TRAILS OF THE BLUE RIDGE PARKWAY: Survey Sites for Fungi Fruitbodies
1. Otter Lake Loop Trail (0.9 miles) provides scenic views of Otter Lake. This is also a good trail for watching wildlife. Look for beaver lodges and dams along tributary streams. Early morning and late evening are prime times for wildlife observation.
2. Trail of Trees (0.4 miles) begins near the James River Visitor Center and wanders through a shaded stream drainage. Trail signs identify many of the trees and shrubs of the river valley. This trail also affords a handsome view of the James River water gap, a rare geological feature.
3. Canal Lock Trail (0.4 miles) begins at the Visitor Center and crosses the James River on a walkway built beneath the bridge. The restored Battery Creek Lock, located a short distance from the bridge, is typical of those constructed in the 1800s as part of the James and Kanawha Canal. This canal, with nearly 100 locks, helped make the river a major transportation corridor before the Civil War. Exhibits at the Battery Creek site explain how locks were used to raise and lower boats to adjust for the changing elevation of the river.
4. Thunder Ridge (0.2 miles) begins at the right side of the Thunder Ridge Overlook parking area. The trail itself is a short loop through rocky mountaintop environment of rhododendron and hardwoods with a dramatic overlook of the Arnold Valley. The Thunder Ridge Trail and the Appalachian Trail are one and the same here.
5. Onion Mountain Loop Trail (0.1 miles) winds through a maze of rhododendron and mountain laurel. The trail itself is an easy hike, not much more than a leg-stretcher.
6. Fallingwater Cascades Trail (1.6 miles), the other segment of the National Recreation Trail (see Flat Top Trail), is a loop trail which takes hikers along cascades on Fallingwater Creek with its huge rock outcrops clothed in rhododendron and large hemlocks. This trail drops 260 feet below the Fallingwater Parking Area; hikers should be prepared to climb that elevation on their return. Experiencing this mountain cascade is well worth the effort.
7. Flat Top Trail (4.5 miles, one way), was designated with Fallingwater Cascades Trail as a continuous National Recreation Trail in 1982. Flat Top rises to an elevation of 4,004 feet with many scattered rock outcrops. The Pinnacle and Cross Rock are names given to such formations. On this trail, hikers can experience the changing forest ecology as they climb or descend 1,600 feet from the Parkway trail heads.
8. Abbott Lake Trail (1.0 mile), the least difficult of these trails, is a one-mile loop around Abbott Lake. The trail takes hikers through a woodland and forest and open field, offering a close-up view of this picturesque lake.
9. Peaks of Otter Picnic Area Trail (0.35 miles one way, +0.3 miles if walking down from lodge) is a short trail used by many to walk from the lodge to the Flat Top Trail. While walking one will encounter Polly Woods Ordinary, a traveler's inn from the 1800s and Big Spring, which has been running for at least 400 years.
10. Elk Ron Loop Trail (0.8 mile) begins behind the Visitor Center. It is a moderately strenuous trail and is self-guiding with written displays describing the forest community. For a leisurely walk, allow one hour.
11. Johnson Farm Trail (2.1 miles) is a loop trail, which follows a section of Harkening Hill Loop Trail. Beginning at the north end of the Visitor Center parking area, the trail takes you 1.1 miles to the Johnson Farm, which was started in 1852. Living history demonstrations are presented on a seasonal basis. Allow two to three hours for a leisurely visit.
12. Harkening Hill Loop Trail (3.3 miles) begins behind the Visitor Center and across from the amphitheater. This woodland trail climbs to a ridge where distant views are possible. A spur path near the summit leads to Balance Rock, an immense boulder balanced on a small rock.
13. Sharp Top Trail (1.5 miles to summit) is the most popular trail and originates at the campstore across the Parkway from the Visitor Center. This is a steep and strenuous route and should be attempted only by those in good health. Drinking water should be carried as none is available at the top. The summit offers an impressive 360-degree view of the Peaks of Otter area, the Piedmont to the east, the Blue Ridge Mountains, and the Shenandoah Valley with the Alleghany Mountains to the west. Allow two hours for hiking up and one hour for hiking down. Add an extra half-hour for the spur trail to Buzzard’s Roost, a series of large rock formations offering different views of the area. Concession-operated bus service (one-way or round trip) to within one quarter mile of the top is available seasonally. Hiking along the bus road is prohibited.
14. Roanoke River Trail (0.4 mile fishing trail, 0.6 mile view trail, 0.9 mile loop trail) is actually two trails. The main route is a self-guided nature trail with signs pointing out interesting spots and plants along the path. Along the main route you pass through mixed evergreen and deciduous forest where you will encounter black locust, white pine, tulip poplar and other trees.A steep fishing trail also leads down to the banks of the Roanoke River were the Niagara Power Plant can be seen.
15. Society of American Forester’s Trail (0.65 mile round trip) is found at Virginia's Explore Park. A brochure, available at the trailhead, contains information about 8 particular stops along the hike that covers topics such as natural and planted forest regeneration, small stream ecology, plant communities, and climax forests. The journey takes approximately 60 minutes.
16. Roanoke Mountain Summit Trail (0.3 miles round trip) can be reached by following the narrow, winding side road off the Blue Ridge Parkway for a 3.7 mile loop. The trail itself leads to the top of Roanoke Mountain where you will encounter evergreens, mountain laurels, and various rock formations.
17. Buck Mountain Trail (0.5 miles) is a scenic trail that shows considerable evidence of a recent forest fire. The climbs steadily to obtain good views, if maintained recently, of the Roanoke Valley. Due to the close proximity of the trail to the city of Roanoke, the trail receives an excessive amount of wear-and-tear as is evidenced by the numerous unauthorized side trails leading off the main trail.
Works Cited
Adkins, Leonard M. Walking the Blue Ridge: A Guide to
the Trails of the Blue Ridge
Parkway. 3rd ed. Chapel Hill and London: The
University of North Carolina
Press, 2003
Blue Ridge Parkway. Virginia Trails. National
Park Service: U.S. Department of the
Interior
Johnson, Randy. Hiking the Blue Ridge Parkway.
Guilford: The Globe Pequot Press,
2003.