Top Mountains in Virginia

Virginia's mountains are concentrated in two parallel systems — the Blue Ridge (including Shenandoah NP and the southern Blue Ridge around Mount Rogers) and the Allegheny Front (western Virginia's ridge-and-valley province).

Mount Rogers (5,729 ft)
Virginia's highest point — in the Jefferson National Forest in Grayson County, near the North Carolina border. The summit of Mount Rogers is forested (spruce-fir forest) and has no view, but the surrounding Grayson Highlands (high, open balds above 5,000 feet) are extraordinary. The Appalachian Trail passes over Rogers; the Wilburn Ridge approach from Massie Gap (via the AT and the Rogers Trail) is 9 miles round trip with spectacular open bald terrain and views from 5,500 feet. Wild ponies graze the balds.

Whitetop Mountain (5,520 ft)
Virginia's second-highest peak — adjacent to Mount Rogers in the Mount Rogers NRA. Whitetop has more accessible summit views than Rogers (the summit is more open). The Whitetop Laurel Falls and the former Whitetop railroad (now the Virginia Creeper Trail) are accessible from the base.

Hawksbill Mountain (4,051 ft)
The highest peak in Shenandoah National Park — accessible from the Hawksbill Gap parking area on Skyline Drive (8 miles round trip). The summit overlook is the finest view in Shenandoah — looking north and south along the Blue Ridge crest and east across the Piedmont.

Old Rag Mountain (3,284 ft)
The most popular hike in Virginia — not the highest peak but the most dramatic. The Ridge Trail and the Saddle Trail form a 9-mile circuit with 2,415 feet of gain. The summit involves 1 mile of rock scrambling through granite boulders. Old Rag requires a day-use pass (reservation) in peak season; crowds are significant on weekends.

Stony Man (4,011 ft)
The second-highest peak in Shenandoah — an easy 1.6-mile round trip from the Stony Man trailhead on Skyline Drive. The cliffs of Stony Man are the most dramatic exposed rock in Shenandoah. Peregrine falcons nest on the cliffs.