The best hikes are the ones that end at a local brewery.
With mid-January cabin fever in full effect, my girlfriend, Katie and I were looking for any excuse to head west out of Richmond and get some fresh air. The plan was to get an early start and get a short hike in before spending the majority of the day hopping from brewery to brewery along Route 151 just outside of Charlottesville. We set our sights on Spy Rock, a short 3 mile hike near Montebello, Virginia. The draw for hikers is the rock outcrop summit at 3,980 feet of elevation that boasts a 360 degree view of the surrounding mountain ranges. Total drive distance was a little less than 2 hours from Richmond.
The forecast was calling for cold temps and snow showers. The first flurries were just starting to fall when we pulled into the parking lot behind the Montebello Fish Hatchery on SR690 off of VA56. From the lot, the trail starts along a private drive before turning left following the blue blazes before intersecting with the AT. This hike isn’t of the technical variety, but the gain in elevation will make you breathe heavier than the husky kid on your elementary school’s T-ball team. We reached the summit in the middle of a pretty heavy driving snow with the ground covered in over an inch of the white stuff. (Note: there is no “established” route to scrabble to the top of the outcropping, but we would recommend staying left.)
If you’re looking for a relatively easy hike within a few hours of central Virginia, with “supposedly” the best views in the middle Blue Ridge, then Spy Rock should be on your short list.
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