Sorry for the 1-star (you may change my "review" to 5-star when this is fixed). Often referred to…read moreas "Afton Mountain," Rockfish Gap is not in Bedford, VA. This is the intersection of the Appalachian Trail (abt mp 863.5), Blue Ridge Parkway, Skyline Drive, I-64 exit 99 (I think), and US Rt 250. To the west is Waynesboro, Stuarts Draft, and Staunton. To the east is Afton, Crozet, and Charlottesville. How do I know? The gap is about 2 miles out my back window. Not much commerce at rhe gap itself, except the wonderful old-time "King's Gourmet Popcorn" stand which has much more than popcorn. There is a motel and a couple of B&Bs a mile or so West on Rt. 250 near the Western edit of the famous Blue Ridge Tunnel (check it out on YouTube), which then pops you out in the village of Afton on the east side of the Blue Ridge. A longer walk back to the Gap, but adequate parking is at either terminus. Afton is in an area rich with wineries, distilleries, and breweries. Blee BleesRockfishRetreat.com

I've been hiking the AT, section by section, for the past 20 years. I'm currently in the process of…read moremoving Stuarts Draft, just 20 minutes form Rockfish Gap. A great section with The Priest not far south of this road crossing

The Blue Ridge Parkway begins where Skyline Drive ends in Shenandoah National Park, Virginia. It…read moreruns 217 miles from Anton to the border with North Carolina near Roanoke, before continuing farther to the southwest into the Smoky Mountains in far western Carolina; 469 miles in all. It is very similar to Skyline Drive, but offers somewhat higher peaks and and more astounding long vistas of blue tinged valleys from overlooks along the route. Still, if you love this part of the Appalachians, you really owed it to yourself to continue the excursion at least partially down the twisting crest hugging blacktop for as long as you wish. We were able to do more rock scrambling there than farther north, and the adventure quotient was that much more challenging. Too, we had a decent map of the secondary roads, and turned off the Parkway to return via unpaved single lane gravel tracks that took us deeper into the vales and hollows where the locals live and work the land. I imaged hearing banjo and bluegrass as we passed crystal flowing streams and cascading boulder diverted waterfalls. Perfect soundtrack to our personal travelogue. Those fifty miles were the most exciting. At first a little nervous being somewhere we might not be found, we gradually found some confidence as our car trekked the forest road well, and the one pickup we met along the way courteously pulled out of our way to let us pass, with a smile and wave. Pennsylvania has the Allegheny Mountains, the northern continuation of the Blue Ridge. They are rugged and beautiful in their own right, but lack the focus demanded from a challenging drive on mountain roads dedicated to letting travelers discover their intense magnetism. Spend enough time under their spell and you will swear you underwent a near religious experience.

The Blue Ridge Parkway is one of the most visited National Parks, 469 miles of twisty road from…read moreWaynesboro, VA to Cherokee, NC. It's a gorgeous drive or bicycle ride, with a lot of elevation changes and tons of pretty vistas. There are numerous visitor centers along the way to stop and rest, and if you like this type of drive, you will be rewarded with an interesting drive. It's also a springboard to many hiking opportunities, with numerous trail heads along the road. It's beautiful at any time of the year, from the colorful autumn colors to the burst of wildflowers in spring, to the icy beauty in the winter, and the cooler temperatures in the summer. An awesome drive!

We chose to park in the West Trailhead side and walked in from that direction of the tunnel. We…read morestarted out with our flashlights on but wanted to walk the tunnel without the flashlights. The Experience was fantastic. We did turn on our flashlights when we saw people approaching so we would not startle them. It is dark, damp, and cold in the tunnel. You hear the little water falling inside. We had pocket warmers and I think they were needed. We were both happy we had our pocket warmers. The hike to the tunnel has wonderful forest views and an excellently maintained trail. They also have some plaques with historical information on them. We really thought that was a nice additions to our hike. Both sides of the tunnel has picnic tables. The picnic tables are brand new this year. We stopped and had lunch. There are 2 parking areas. East Trailhead Blue Ridge Tunnel and West Trailhead Blue Ridge Tunnel. Both have a porta potty but no running water. So you will want to take some hand sanitizer. Easy hike, 4.6 miles. Out and back. 370ft elevation gain. The best maintained trail I have ever seen. Hiker friendly, kid friendly. Dogs on leash, Forest view, tucked away on the side of a mountain, Historical tunnel view. Some of the trail is paved, then gravel, and then dirt with gravel mix. Make sure you leave no trash behind

We had a group of eight for the hike. We started on the east side. The walk through the tunnel…read morewas great. I was thankful that started on the east side because it was a pretty steep and long climb after the tunnel. It was 4.5 miles total for the walk. To have the steepest part at the middle was perfect rather than having it at the end. Highly recommend. The tunnel is not claustrophobic at all as it is large inside and you can see the end the entire time. It was a perfect fall hike with the leaves changing. We stopped at Blue Mountain Brewery afterward (only 6 minutes away) for lunch.

I love this hike! This is one of the closer beautiful mountain view hikes to Richmond (about 1h30m…read moredrive). You can enjoy it as a loop or an out-and-back depending on how long you'd like the hike to be/difficulty level. 0.8 miles of it is very steep and you can decide if you want to go up and down that or if you want to take the long way down. Both are great options. It's great for all seasons, but if you're looking for green I'd suggest May. If you want fall colors, usually October. This is a beautiful hike with stunning views. It can get crowded on weekends, but not in an annoying way. There is a parking lot right at the trailhead. There is overflow parking not too far away with restrooms. They also have some picnic benches. I recommend hiking up to the rocks and having lunch there. While it is a steeper hike, do know that it doesn't last too long.

What a great hike. We parked by the restrooms and walked over giving us more steps/mileage. That…read moreway you don't have to fight for a spot in the overly crowded parking lot. The hike is straight up. I love a good climb. However, the descent is straight down. The old knees hate that. Overall a fabulous hike that is seriously overcrowded. We passed 100s of people and dogs.