Humpback rocks is a prominent greenstone rock outcropping off of the Blue Ridge parkway near Lyndurst, VA and neither, David nor I, had ever heard of it. The trail starts across the street from the outdoor farm museum ,off of the Blue Ridge Parkway, which held a collection of historical log cabins. On non-Covid times, the farm museum is an immersive experience involving costumed interpreters. Alas, it was empty and very quiet when we went.

We parked by the farm museum and walked over to the trailhead , which was across the street. If you prefer to skip the museum section altogether, there is plenty of parking and pit toilets at the trailhead itself (milepost 5.8 of the Blue Ridge Parkway).

There were numerous options for trails, ranging from 1 mile - over 6 miles. We chose the shortest and most strenuous option of hiking directly to the outcropping, which turned out to be about .8 miles each way. It may seem as a short hike, but it was not easy at all, since you have to hike straight up in rocky terrain. Good shoes and walking sticks are highly recommended. The narrow path was muddy and slick in some sections, due to the torrential rains ,but it was very well shaded. We managed without any issues,other than David sliding on his bottom at one section of the trail on the way back. We heard a number of folks sliding and falling at the same spot so be careful on the steep hike down.

My 73 year old mom, sister, nephew, niece also joined us on this hike. Naylan, my nephew is 8 years old and had no problem getting through on his own. He was actually in the lead with Aiden for most of the hike. When you get to the rock out cropping, there is some great ,but short technical climbing. My mom and niece opted to skip the rock scrambling sections, but everyone else had a blast. The rock scrambling is very limited, nothing at all like Billy Goat trail or Old Rag; however, the views were just incredible. Axel, our Vizsla, had to stay on leash, but dogs were very welcome and we saw a number of other dogs on leash as well.

We chose to visit on a Tuesday, so the crowds were light. As I understand it, this is a very popular hike and the weekends may be packed. The trails are narrow and ,once we left the parking area, not too well marked. A couple told us to take the trail to the right of the parking lot and then to take the left fork when the trails splits. They informed us to always take the trail that looked to be going straight up the mountain. So, this is what we did.

We chose to picnic after the hike, as there was a lonely looking picnic bench and some large rocks to sit on next to the parking lot. The hike probably took us about 1.5 hours. We did not linger too long at the top, but the views were breathtaking. I would highly recommend this hike, but would caution that it's best enjoyed during the week when the crowds are light.

August, 2020

https://www.nps.gov/blri/planyourvisit/humpback-rocks-trails.htm

https://www.blueridgeparkway.org/poi/humpback-rocks/

https://www.ferrum.edu/blueridgeinstitute/blue-ridge-farm-museum/