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Seven Amazing Hikes You Should Consider for 2017

By Shellie AnnePosted March 03, 2017

 

With more than 600 miles of great trails available at Virginia State Parks, with 160 of those miles dedicated purely to hiking, and another 397 miles of mutli-use trails, where should we start?

The obvious answer is to pick the park that is nearest you and then branch out. Virginia State Parks has 37 incredibly beautiful parks with mountain top trails, lakeside trails, coastal maritime forest trails, accessible paved trails and all of these parks have one thing in common:

YOU CAN HIKE TO YOUR HEART'S DESIRE

AT VIRGINIA STATE PARKS

The view at the top of Molly's Knob will be the ultimate reward at Hungry Mother State Park, Virginia

The view at the top of Molly's Knob is the ultimate hiker's reward at Hungry Mother State Park

Be sure to get a trail guide when you visit a Virginia State Park

Be sure to get one of these to take with you on the trail

We asked Park'rs on the Virginia State Parks Facebook page to share their favorite hiking trails, so these are The Top Seven Amazing Trails they recommended for 2017:

 
Photographer spots wildlife from the Taskinas Creek Trail at York River State Park, Va
 
Beaver Lake Trail is a scenic hike for the whole family at Pocahontas State Park, Virginia
 
Fire cabin with view of the Allegheny Mountains at Douthat State Park, Va
 
Hike with your best friend to Turtle Island at Smith Mountain Lake State Park, Va
 
Twin Pinnacles in the Fall at Grayson Highlands State Park, Va
 
The other side of the beach - from Long Creek Trail at First Landing State Park, Va
 
A look out on the trail heading up to the viewpoint from Molly's Knob at Hungry Mother State Park

WE'VE GOT TRAILS

AND WE KNOW HOW TO USE THEM

Trail Quest

If you love walking, hiking or biking the trails at Virginia State Parks, then consider our Trail Quest Program where you can earn five unique pins. You will get one for your first park visit and others after visiting 5, 10, 20 and all 37 parks. This is great for the whole family as everyone can participate, each member can sign up for Trail Quest and start earning pins now (kids without email can use their parents account.)

Each time you visit a Virginia State Park you can then simply log into the Virginia State Park Adventures page, click on the name of the park you visited and select "Trail Quest" and record the date of your visit. In addition to earning pins, we recommend a photo at each park as a memento from your visit. If you scrapbook, or blog this is a great way to remember the visit. Click here to learn more about Trail Quest.

COME ON OUT

AND EXPLORE OUR TRAILS

PARKS
Douthat State Park  |  First Landing State Park  |  Grayson Highlands State Park  |  Hungry Mother State Park  |  Pocahontas State Park  |  Smith Mountain Lake State Park  |  York River State Park
CATEGORIES
Explore  |  Get Outside  |  Hiking  |  Outdoor Activities  |  Outdoor Destinations
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If you have read the article and have a question, please email nancy.heltman@dcr.virginia.gov.

COMMENTS

Virginia State Parks (March 03, 2017 04:53:15 PM): It is a program that is free to participate in so there is no way we could have two sets of prizes and it would be more difficult to manage the program if we had fulfillment options. At some point we could poll the participants and ask for preference but with someone like yourself you'd probably want to replace all your pins with patches, again increasing the cost. We will think about whether we could offer that option.

Gloria Story (March 03, 2017 03:43:20 PM): I have all but the last of the Trail Quest pins, and I'm only a few parks from earning that one!! While I like having the pins, they do have a habit of getting pulled off my backpack (lost one that way). Would love to be able to get them in a patch form that could be sewed on. I have park patches from most of the parks I've visited and Trail Quest Patches would be a great addition to them.

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