Old Rag Mountain (3291ft) is the most spectacular mountain in the northern Virginia Blue Ridge. Unlike most of the mountains in the Blue Ridge, it stands alone as an outlying mountain rather than as part of a continuous chain. It is a popular hike in all seasons which means on weekends it can be crowded. Old Rag’s attractions include a rugged scramble over and through boulders on the Ridge Trail and spectacular views in all directions.
Off Route 231 you will find a grass parking area. From there walk the road for almost a mile. You will get to a split in the trail. Left goes up the front side of the mountain (3.8mi), right up the back side (5.2mi). The most common choice is to go up the front and complete the circuit by coming down the back. This is what we did, but if I was to do this hike again I would probably go back down the front because the view is much better and it is more challenging and fun because of the rock scrambling. Going down the back is just a standard trail and ends with 2.5 miles of gravel road.
This was my first time hiking Old Rag and all the other blogs are totally accurate about bringing enough water. There are no places to refill and there is only one bathroom about 2 miles down the back side. Also, pets are strictly prohibited although we saw someone with their dog coming down the front. I’m guessing they just took the trail up to a certain point and turned around because I would never take a dog on this hike with all the rock scrambling.
If you are looking for a good full day hike in Virginia I would highly recommend Old Rag. Just go during the week to avoid the crowd, pack a lunch and fill a cooler so you can have some ice cold beers when you get back to your car.
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