My husband and I were looking for a nice day hike on a warm fall day. We decided on this hike since it mentioned a waterfall and it was close by. The "road" to reach this hike is dirt and some gravel and fairly steep in spots. We just kept following the directions we had printed out and finally found what we figured was the "parking area" It was actually just a small cleared area for pulling off the very sparsely traveled road. No one else was there which we figured was due to it being in the middle of the week. This proved to be a huge plus in that our small dog could walk along with us without a leash.
We found the trail head and started our hike on some well laid out timber steps. We figured on this being a well cleared and maintained path but found quite the opposite. Due to the recent snow storm, there were trees down everywhere as well as all over the path. We found it almost impossible to find the path at times and wandered about looking for it. Several times, we almost turned back. The tree litter definitely made a moderate workout of a hike into a challenge as we climbed over and under and detoured around trees at every turn. We did make it to the waterfall which was less than spectacular with little water at that time. Continuing on we made it to the summit and found it less than spectacular also. The old tree there was neat but the view was partially obscured by trees. We were lucky that most had lost their leaves so that we could see through them. All in all it was a great work out and gave us a chance to enjoy the beautiful fall day and get some great exercise with our dog.
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| By:
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Rating: |
Date of Hike: Saturday, October 15, 2011 |
| A good overall hike way too short ran into a lot of other hikers plus the parking lot was full of cars when we arrived at 10. We did the hike in 2 hrs 30 min with long breaks at the waterfall for pictures. The summit was so not worth it except for the calorie burn. The fall was nice but with all the people you almost have just enough time to take the picture the need to keep it moving.
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| By:
Dukes1
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Rating: |
Date of Hike: Sunday, October 9, 2011 |
| Over all this was a nice hike. The waterfall had some water flowing over it but would be really impressive after a nice rain storm. I will hike this one again in the spring. The second part of this hike was relatively boring. Once we reached the summit we unimpressed as it has an obstructed view with many tall trees. A handful of trees started to change color but it's still early to look for fall foliage. We did this hike with our 6 month old so it's a good hike to do with a kid in a backpack.
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| By:
Jenn
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Rating: |
Date of Hike: Friday, June 17, 2011 |
| Not much to add to the previous reviews, just to agree that this is a WONDERFUL hike! Found the trail head fairly easy...just used the mapquest directions and the mileage counter on my car. Very easy, quick hike with more of a waterfall than we were expecting. Slight uphill on the way in and back, but nothing too terrible. The warerfall was great...we really enjoyed exploring the area right around it and doing a little rock climbing. Definitly reccomend this hike!
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| By:
wazootraveller
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Rating: |
Date of Hike: Sunday, March 13, 2011 |
| A great little hike. Recent rains meant waterfalls were quite spectacular. Main downside was that the path up the ridge overlooking the falls was muddy and slippery --- indeed, the only thing remotely challenging on this hike, which was otherwise extremely gentle. Also, no issues at all with the directions: the coordinates for the trail head given on this site were right on target with Garmin!
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| By:
Pete and his dog Jordie
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Rating: |
Date of Hike: Tuesday, March 8, 2011 |
| I hiked to the falls today after work. The gravel road there is Dolly-Sodsesque in the fact that it's gravel, really narrow, quite steep, and there is a steep cliff immediately off of one of the shoulders. Finding the Appalachian trail here is a little difficult. You have to look for a group of small parking areas and at one point you can see one marker on the right side of the road (white). I lucked out in the fact that a woman walking three dogs parked right as I was passing the trail. I asked her if this was the "hike with the falls" and she told me yes. That said, the falls are really not quite on the trail. After cresting the mountain, you head down into the hollow, where you run into the stream. Once there, you don't have a trail to pick up to get to the falls, you just turn right and follow the stream. The falls right now were well worth the effort. Because of the recent rains they are quite large with multiple sections of cascading water. There is a portion that makes it appear that you have reached the top (right under the large rocks). However if you keep going up there are a few more places that you can see more waterfalls and they were pretty cool too. The great thing about this area is that finding different ways to see the falls is really easy. The stream(s) are really easy to cross and you can literally get right on top on the falls. If you want to see them from above, you can easily get on top of the large rocks on the ridge and see the falls from about 30-40 feet in the air. It was a surprisingly nice little excursion very close to Winchester that once found is not hard to get to and has a pretty big payoff for going...
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| By:
Cor
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Rating: |
Date of Hike: Friday, March 4, 2011 |
The pictures don't do the waterfall justice. I was expecting some tiny falls, that weren't really worth the hike, but it was actually rather nice. I'm sure it looks amazing after a good rain and all the streams are full. I can't wait to see it in the spring when everything is green again.
Overall, it was a pretty easy hike that didn't take too long. I enjoyed it a lot.
Oh, Morgan Mill rd isn't anything to worry about. My beetle made it there just fine so I'm sure your subcompact hybrid will too :)
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| By:
N & L
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Rating: |
Date of Hike: Saturday, October 2, 2010 |
| We got lost a bit on the drive there - but it was a pleasant drive nonetheless.
We overshot the parking area, as the trailhead wasn't that easy to see from the gravel road. There were a couple of cars parked there so we soon figured it out. A couple of steps up from the trailhead we were sure we found the trail - an Appalaichan Trail sign was posted on the tree!
It was a beautiful cool, sunny day, and the diverse trees made for a very nice hike. The trail was slightly downhill until we crossed the creek. After that there were a few areas that made us huff and puff just a bit, but we really liked all the various plants and trees we saw. Such a lovely day!
The summit of the hike was located after we overshot it a bit - we wanted to make sure we were not veering off the trail too early, so we started walking down the trail only to come back up. After a bit of rest on the tree pictured in one of the pics (in the map) we headed back - and climbed up towards the nice waterfall too. I was expecting more water - especially since it had rained so much in the past few days - but it was still quite loud!
We encountered only 5 people during the hike so it made for quite a peaceful afternoon too. Overall a nice hike!
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| By:
Tyler
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Rating: |
Date of Hike: Saturday, August 28, 2010 |
| Did this hike last weekend and had a great time. We camped on Saturday Night at the base of the first waterfall. The water was surprisingly clear. The hike was short but the quick changes in elevation increased the difficulty. I would recommend this hike the beginners and intermediate hikers.
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| By:
Andrew H
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Rating: |
Date of Hike: Thursday, August 19, 2010 |
Did this hike with my 8 an 9 year olds today. Fun hike - a few tips
We did it a day after a good 2 inches of rain and the falls were running well, but not overwhelming so we could climb up the rocks to the top - warning, good hiking boots a must on the wet rocks if you choose to do this.
The road leading up to the trail head is loose gravel and quite steep in places for a good few miles. In many places, not room for more than one vehicle and the edges of the road drop off steeply in places. We found one stranded vehicle that got too close to the edge and bottomed out. So, sorry, I dont think you're subcompact hybrid is a good idea on this road.
We over shot the trail head the first time and came across some anonymous government facility and fenced off areas. Felt a little 'unwelcome' to say the least.
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| By:
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Rating: |
Date of Hike: Saturday, July 10, 2010 |
I rated this hike 4 stars because it was exactly what I was looking for on that day: short and watery. I hiked this trail after the rain stopped on Saturday. It was short enough I could get a late start and still complete it well before dusk, plus the earlier rain makes for a decent waterfall. I decided to deet up before starting (just in case). Shortly after the initial climb, while descending to the brook, I distinctly smelled what I assume to be a bear. Since I was alone with my dog, I started explaining in a VERY LOUD voice to Mr. Bear how I would NEVER sleep in his bed and NEVER eat his porridge and who the HECK DID GOLDILOCKS THINK SHE WAS ANYWAYS!! The brook and the waterfall were running enough to enjoy it. We also passed a spring that was running nicely a little higher up near the remnants of the old homestead. Once we broke out of the woods into the area near the summit where the fire mentioned in a previous review had been, the bugs descended on us! So glad I deeted up earlier! The fire had actually cleared enough brush near the summit to take in some nice views to the south. I snapped a few pics and then we headed down since my dog didn't have the bug protection that I did. On the way back down while approaching the "saddle" portion of the trail, I smelled Mr. Bear again and saw the remnants of a sandwich on the trail that hadn't been there 20 minutes earlier. I hadn't seen any other hikers at ALL the entire time, so I kept my eyes open and kept moving, and once again ripped very loudly into that tramp Goldilocks. My dog and I finished the hike in around 2 hours, which included stopping to snap some pics along the way.
Worth noting, the AT crosses Morgan's Mill Road about 1.3 miles west of Blue Ridge Mountain Road. I wasn't sure how far it was myself. Hope this helps anyone looking for the parking area.
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| By:
Jerry
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Rating: |
Date of Hike: Saturday, April 10, 2010 |
| The waterfall is definitely worth the outing. There has been a fire at Buzzard Hill that detracts from the experience and might be unpleasant for anyone sensitive to smoke. Areas were still smoldering on Saturday.
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| By:
Chris
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Date of Hike: Wednesday, March 31, 2010 |
| Beautiful Hike. The waterfalls were going full force and the weather was simply perfect. Hiked it with 2 friends and a 2 year old on my back. I definitely plan on hiking this again and staying overnight at the top most campsite i saw. The road going to the trail head was a bit treacherous but just drive carefully. I highly recommend this hike.
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| By:
AJ
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Date of Hike: Sunday, October 25, 2009 |
| We did this hike just to do a dayhike to the waterfall. The trail from the road to the stream crossing is not remarkable as noted by others, but the waterfall is really a lot of fun to scramble up. I thought it was just one little waterfall or something, but when you hit the creek and head up the draw, you find it is a series of stepped waterfalls (about 5 total) that you discover as you climb up an additional 200 meters from the base. You wouldn't want to do that with small kids you have to carry b/c the rocks were pretty slick, but school aged kids would have a blast exploring that waterfall. We did, so I would recommend that as a destination for an easy dayhike with kids.
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| By:
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Date of Hike: Saturday, August 1, 2009 |
| We took the kids with us today (10 months and 7 years old) it was enjoyable being with the family. The hike was very boring and there was no place to rest or eat lunch comfortably, since it was so dense. The trail at the top of the summit was overgrown and looked as if it had not been used in quite some time. Don't worry I cleared all the spider webs out for you!
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| By:
Nick
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Date of Hike: Saturday, July 11, 2009 |
| Ideal for a family hike. My 8-year-old son loved the brook (as did my dog). There was enough elevation and wilderness to make this feel like a hike (as opposed to a walk in the woods), but not so much that my son needed to be bribed with sugar to make it back to the car.
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| By:
Keith
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Date of Hike: Friday, July 3, 2009 |
| Not a bad out and back hike. The views were not all that great, but the waterfall and stream halfway through the hike was well worth the visit. Took some great pictures of the falls, and worked off a few calories on a Friday morning. Surprised to see very few hikers along the way. Solitude for a holiday weekend was actually pretty good.
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