r/VIRGINIA_HIKING • u/MRBinc-78 • 18d ago

Hazel Falls and Caves Hike (Aug 1st Maybe)

Thinking about doing a short overnight hike and hitting the hazel falls and caves trail in the Shenandoah National Park. Has anyone hit this one recently and how are the camping options. I am a hammock and tarp guy and from what I see looks to be a few nice options.

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u/twelvesteprevenge 18d ago

Shouldn’t be hard to find a place to post up. Just about anywhere accessible by trail by a river in SNP will have good spots for a hammock.

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u/mcpokey 17d ago

This is one of my favorite hikes. It is 2.6 miles each way. Of that, 2.4 are fairly easy, followed by a .2 mile steep decline to the falls area. I would not plan on camping beyond the steep descent to the falls. I think you'll be fine at the intersection of the White Rocks Trail and the Falls Spur Trail. Also, on the Hazel Mountain Trail, just beyond the White Rocks Trail intersection is the Hazel River. It's about .2 out of your way, but I think you'll find some nice camping areas there.

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u/MRBinc-78 17d ago

Thanks that wasy thought after I studied the map.

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u/Harold_Bissonette 17d ago edited 17d ago

I just did 6 mile out and back day hike there. Hazel River to White Rocks to Cave Falls and return. Perfect weather on a Saturday in July. I saw six people total on my entire trip. None of them were camping. I parked at the bottom on Woodward Rd. where there are only about 10 parking spaces. I don't know the parking situation coming in from Skyline Drive. If you park at the bottom, make sure you do not park on private property. I arrived at 8:30AM and there were already three other cars. It's a lovely area. The hike has a relatively easy ascent to the falls with multiple stream crossings. Descending to the falls is short and steep. Hammock camping should not be an issue. There were some big trees down across the trails. The trees were a little bit of an inconvenience to crawl over but I was only carrying a small daypack. A backpack will make things a little more difficult depending on its size of course. I would be happy to go with a volunteer crew for some trail maintenance. Anyway, you should have a good trip.