Planning a go to to southwestern Virginia and/or Grayson Highlands State Park with canine? Learn my sensible itinerary for the proper quick getaway.
I’ll admit, it’s been some time since our final dog-friendly journey recap; it’s additionally been some time since our final journey with the canine!
Final 12 months, I resolved to get outdoor and discover extra, and I had each intention of doing that. And work, COVID, life, and many others., bought the perfect of us. So midway via the 12 months, I began randomly reserving Airbnb reservations for the summer season of 2022.
I utterly forgot I had made a few of these reservations. And low and behold, per week earlier than, I obtained a beautiful notification from Airbnb reminding me of my upcoming journey to Whitetop, Virginia.
For just a few years, I’ve wished to go to southwestern Virginia, particularly Grayson Highlands State Park. Scrolling via Pinterest and Instagram, I’ve seen unimaginable pictures and movies of the attractive surroundings in southwestern Virginia. So this space of Virginia rapidly rose to the highest of my journey bucket listing!
Maintain studying for an outline of our 2-day journey with canine in Whitetop, Virginia and Grayson Highlands State Park.
2 Days in Whitetop Virginia – Itinerary Overview:
- Day 1: Virginia Creeper Path, Buzzard Rock by way of Appalachian Path
- Day 2: Grayson Highlands State Park, Straight Mountain and Beartree Lake
This itinerary relies on arriving on Saturday afternoon and departing Sunday night.
Attending to Whitetop, Virginia & Grayson Highlands State Park
Whitetop, Virginia and Grayson Highlands State Park is about 5.5 hours and 350 miles from Washington, DC. Suppose you head about quarter-hour south of those areas. In that case, you’ll cross into North Carolin, and quarter-hour additional southwest, you’ll enter Tennessee. The drive down from our dwelling in Loudoun County, Virginia, was every day simple. If you’re coming from D.C. or northern Virginia, you’ll take I-81S nearly all of the way in which down.
Tip: Cellular phone service is sparse to non-existent within the Whitetop and surrounding Grayson Highland State Park areas. Remember to have your vacation spot plugged into your GPS! It could even be worthwhile to obtain an offline map that will help you navigate if you’re susceptible to get misplaced.
DOG-FRIENDLY LODGING IN WHITETOP, VIRGINIA
Suppose you need to spend the night time within the space and benefit from the numerous out of doors actions. In that case, your greatest wager is to search for an Airbnb within the Whitetop or Mouth of Wilson, Virginia area. Sadly, we couldn’t discover any dog-friendly resort choices within the space.
We stayed at this pretty, reasonably priced Airbnb. It was within the good location; it was (fairly actually) simply off the Virginia Creeper Path and a brief 20-minute drive from Whitetop Mountain trailhead and Grayson Highlands State Park. The house had a big yard for the canine to run round, snug beds, a full kitchen, a grill, and an expansive screened-in porch to calm down on.
Tip: There are few eating places within the space. We packed a cooler and stopped in Marion, Virginia — roughly 45min out from our vacation spot — to fill up on meals for our dinners and lunches.
DAY 1: VIRGINIA CREEPER TRAIL & WHITETOP MOUNTAIN TO BUZZARD ROCK
We departed for our Airbnb later than deliberate, so we didn’t test in till nearer to 4 pm. Fortunately with the sundown being nearer to 830 pm, we had loads of time to discover! To stretch our legs, we walked to the Virginia Creeper Nationwide Leisure Path and walked east on the path for just a few miles. The Virginia Creeper Path is a 35-mile multi-purpose rail-trail in southwestern Virginia working from Abingdon to Whitetop, Virginia. Pets on a leash can benefit from the path, although as a result of this path is widespread for cyclists, I’d advocate protecting your pet on a shorter leash to not get in the way in which of passing bikes.
Our Airbnb host beneficial we drive to the highest of Whitetop Mountain and hike to Buzzard Rock by way of Appalachian Path. So we packed a picnic dinner and headed to the highest of the mountain! The street to the highest of the mountain is exceptionally rocky; take it very slowly. We took my little Chevrolet Cruze for this journey, and although it bought us up and down the mountain, it was a wrestle! When you get to the highest of the mountain, there are many locations to park. I like to recommend utilizing the All Trails app to search out the trailhead that may take you to Buzzard Rock; the paths weren’t properly marked.
We took about 45 minutes to hike to Buzzard Rock and benefit from the sundown with our picnic. It felt like we had been the one ones on the mountain. The view of the Blue Ridge Mountains was completely breathtaking. Virginia is gorgeous.
DAY 2: GRAYSON HIGHLANDS STATE PARK & BEARTREE LAKE
Situated inside the Jefferson Nationwide Forest, Grayson Highlands State Park has entry to the Appalachian Path and is stuffed with 25 miles of climbing trails and entry to the Appalachian Path. The Park is close to Mount Rogers and Whitetop Mountain, Virginia’s two highest mountains. It’s a top-rated vacation spot for hikers, backpackers, mountain bikers, horseback riders, and campers. As well as, it’s recognized for its beautiful views and wild ponies!
Climbing etiquette reminders:
- Go away no hint.
- Concentrate on your environment.
- Keep on marked trails.
- Maintain your pet on a leash.
- Don’t feed or work together with the wildlife.
As a result of Grayson Highlands State Park is such an attraction, we made positive to get to the Park early! There’s a $10 price to enter the Park on the weekends. On a weekday, the price is $7.
We parked alongside the street at Massie Hole. We adopted the indicators to steer us in direction of Wilburn Ridge by way of Appalachian Path.
This can be a dog-friendly, 4-mile, out-and-back path. It ought to take you roughly 2 hours to finish. You’ll be surrounded by wild Rhododendron bushes as you attain the summit. We took just a little longer than this to benefit from the views and traveled down some aspect trails to catch a glimpse of the wild ponies.
There have been extra trails inside Grayson State Park I had wished to take a look at, however we hadn’t packed a lunch and had been desperate to get again to our Airbnb to take a nap!
After an enormous lunch and an extended nap, we drove to close by Beartree Lake to attempt the Straight Mountain and Beartree Lake Path Loop. The opinions for trails across the lake weren’t overwhelmingly optimistic. We had been searching for a free, shaded path shut by that might permit Navy and Duke to stretch their legs after their dinners and earlier than we drove again dwelling.
The hike across the lake was quick and quiet. Although I wouldn’t advocate this path to others, it was what we wanted to shut our journey.
Have you ever ever been to the southwestern Virginia space? Tell us within the feedback beneath. Wish to learn extra about our dog-friendly journey adventures? Go to our journey class linked right here.
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