The forecast was for a chance of storms later in the day and we started early hoping to finish before the storms hit. Cedar Run is a very rocky and steep trail following Cedar Run as it tumbles down gorge after gorge. The path is well marked but there was plenty of evidence of a brutal winter with many downed trees. There were lots of wildflowers blooming along the trail.
About half-way down Cedar Run, we startled a young black bear and he sat just uphill from us watching as we passed by. A little later on, we saw a small black snake and chipmunk, as well.
At the lower end of the Cedar Run Trail is a natural waterslide that is usually busy during the warmer summer months. One of the times, I will visit here during the summer with a swim suit so that I can try it out.
We descended a little lower and found a terrific spot for lunch. So far, so good no rain.
We trekked across the link trail to the White Oak Canyon trail crossing the river before beginning our steep ascent up White Oak Canyon.
Just like the Cedar Run trail, White Oak Canyon trail stays right along the river with beautiful cascades and pools the entire time. About half-way up, you come to the impressive lower falls and as you continue to ascend, you reach the upper falls. The Lower Falls are broad and with full volume while the Upper Falls are taller, but a smaller stream. Both are beautiful.
Lower Falls
Upper Falls
Shortly before we reached the Upper Falls, the rain had finally arrived and by the time we actually reached Upper Falls, it was falling steadily. Because of the rain, and other things, we missed our intersection to the fire road that would have completed our 8.8 mile hike and continued up the White Oak Canyon Trail for a few more miles. While this made the hike much longer than we intended, 10.5 miles instead, it also created a problem in that we came out on the Skyline Drive three miles north of our cars. Hmmmm. We met up with a kind soul who was willing to drive a couple of us wet and muddy hikers to our cars and then they could drive back and pick the rest of us. It made for an interesting end to our adventure but we got to see some new and beautiful scenery along the way.
This completed number 7 on the list of top 20 hikes in Virginia. If you would like to learn more about this hike, you can visit here.
