Humpback Rocks

Beautiful shot.

No, I actually haven't been to Spy Rock, but I'd like to. Your pics of it look really nice. Can you hike there from the top of Crabtree Falls?

The Fish Hatchery route is the one that I took on my trip, it is a steep straight climb up an old gravel road, then left and upwards on the AT to Spy Rock. Incredible views.

Dang. All the times I drove by Humpback Rocks, I didn't realize what I was missing. About how long a hike is it? -Malcolm

Malcolm, thanks for visiting!

Humpback Rocks has to be one of my favorite hikes. It's short, but the payoff is huge. From the main trail parking lot, it's only about .8 of a mile to the rocks -- but just as a warning, it's very steep, around 750 feet of elevation gain. The views from the top are just incredible -- this picture doesn't even do it justice, I need to come back and make a panorama.

For a more historic hike, you can start at the Humpback Rocks Visitor's Center, which is just slightly north on the parkway. There you can walk through a recreated pioneer village and learn about what life was like for the early mountain settlers. From the end of that trail, you can go through a field, cross the road, and then continue the .8 miles to the top. Bruce (Yank in Dixie) has many great pictures of this area.

Or, for a longer and more gentler hike, you can go south on the parkway for 2-3 miles until you reach a large picnic grounds. There is a connector trail from here to the AT, and from there you can hike north to the Rocks. The one-way distance for this option is around 3.2 miles, but there is much less elevation gain, and some nice views along the way to boot.

One of the reasons I love this hike so much is that I can see my house (and Bruce's) from the rocks! In many of the photos in my gallery, taken from my house, you can see these rocks sticking out as a little bump on the side of the mountain, for instance here and here. The rocks are a small bump on the right side of the mountain as it angles down in a "v" with the next ridge.

Also, in addition to the hikes Bruce already mentioned, I have to recommend Old Rag, also in the Shenandoah National Park. It's a bit over 7 miles round trip, with one mile being an awesome boulder scramble to the summit, but it has some of the best views in the whole state!

Hope you find this information helpful!

~Brandon

Well I'm definitely going to have to head over to Humpback Rocks next day I don't have work or class. Any place with incredible views is on my list of places to visit. That's really neat that you two can see your homes from there, it must be really something to be able to pick your house out of such a picturesque landscape. And I agree with you about Old Rag; super view.

hiking this baby with my roommate tomorrow, can't wait to see this view in autumn...

Hope you enjoyed the hike! It's an amazing view in any season.

w o w

Wow!! You made it. Congratulations!!

Cheers, Axl

What a view. Fantastic.

Greetings, TiK-Pix

Thanks HephzWolf, Axl, and Tik-Pix!