What are your favorite hikes along/near the Blue Ridge Pkwy

In April or May I plan to drive the BRP. I%26#39;ll enjoy the drive and overlooks but also plan to hike some. I have a list of all hikes along the pkwy (VA %26amp; NC) by milepost %26amp; a brief description but if anyone has a favorite, please let me know. I may be travelling alone, so don%26#39;t want to venture into dangerous territory, but I%26#39;m used to and prepared for solo hiking. Moderate to slightly strenuous is OK, 1-4 hrs RT OK, like water (views, rivers, falls etc.) and any other interesting views. I%26#39;ve read %26amp; saved some previous posts for ideas. I%26#39;ve hiked some in SNP, Dark Hollow, Stony Man, Hawksbill, but open for any suggestions. Appreciate your time to share favorite places.

What are your favorite hikes along/near the Blue Ridge Pkwy

On the Va Forum do a word search for hikes...little empty box atop the topics (not the one on the left info bar) Even if they seem to start out on another topic there is still info on hikes. Lots of good info. Also when you pull the page of them up don%26#39;t go by the dates on the right hand side assuming the second page is older than the first. I found %26#39;07 posts on page one...then some %26#39;06....then more %26#39;07 on page two, etc. Makes me want to plan a hike!

What are your favorite hikes along/near the Blue Ridge Pkwy

Thanks explorer3, I learned how to do that from you on an earlier post to someone else. I%26#39;ve enjoyed reading your responses for some time, thanks again for the help.

Crabtree Falls is only about a 15 minute drive off the Parkway. Nice hike-a good tough hike, but a popular hike, so there will be plenty of people so you won%26#39;t feel like you are alone in the woods with the boogey man.

Crabtree is the tallest descent of a waterfall east of the Mississippi. (Several falls, not one big.)

Just what I was looking for...a great hike I%26#39;ve never taken; didn%26#39;t know it was there. I checked it out online and it sounds perfect...and no boogey man. Thanks.

Depending on your direction of travel, humpback rock is a good, fun, first or last hike along the BRP, only a few miles from the north end of the parkway. The hike is about 40 minutes up, 20 minutes down, with a tremendous 270 degree view at the top. Only downside is it gets crowded on weekends and you have some of the graphiti and trash issues that come with that. The view is what makes it.

Thanks for the suggestion, sounds great. I have a list of hikes along the parkway but it really doesn%26#39;t give you much info to determine if you want to hike it or not. I%26#39;ll include Humpback on my to do list, appreciate the tip.

BTW, if you are interested in Crabtree Falls, there are two ways to get there-the main parking area off the Tyro river, and also from the top by going to a parking area back a gravel road (forest road 826/Meadows Lane) that leads to Crabtree Meadows. I followed the information on this site:

http://personal.cfw.com/~dlittle/crabtree.htm

combined with Google Maps and got there fine. You DO need a good car/SUV though that can handle the road back to the parking area. You cross several streams, but it is a great drive-kinda like hiking in the car, which is fun too!

Here is a trail my wife and I highly recommend (for walking or biking) close to the Blue Ridge Parkway - At the NC/VA state line, take hwy.89 north for about 10 to 15 minutes and through downtown Galax then right or left at 58 toward the town of Fries (pronounced Freeze) for another 10 minutes. It%26#39;s best to go right and Google the route from there. The route will take you across the New River Trail - you can get on the trail here, but it%26#39;s better to continue to the city of Fries and get on the trail in Fries alongside the river. The trail follows the New River downstream toward West VA. and is awesome. If you have a camper, we recommend Fries RV Park almost across the street from the trail head in Fries. Tell Deleita and Guy Tim %26amp; Sheila sent you.

Ditto with Humpback Rocks (very popular hike with students %26amp; folks from Charlottesville), with a nearby visitor%26#39;s center %26amp; a mountain farm exhibit (that has a self-guiding trail and during the summer there are living history demos), and Crabtree Falls. Love those both!

And really love the trails at Peaks of Otter at Milepost 86. They also have a lodge that%26#39;s open year-round.

Luvtovisit...I just looked on a map, found Fries, and the trail sounds great, can%26#39;t wait to hike it, thanks for letting me in on one of your favorites.

Chickenlady...appreciate your ideas also. A friend told me to try the Rivanna River trail and also Ragged Mountain Natural Area (trail around lakes) in Charlottesville, do you agree?

Thanks to everyone for suggestions. Happy trails.