Charlottesville, Virginia

Looking for the best hiking in Charlottesville? We've got you covered with the top trails, trips, hiking, backpacking, camping and more around Charlottesville. The detailed guides, photos, and reviews are all submitted by the Outbound community.

Top Hiking Spots in and near Charlottesville

  • Stanley, Virginia

    Dark Hollow Falls

    4.6
    1.32 mi / 440 ft gain
    Catch the trailhead to these falls at mile 50.7 on Skyline Drive, just north of Big Meadows Lodge and Campground and the trailhead is just to the left of the parking lot. This is an easy 1.4 mile roundtrip hike, straight down to get to the falls, and straight up to arrive back at your car. Many...
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  • Stanley, Virginia

    Camp at Big Meadows, Shenandoah National Park

    4.4
    Visiting Shenandoah National Park for the first time can be quite overwhelming. The 109 mile long Skyline Drive, combined with over 500 miles of hiking trails, makes camping is a necessity if you truly want to experience Shenandoah.From the Appalachian thru-hiker to the RV'er, Big Meadows is perf...
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  • Stanley, Virginia

    Three Falls Hike

    8.3 mi / 2200 ft gain
    The Three Falls Hike in Shenandoah National Park will take you past three beautiful waterfalls all found within the central district of the park: Lewis Spring Falls, Dark Hollow Falls, and Rose River Falls. You are able to start the loop from any of the waterfalls’ trailheads, but I prefer to sta...
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  • Stanley, Virginia

    Hike to Rose River Falls

    4.5
    4 mi / 853 ft gain
    Rose River Falls is often overshadowed by it's more popular cousin, Dark Hollow Falls, as both hikes begin at the same trail head. But because Dark Hollow Falls is such a short and well known hike, it can get extremely crowded. It is also one of the few trails in Shenandoah where dogs are not al...
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  • Stanley, Virginia

    Hike the Rose River Falls to Dark Hollow Falls Loop

    5.0
    4 mi / 950 ft gain
    Parking at the trailhead is a few miles north of Big Meadows at the Fisher's Gap Overlook parking area. You will find much more solitude along this loop trail than if you were to park at the Dark Hollow Falls trailhead as the Dark Hollow Falls is much more popular. That makes being able to fin...
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  • Stanley, Virginia

    Backpack Rose River Loop

    5.0
    4 mi / 900 ft gain
    The trail can be found on Skyline Drive.  Though it is a little challenging to locate, you should park at  Fisher’s Gap Overlook (mile marker 49.4), and then walk over across the road and find the trail. You'll spot it by looking over the side of the road and then hiking down.  The Rose River Loo...
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  • Tyro, Virginia

    Crabtree Falls

    4.5
    3.05 mi / 1161 ft gain
    This is an approximately 3 mile roundtrip hike. It will usually take anywhere from 1-2 hours to get up, depending on your experience and who you have with you, and about an hour down. As you come off of route 56, you will come up to the trailhead where there is a large parking area with restroom...
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  • Tyro, Virginia

    The Priest via Shoe Creek Trail

    4.4
    3.01 mi / 843 ft gain
    Starting at the Upper Crabtree Falls Parking area, continue up the "road" on Shoe Creek Trail for half a mile until you come to the intersection of the Appalachian Trail. That will be the steepest part of the hike. Look for two rocks on either side of the trail with white blazes on them. Take a l...
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  • Luray, Virginia

    Upper Hawksbill Trail

    2.09 mi / 482 ft gain
    The trailhead has a small parking area at mile marker 46.7 on Skyline Drive, just past the Old Rag overlook (on the opposite side of the road) if you're driving south. The hike is a 2-mile out-and-back that takes you right to the summit. The first ~2/3 of it is relatively flat and very easy walk...
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  • Syria, Virginia

    Fly Fish on the Robinson River

    5.0
    6 mi / 2000 ft gain
    There are two sections that you can fish on the Robinson River. The first section is about 15 minutes away from the trailhead of White Oak Canyon. The river is on the right side of the road and you can see where it has bee stocked from the white diamonds on the trees on the side of the road. This...
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  • Syria, Virginia

    Hike Cedar Run Falls Trail

    4.7
    2.6 mi / 1000 ft gain
    Cedar Run Falls is located in the central district of Shenandoah National Park.  This is a pretty waterfall that flows into a deep swimming hole.  There are two ways to get to the Cedar Run Waterfall: from the top of the mountain off of Skyline Drive and from the bottom of the mountain off of Wea...
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  • Syria, Virginia

    White Oak Canyon Cedar Run Loop

    4.0
    7.67 mi / 2257 ft gain
    This route combines Cedar Run Falls and White Oak Canyon Trail (one of the more popular hikes in SNP, with separate adventures detailing those hikes). Parking is easy, but gets very crowded due to the popularity of White Oak Canyon (WOC). When starting from the parking area/Shenandoah ranger stat...
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  • Tyro, Virginia

    Spy Rock via Cash Hollow

    4.9
    5.71 mi / 1191 ft gain
    The hike is part of the George Washington National Forest, and can easily be combined with nearby Crabtree Falls (300ft cascading waterfall with a hike to the top). The entire trip is 5.7 miles, and there are nice campsites at the base of the summit (no water source) if you want to add on this pr...
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  • Meadows Lane, Virginia

    Camp near Crabtree Meadows in GWNF

    5.0
    As stated, the campsites are free. They do not require reservations or permits and are on a first come, first served basis. Regardless of which direction you're coming from, you will be traveling on Crabtree Falls Highway until reaching Meadows Lane. This is a gravel access road that requires 4WD...
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  • Raphine, Virginia

    Saint Mary's Wilderness

    4.5
    6.03 mi / 538 ft gain
    Saint Mary's Wilderness is an out-and-back trail that takes you by a waterfall located near Vesuvius, Virginia.
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  • Raphine, Virginia

    Hike to Saint Mary's Falls

    4.8
    4.28 mi / 443 ft gain
    Saint Mary's Wilderness is one of Virginia's largest designated wilderness areas and is an old iron ore mining area. There are two ways to get to Saint Mary's Falls and this Blue Ridge adventure will start you off at the parking area off Saint Mary's Road.  Once on Saint Mary's Road, you will dr...
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