Lost River state park has so much to offer:…read more Cranny Crow Overlook is 4 mile hike with the great views and worth the effort. Riding stables are great place to have a beginner get a first horseback riding experience. ($26/hour). Sulphuric spring is an interesting historic and wonder list place. The water spout is wonderful color due to water content. Cabins seems a great base for nearby fishing spots. Worth visiting for the reasons above.

Definitely a hidden gem!! Everyone here was so friendly and the cabin i rented was so nice…read more everything i could need (countless cooking utensils, plenty of towels, guides, and ice already in the trays) was provided. i cant tell you enough about the trails. my above all favorite is the white oak trail to cranny crow. cant beat the price, experience, or service. i'm returning in october.

Only place i really launch my boat it's good when river is at right level and the upkeep is done…read morewhich hasn't been very good. The places to tie off your boat are gone with nails sticking out everywhere and after water levels rise there's always thick mud on the concrete pad. If you have a good size boat the water around the ramp can get pretty shallow. Also, there's a lot of people who come there that can't read the rules and trash the place. When the upkeep is good and not muddy it's a good ramp.

Cute little grassy area noting the Civil War event of the Battle of Guard Hill. There are about 5…read morepicnic tables here and one grill post plus a porta pottie. This is sitting right at a boat ramp entering the Shenandoah River/North Fork. Basically, coming 66 West from N.VA, merging off at Front Royal exit, take a left on 522. Gas station and McDonald's on the right. Turn left onto Riverton Rd. (Just before the bridge). Turn right at the boat launch. Licensed fishing permitted.

What an incredibly beautiful gem! Revenue the ride out here is great! Beautiful lake surrounded by…read moremountains & trees. Nice pretty easy trail that loops around the lake (some parts are thin & steep, but made it through with the dog) . Absolutely loved this place on our vacation. Quite peaceful. I counted 6 shelters too so I imagine in spring /summer it gets used a lot. They have porta potties and a 2-stall bathroom for women & a bathroom for men too. Hand washing station outside. We came during the week of October 13th & the foliage was beautiful.

Beautiful and I mean breathtakingly beautiful landscape! Mountains in the distance! Perfect sized…read morebody of water for light fishing, canoe, little beach area with lifeguard on duty for a family day with sand and sun, trail surround the park with benches to sit and awe at how beautiful nature can be. Prices are extremely affordable (coming from DC and being used to paying up to $40 for two people to paddle board for 30 mins, which is normal for me). For $3 or so you can take out a kayak per person per hour. If you're fishing make sure to bring all you need and purchase your license AND additional $5 permit to fish there. They sell small snacks and ice cream. Bathroom situation is dicey considering it's a porta-potty but hey honestly all in all I would come again and I would spend days on end here either by myself or with family.

Absolutely beautiful landscapes and views of the valley and ridge lines. The hike is a short…read moredistance (0.8 miles) to the view point, but the change in elevation makes it a great workout.

- Update - *Several…read morepeople have advised me that the bird that tried to attack me is a Ruffled Grouse!* Apparently, they are well known in the area and confirmed to be aggressive and make strange noises! *Don't say you haven't been warned! :-) Saturday for the Memorial Weekend, I went to Wardensville WV to hike the Eagle Rock. AKA Tuscarora Trail. It's a simple 1 hour from my house. It's part of the Great North Mountain that acts as part of a natural border of WV and VA for some miles. The total miles of the Tuscarora Trail is 252 miles. It runs through PA/MD/WV and VA. It catches some of the Appalacian Trail at the Matthew's Arm Campground area. This trail was built as an alternative route for the Appalacian Trail due to the fear of the AT being shut down from development along the areas. The Tuscarora Trailhead for this location starts on the tippy top of The Great North Mtn on US48/VA55. At this location also you are in George Washington National Forest. You honestly can't miss it. 66w to 81s. Strasburg Exit to US48/VA55 follow for about 17 miles and you crest the mountain. There is a sign at the crest on the left near the wooods saying Tuscarora Trail. You can see it from the road. It slightly catches your eye but on the right side, you will see a big brown sign that says Entering Wardensville Cooperative Wildliffe Management Area. Park at the sign. Do not block the fire gates. I started out a little upset by the amount of hiker garbage on the o/s guardrail. Tons of Ice tea and water bottles littering the entire area. Not just a couple. It's like a ground of plastic bottles here. Also a bit worrisome was the constant gunshots. Over and Over until about the 1.5 mile stretch ends. I even saw Shot gun casings on the path, but I guess the sign did say Wildlife management Area. Geeze. The first mile was strenuous. There, I passed my first and only group of people I ever saw. They seemed to be teens chaperoned by 3 adults. They were catching their breath on the first mile. It was steep. Afterward, it leveled out and you could see you were walking the ridgeline of the mountain by looking o/s the trees to the mountain next door. Same height. From here it went from breathlessly uphill to muscle scortching downhill and leveling out.. over and over.. so overall there was give and take. A lot of the path became weedy and made my legs itchy. Some times it was almost knee length weeds. and the bugs. oh... the bugs. Don't stop for too long. I was breathing in a lot of bug protien on Saturday, let me tell you I had bugs for prelunch, lunch and snack! You could hear them around your head like a beehive. It was very much more wild than SNP. You could feel the wildness out here... I swear I am surprised I didn't see a bear. It was definately Bear Country! Speaking of this, let me also tell you what scared the living heck out of me up there. (Turns out after the scare I was laughing out loud all to myself but at the the time... I thought I was going to die) I heard some leaves russling... I slowed down and made a little noise...This...This... Turkey Bird Thing races out of the woods at full turkey bird speed and is coming right at me. It puffs up it's whole body and the tail spreads out like a Turkey but it's not big like a Turkey, more of a chicken size but fatter.... anyway this thing runs to me with his body puffed out and all I could do was walk backward and shout No over and over and over.. It's amazing I didn't fall down! That bird was litterally attacking me. I guess there was a nest along the patch in the woods and I was a bit close but OMG, If it were a bear, I'd be dead. That simple. Freaking Bird. OMG.... so it went off to the right and made this sound like a beaten dog.. wimpering..it was terrible. and When I started on my way, it followed me ! It was walking in the woods making that sickening noise for a good couple yards...That whole situation made me wonder about this dumb whistle I brought with me for safety. wow. wth is this whistle going to do! I forgot it was even in my hand! and that was a bird! lol. So later at a rock outcrop I almost sit on the one snake I saw the entire time. He was identical to the rock. Identical. I looked right at him and sat next to him. (?!?) The views were nice. A good change from SNP views. I'm glad I chose to hike this mountain this summer. There's so much more of it to hike and it even meets up with the Stairway to Heaven I did a couple weeks prior. I'm interested in exploring it a bit more. I may need to invest in a bigger whistle and perhaps a nice size knife as well. In the end, I was trying to outhike the storm on the way back to the car. I almost made it. But I was dripping wet once I turned the key! It was a great day and a great hike.

This is a great park. They have two play areas, one for younger children while the other one is for…read morethe older children with three levels. They have recently added several music stations. The kids really enjoy it here. In addition to the play area, there are several trails that take you through wooded areas as well as a good size frisbee golf course. They have two large pavilion areas that can be reserved. There is only one downside to the park. That is that they only have porta-johns, so as you can imagine, these can be rather unpleasant in the summer time.

We went to Rockland Park on Father's Day to meet up with family and have a nice lunch. The kids…read morereally enjoyed the playground. The swings could have used some shade, but everything else was great. Parking was plentiful, and there were available restrooms in the parking lot. Check out this place.

Super nice trails. Small park but beautiful trees. Get a trail map as some trails have signs from…read moreonly one direction.

Someone from my friends church recommended this place to them because they knew they loved to hike…read morewith me so my friend told me about it and we planned a trip to the area to see what it was like. Wow!!! How in the world did I not know about this park while being to almost every single place in the surrounding area? Crazy! Thank you to the person who told my friend about it and thank you to my friend for taking me here because I had a great time :D It's not a very big state park in regards to acreage but it's very dense and beautiful in every possible way. The trails are great and the hemlock trees are well worth every single step you will take to see them. They are huge and captivating! I am sure I will be back again because I had a great time and I truly enjoyed every single aspect of this place. Enjoy!

Maryland's New Germany State Park (aka the "Maryland Alps") is such a gem. Beautiful! Well…read moremaintained. Friendly and knowledgeable staff in the Lake House (where they also rent cross-country skis). Lots of fun events in winter. We came here to cross-country ski. The snow was very good on January 14, 2024, but it was very cold. Despite the cold, thanks to the sunshine, we thoroughly enjoyed it. Very nice trails where you ski along a stream. The sound of flowing water was really soothing. They have one dog friendly trail; gonna have to try it next time.

I loved going here as a kid, but now instead of swimming I like to walk the trails. It's great to…read morebring my dog so he can sniff to his heart's content. The park is really beautiful and quiet most of the time. It's really just a great place to relax in nature and take a moment.

The glamping was great. Near the highway and the train but amenities were great. Massanutten tent…read morehas amazing views but the blue ridge tent is closer to the parking area and showers. The inside was spacious and fit us 5 comfortably. We did the short rafting trip which was perfect for young kids. Jumped off the raft several times for some swimming. Everything went very smoothly with the staff, and they had a food truck on the property where we enjoyed lunch.

What a good HAWT time!…read more We came on a Saturday, mid August, and had a good, relaxing time. Besides the heat trying to take me out, I had absolutely no complaints. Front Royal Outdoors had their logistics in order from start (parking) to the brief bus ride, all the way to finish (exit). Our party all opted to do the deluxe tube (approximately $41 for the entire experience) that offered more support (a place to hold your beverage of choice) and the possibility to maximize on one's lazy river experience. As an FYI, every "order" of course came with a life jacket. The river itself was calm and effortless, for the most part. I think our experience was a little over 3.5 hours. My only recommendation would be to hydrate and find a time/date where the heat is not doing what it does best.... drains ya.

Still a great campsite and State Park experience at Deep Creek. We were here this time in June, but…read moreit's been a long mild spring this year, so it's been cool and wet. There were clouds sitting on the lake for the few days we were here, very misty and Will-O-the-Wisp magical. We ended up traveling to some breweries, Swallow Falls (massive rapids with all the rain), did some local shopping and caught a movie. The camp sites weren't crowded at all and we had no problem making last minute reservations for a Sunday and Monday night.

This state park came up, as a recommendation for places close to hike from Wisp Resort. Driving…read morethrough the rental vacation homes was a scenic experience. The park itself was clean, had places to launch your boat, small beach and well marked trails. There is an entrance fee for state residents, and non state residents, which was unusual to see that type of sign posted. Worth checking out for the serene, tranquil, beauty within the park itself.

While the park is not far from the highway, it doesn't feel that way at all. Going to the main…read moreparking lot requires a drive over some gravel roads and across a one-lane bridge past a vineyard, eventually leading to some facilities and a self-pay station. The park is riverside, but trails lead up a considerable grade, and I was huffing and puffing well before exhausting what was available. It was a quiet space with dynamic flora. The views aren't what you get on top of the mountain range, but it's a different kind of pleasure.

Seven Bends is a good small state park. The park is located a few minutes from the town of…read moreWoodstock. Apparently there are two entrances to the park but you'd have to drive out of the park to get to the other side. We entered in the Hollingsworth Road park entrance. To get to this side of the state park, you drive on a one lane gravel road with some pot holes and inclines that might be tricky if your car is low to the ground. We visited on a Saturday morning and it was pretty empty. The day we visited there was a park ranger with a trailer that contained merchandise, but she said they only come every other weekend. The park has a bathroom, but no permanent visitors center. The cost to park at the park is $5, unless you have the state park pass. The park had a really cool children's area. It had different activities like a rope bridge, slide, wood balance beam with signs about different nature related information. The park also had kayak launches. There were some trails we walked along by the river. My favorite part was right outside the entrance to the park, there is a swinging bridge you can walk over. Definitely recommend trying that on your way out.