Had an awesome outing on the Shenandoah, landed my personal best smallmouth, just shy of 19"!…read more And great conversation and knowledge of fishing and local waters, great experience and will book again soon!!

I booked a full-day guided fishing trip with Rivergoat Outfitters and it was time and money well…read morespent! We caught more fish than I could count, including several nice smallmouth bass, and some large sunnies. Brian was an excellent guide who put me on the fish, let me switch between spinning rods and fly rods, sorted me out when I got hung up, and engaged with me with some great conversation. The boat was top notch and was the perfect vessel for fishing a river like the Shenandoah too - it's got a jet propulsion engine that gets you anywhere you need to go, and Brian is ready on the oars to always ensure you are facing in the direction of the fish. I definitely plan to do another trip with Rivergoat in the future!

Erick took us out over Memorial Day weekend and we loved every minute of it! We did the 4 mile…read morestretch of river and we all wished we had done the 6 mile stretch because we weren't ready to be done! We got to see some great WV wildlife as well, spotting deer, an eagle, even a few snakes! We will be looking Lost River Eco Tours up again the next time we're in town! Thanks for a great day on the river!!

Great time fishing there. Got lots of large trout. Have been there twice. The people are very…read morenice, courteous and helpful

if thethe dogs are happy, I'm happy. they loved it! it's our second trip here and we will be back…read moreagain!

The big Schloss trail from the wolf Gap Recreation Area is what I would consider a moderate hike…read more It's just a few miles to the summit and the first mile or so is a forestry Road leading up out of wolf Gap. When you reach the Ridgeline and head north along the mountain it's more of a typical Appalachian type Trail. There's no water along the ridge although there are some campsites. The last scramble to the Rock Summit is fairly steep and not for the faint of heart. If you go during warm weather watch your footing, because there are numerous rattlesnakes in the area. You can continue to the north and make it all the way to Half Moon Mountain, or turn right and go east towards the white rocks Lookout.

My wife had been trying to arrange a fly fishing trip for us over the last month or so; she…read moresearched high and low and finally settled on Shenandoah Valley Fly Fishing. I say settled, but that definitely isn't the case with this local fly fishing operation. Galen, the owner/operator was extremely nice to work with and rearranged his schedule several times to accommodate for poor weather/fishing conditions to ensure we had a great time learning how to fly fish. Once we met him near the river, we learned how to cast a fly rod on dry land. He has a lot of patience and was very supportive, even when we were doing poorly. After an hour of practice we hit the water on his white water rafting rig. We stopped at several places along the river to fish, and he would critique and provide tips along the way so that we caught as many fish as possible. While on the river he provided all of the fly fishing gear, beverages and even catered to our dietary needs. We will definitely be back to fish with Shenandoah Valley Fly Fishing in the near future - it was a low stress and high excitement experience for us. If you are ever looking for lessons or a guided tour, I would use Galen over any of his competitors. If you choose to go with Shenandoah Valley Fly Fishing, make sure you mention that one movie that takes place in Montana that has a lot of fly fishing in it, I think it's called "A River Runs Through It", or something like that. Galen looks a lot like Brad Pitt, if that helps. Great job, Galen, you have made customers for life!

My little brother (14) and I (26) went for a float trip with SVFF this past weekend and had a…read moreblast! Galen was great. He took some extra time to give us casting tips before we started our trip (my brother was new to fly fishing), and was an excellent instructor throughout the day. Our trip was such a success! Even when the weather went to hell, Galen had a plan and made sure we still had a great time. I would highly recommend SVFF to anyone looking for a float trip!

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.

This review is for the natural playground. Sharing pictures because I couldn't really tell what was…read morehere in advance. Unique, sustainable design for a park. We stayed about 15 minutes, pack your bug spray!

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.

I really enjoy engaging with Murray's. Yesterday I spent an enjoyable day with Jeff Murray and…read moreDale, along with several other clients fly fishing the Rapidan River for brookies. An amazing day! Not only did I learn a great deal, I actually caught some beautiful fish. Jeff and Dale's expertise and capacity to teach is very evident. I also took a fly, tying class and a fly casting one on one session. These people are great. Immediately when I got home, I signed up for a coming smallmouth bass fishing on the Shenandoah. Highly recommend Murray's fly shop.

Harry Murray's Fly Shop is a great place to pick up any fly gear you need to replace, stock up on,…read moreetc. Lots of flies, fly rods, fly reels, waders, fly vests, fly tying stuff, tools fly tying books and videos, maps, and more! Beware, however. If you ask Harry for information on local fishing conditions - before you've even completed asking the question - he will immediately start spewing out what sounds like a rehearsed spiel. When I attempted to ask some other questions to refine my query and get more detailed information - his response came off as to fast, and somewhat dismissive. The other folks working in his store were friendly.