Region
Highlights
- Although by no means the highest mountain in the area, Old Rag is far-and-away the hiking gem of Shenandoah.
- The classic scramble up Old Rag's craggy granite Ridge Trail holds many surprises including one crux section of class 3 scrambling.
Routes
45 summits • 10.2 mi • 2,372 ft gain • 4 hr 54 min
3 summits • 8.8 mi • 2,254 ft gain • 5 hr 5 min
2 summits • 10.7 mi • 2,429 ft gain • 4 hr 39 min • Class 3
1 summit • 23.2 mi • 6,793 ft gain • 13 hr 44 min
1 summit • 4.5 mi • 2,504 ft gain • 5 hr 39 min
1 summit • 7.3 mi • 2,132 ft gain • 2 hr 5 min
1 summit • 8.5 mi • 2,644 ft gain • 10 hr 58 min
1 summit • 9.5 mi • 3,347 ft gain • 4 hr 41 min
Latest summits
"Super gray misty morning. The old man (me) up the back from Berry Hollow to join the A Team, who came up the Ridge Trail and scramble. Not much in the way of a long view today, but the woods were beautiful. Everyone back to BH and I shuttled them back to Old Rag parking. Route takes two, but saves young legs from a couple miles down Weakly Hollow FR." — Alexanderthebetterthanaverage • Jun 20, 2023
"This was an epic day - we started early in the Old Rag parking lot outside of Shenandoah. We got there around 7:30 with about a dozen other cars in the lot. Skies were cloudy and it started to sprinkle almost immediately into the climb. The skies opened as we summited the first ridge and it continued to rain steadily throughout the summit (past 2-3 false summits). Endless rock scrambles all the way to the top. We took a snack break in a couple shelters along the way. Rain picked up and it started to hail - we ran the final 3 miles back to the car. Great hike!" — wiweasel • Apr 7, 2023
"First attempt at meeting Team A up from the main lot, while I took the shorter route from Berry Hollow. Timing missed and they summited well before I got all the way up. We came down together on a beautiful August day with T-storms in the distance late in the decent." — Alexanderthebetterthanaverage • Aug 4, 2022
"Went up from Berry Hollow . Great hike, Trail in good shape. If you use the alltrails app for directions to the trail head, go until the road dead ends , thats the parking lot you want. You lose signal in this area and the app will take you to the waterfall trailhead about a 1/2 mile short of where you need to be. " — puddlepirate • Nov 18, 2021
"This was a hike on one of the most popular trails in the mid-Atlantic region. I completed this hike solo. Be advised that the rock scrambling on this trail requires the use of hands and feet. I hiked this trail clockwise.
This trail gets very crowded in the summer. There are three parking lots, so there shouldn't have too many issues with parking. The hike begins steadily gaining elevation, but it is not overly steep. After about a mile, you'll hit an intersection. Follow the trail left (blue-blaze) to the rock scramble that leads to the summit. At about 2.5 miles, you'll reach an outcropping where there are gorgeous views. At around the three-mile mark, the rock scrambling truly begins. Another advantage of starting this hike early is that you won't get caught in the traffic congestion that inevitably happens here. After 3.8 miles, you will reach the summit.
On the way down, at the 4.5-mile mark, you'll arrive at the Byrd's Nest Shelter. Follow the trail right (blue-blaze) to continue down. At 5.4 miles, you should see the Old Rag Shelter. You will then turn right to get onto the Weakly Hollow Trail and follow it until the 6-mile mark where you will turn right onto the Weakl..." — Noodles • Aug 8, 2021
"Excellent hike and scramble! My buddy and I arrived at the lower lot around 7:30 AM and completed the loop before noon. The trail was already busy by the time we started, but that said, there weren’t too many hold ups. Old Rag’s extensive scrambling sections and multiple false summits made this climb much more enjoyable (and challenging) than I was expecting. After reaching the true summit (which satisfyingly is a boulder with beautiful, 360-degree views) a round of photos and celebratory Yuenglings ensued, capping off this memorable climb.
Oh, and shout out to the dude who lugged a 20 or so pound bolder up the mountain!" — tylerdelia • Nov 9, 2019
"Ran Old Rag and Robertson Mountain with Weaver. Brutal day of climbing. 4275 feet of elevation gain in only 14 miles. Cold, but clear with beautiful views of Shenandoah National Park and the Blue Ridge. " — runshigleyrun • Feb 3, 2018
"Part of my VA trip. Encountered a bear and cub on the way up. Fun trail with lots of sweeping vistas. Rock scrambles. Mostly hiked with a family of 3 to help out the mom, who was not a hiker. Views from the summit were of the Shenandoah's. Couldn't see far to the west because those mountains blocked any distance views. 7.4 miles." — newenglandwarrior • Jun 10, 2016
"Started at trailhead after about a .8 mile walk from parking lot....took the left trail upward which
starts the clockwise trip to the top of Old Rag. The first 2 plus miles were a pleasant trek on
a lovely fall day.....then the fun started when we hit the first section of rock....there were
about three separate sections of intense rock scrambling before we made it to the summit.
The way back down was about 5.2 miles and the views were great with nothing near
as intense as going up. The leaves were falling, we followed a beautiful running creek and
there were some wonderful bridges to cross the creek along the road back.
A must trip if you want an awesome challenge....be ready to climb up, down over and
around and you will feel a real sense of accomplishment as we did.
Walter & Tracey Oddo
Farmville, VA" — walteroddo • Nov 4, 2015
"Summit #11 of 12. For a change did this hike starting at the parking lot around 11pm on a clear full moon night. Arrived at the summit about 2:30 am. Relaxed and snoozed on the rocks for a few hours and then headed down about 6:30am. Didn't see a single other hiker until the decent in the morning. What a way to enjoy this peak!" — TheKiltedHiker • Aug 13, 2011