If you're looking for flashy photo opportunities, this probably isn't the battlefield for you. If…read moreyou're looking to understand one of the most decisive and brutal battles of the Civil War, it's outstanding. The Third Battle of Winchester (Opequon) was the largest battle ever fought in the Shenandoah Valley, with more than 54,000 soldiers engaged and over 8,600 casualties in a single day. Walking these fields, it's hard to imagine the chaos that unfolded here on September 19, 1864, as Union forces under Philip Sheridan broke Jubal Early's army and changed the course of the Valley Campaign. The battlefield is beautifully preserved with excellent interpretive markers that explain not only what happened, but why it mattered. The visitor center does an excellent job setting the stage, and the trails let you experience the terrain that shaped the fighting. Don't rush this stop--read the signs, watch the orientation film, and let the landscape tell its story. This isn't just another Civil War battlefield. It's the beginning of the end of Confederate control of the Shenandoah Valley, and you can feel the weight of history with every step. A must-visit for anyone who wants to truly understand the 1864 Valley Campaign.

This was exactly what I was looking for:…read more Low key historical location Close proximity to where I'm staying Mostly flat pebble lined trail (bugs love me!) 3-5 miles long, depending on which trail you pick Signage posts along the trail to explain events that took place

This hike is on the A.T. Trumbo Hollow (day hike) starts on…read moreVa State Rte 55/John Marshall Hwy in Linden Va. Same place as the the Manassas Gap Hike I went on two weeks ago but across the street. Again, lots of great parking. Starting at Rte 55 going onto Trumbo Hollow you are going Southward on the AT. No views but a great hike. Saw a lot of thru hikers today, most of which commented to us about the great weather! Today's 80 degrees and breezy is amazing compared to heat index of 110 degrees last week so these guys were all talking about it as we met them on the trail. Crossed some creeks and walked through 3 nice size fields which I think is cool when you are in the woods forever and then the world opens up into a sunshiny field. With the breeze, it was perfect.3 miles to reach Jim & Molly Denton Shelter. It was actually quite nice. A wooden privy out to the side and showers on the other side... a cooking station and the shelter itself even had a porch and rocking chairs. These thru hikers must think this is the MGM out here. I obviously thought it was impressive. Then we just turn and walk the way back. Nothing spectacular except doing what you love to do. Hiking. I love it. It lifts all my worries and stresses off my shoulders with each step and I feel like I have accomplished something. Of course I took my friend with me again. He laughs when I text him asking what he's doing. He knows what I'm going to ask! Though I love hiking by myself, (loner by choice), my friend is the best hiking partner ever. We just shut up and hike. Every once in a while we laugh or act stupid but mostly we are quiet and just keep hiking. I did see one snake. That was it. A Northern Ring-Neck Snake. It's actually the second one of these I've seen so far in July and the second ever in my lifetime. I thought that was pretty odd. But these snakes are so tiny. They are so thin and only reach about 12-15 inches. Perfectly harmless. I'd probably do this hike again. I liked the flow of it well enough and it's close to home.

Of the multiple hiking options at Harpers Ferry, the Loudoun Heights hike may not be top of your…read morelist. Instead, most thrill-seekers head to Maryland Heights. Loudoun Heights is a much longer and more uneven hike with less stunning views at the end. I love getting to intersect with the Appalachian Trail! That was a super cool part of this hike. Getting to the trailhead was an adventure in and of itself. If you're starting in Low Town, you can take what feels like a million steps into a trail. Much easier: park in the first lot on Shenandoah Road and take the sidewalk to the bridge. It'll save you truly an hour round-trip. On this four-hour+ hike, I passed maybe 10 people total. I'm a social hiker, so I didn't need the privacy. But it was nice regardless! Next time I'll probably stick to Maryland Heights.

(had to edit a typo in directions!) A beautiful yet…read morestrenuous hike. If you want to shave off some miles, park under the bridge as you arrive to Harper's Ferry. I enjoy parking at the train station, walking through the small town and starting at the steps to the magnificent St. Peter's Church. The steps are killer and hand made/placed in position. Follow behind the church to the cemetary and Jefferson's Rock. The Appalachian Trail is white blazed and has an entry point here. You'll come out at Rte 340 but turn left to go across the bridge over the Shenendoah River. I believe that's the South Fork under the bridge. Walking over that bridge, especially with the TONS of rain we've had is absolutely amazing. The river was raging! I snapped a lot of pics here. After crossing the bridge you follow the steps to go under the bridge and up some stairs to continue on the A.T. and Loudoun Heights trail. Very simple hike as far as where to go. Follow white blazed trail, cross a road, (You'll pass Orange Blaze but stay on white. You'll take Orange on the way back) ......take a left at the blue blaze. Can't miss it. Follow blue til it ends. You'll see some paths off blue that are just a couple trees away from overlooks. Good take a minute to enjoy. At the end of the Blue blazed trail is an unbelievable view of the Town of Harper's Ferry, the train bridge, Maryland Heights mountain and to the right is the bridge you'll cross into MD if I remember correctly. I love to sit up there with the wind drying off my sweat as I eat my apples and nuts before the trip back. Hearing the train up there and looking at the views was majestic. Not many people at all! I met 5 two-three people groups on my trip and they were so nice. On the way back, of course you're on blue but take a right on Orange blaze to meet up with the A.T. to get back down. Once you're back at the Town of Harper's Ferry, stop in at one of the cafe's and grab an ice cream cone or milkshake! You deserve it! (I hit 32,894 steps on my fitbit and 10 miles of trail) Calorie Roaster!

This visitor center was very close to North entrance... The view from the Visitir centre was…read moreAmazing!!! There was a store and Help desk too..

Be sure to check hours on the visitor center as they're still in a transitional phase between…read morewinter and summer hours. It turns out the center itself was closed when we arrived, but we entered through Front Royal and it was still worth a stop. The restroom facility is located adjacent to the same parking lot as the visitor center was open and in good condition. The view out back behind the visitor center was lovely! And there is a trailhead directly across the street for the Fox Hollow Trail, which is an official TRACK trail (brochures in the stand at the trailhead) which was a fun way to explore the history and nature of the area. There were a couple of rangers onsite at the visitor center for a special event, but it the event itself hadn't started yet, and they were kind enough to be answering questions and chatting with visitors while they waited for the busses to unload their program attendees.

We decided to start our hike to Weverton Cliffs, here at the Potomac Wayside Park. We drove right…read morepast it the first time. Then, coming back toward the Exxon station from MD, we saw the "merge" lane into the "Park". I mean there were tons of no parking signs until at the end where you could fit 3 cars. I was second car. I was confused as I didn't see any park. But the Appalachian Trail went over 340 bridge so we just suited up and headed across the bridge. The walk across the bridge was a lot longer than it looked. When we came back to the car after our journey We saw the sign for Potomac Wayside Park. Didn't help much. There's still nothing to see, until I googled the location to add to Yelp. Google says there's a trail to take you to a waterfall but honestly, we saw that trail when we parked and immediately thought, that's someplace where homeless would burrow and druggies and the like, so I was surprised to read that the trail was actually part of the "Park." Park address is Purcellville VA but the sign on the gravel road said it was part of the Harper's Ferry NPS. Check it out. Take some pictures. Then I might come back. I come to Harper's Ferry every couple years and if legit, I'll give it a try.

Such a great hike! It was under a mile up and moderate but short. It took us 30 minutes to get to…read morethe top and wow the view was so worth it!! We came on a Friday morning and only saw 3 or 4 other people on the trail and the parking lot was almost empty

I've been wanting to hike Weverton Cliffs for a long time. It was really cold in the morning but…read more11am, it started to warm up a good bit. The trail is rocky and of course a steep grade but overall, I felt it wasn't too strenuous at all. Pretty quick trip to the Cliffs. Had a little lunch and back down we went. There were a LOT of people. Most would rather run you down than make room for you on the trail. When we step aside for families or people coming opposite way, there were no Thank you's. Where did trail courtesy go. Lots of dogs on trail as well. I hope people brought water for them. The Cliffs were bare and lots of top rocks to sit on to admire the view and, the view was beautiful. A great day for such a view. Now I can say, I've been there and hiked that. Time to look for more trails and cliffs.

This is a unique section of the Appalachian Trail (AT) in that it's less about hard core hiking and…read moremore about history. Although you might see an occasional through hiker. This part of the AT is connected to the Harpers Ferry National Historical Park (NHP) which has lots of Civil War history attached to it. For more details see https://www.nps.gov/hafe/planyourvisit/hikes.htm The hikes here are very easy with little elevation change. But you will get many beautiful views and like I said there plenty of historical stuff to connect with as well. For more details or volunteer options check out the PATC at https://www.patc.net/

Probably one of the best National Park situated in between the Northern Virginia and West Virginia…read morebordering the Potomac and Shenandoah Rivers. The Potomac river runs all the way to and is about 61 miles from Washington DC. As we checked in the visitor center we were immediately greeted by a Park Service in full Ranger uniform. We paid the customary $10 per car then he handed us a map of Harpers Ferry. From the visitor center a complimentary bus takes you to the main historic town about 2 miles from the parking lot. Today, there was a special tour with a Park Ranger who enlightened us in great detail of the history including particularly of the armory it once was which equipped the US Capital for its defense all the way from the South. Most of all, the story of John Brown, the abolitionist but could be also be contested as a rebel, depending on one's learning curve. There were a few dwellings and museums and especially the building where John Brown was held up when he was captured during his attempts to raid the armory back in those days, so as to help the cause in freeing the slaves. This building was considered sacred as it triggered the civil war, or so it was thought to have started. The curators at its dwellings were knowledgeable and passionate about their jobs and to me, should serve as the model for how historical places should be curated! Thanks to our lady bus driver who drove us back n forth to the visitor center, Elliot who gave us a history tour of the museum and more importantly, the amazingly enthusiastic Park Ranger David Cox who guided us through a very thoughtful story of its history and told it as if he were speaking of the events as it was happening just then. Great job! Too bad we were pressed for time or we would have lingered longer for a hike on the trails connecting the Appalachian Trail to that area or to cross or kayak the Potomac. It was an awesome day of about 60 degrees in the middle of Winter. It could not have been a better day to visit. I'll definitely come back to either kayak or try out inner tubing in the Summer time. Very well worth a visit!

Field Trip Fairy made me another offer I couldn't refuse: a glorious fall day spent on the idyllic…read morecampus of Madeira School in Great Falls, ziplining down a hillside and watching 6th graders try to figure out how to ring a tractor tire around a 15-foot pole sticking straight up in the air? Yes, please. Sign me up. Inner Quest is an awesome little adventure-learning company based out of Purcellville, but with various sites and programs around the Virginia/West Virginia/Maryland area. Their challenge course at Madeira is huge and elaborate, encompassing several acres in the woods. Elements range from freakishly hard to anxiety-inducing heights to deceptively simple team-building. This was my second time undertaking the Madeira challenge course with Inner Quest: the first was 17 years ago as a scared-witless high school freshman. We'd moved from Texas that summer, and I was friendless since school hadn't started yet. Ma O. thought an Inner Quest program would be a great way for me to make friends. A random group of 12 of us spent a day on the challenge course, and the next 5 days hiking the Appalachian Trail in VA and MD, schlepping our packs, pitching our tents, cooking our food, and digging our own latrines. Ma O. was right: Inner Quest *was* a great way to make friends. Nothing bonds you quicker than mole-skinning blisters and burying your TP with strangers. I still remember our counselors, too -- unkempt adventurers with the nicest, most soothing, and helpfully instructive demeanors. Today's counselors were equally patient and kind with our kiddos. Our guys enjoyed themselves tremendously at Inner Quest, as did the adults (hello, zipline, I feel like a kid again!). Teamwork, pushing yourself outside of your comfort zone, taking calculated risks, trusting others -- these are life lessons you just can't teach in the classroom.

Inner Quest has been maintaining our low ropes course at are summer camp facility for as long as I…read morecan remember and they have always done a professional job. They insure that are obstacles are up to code and safe. They also train our Ropes Instructors each summer and they are very patient with our counselors and really take pride in making sure that everyone knows what they are doing. Keep up the good work and we will see you this summer. Camp Moss Hollow Butch