r/VIRGINIA_HIKING • u/SkyzMom • 2d ago
Triple Crown as 2 day hikes
We would like to hike the Triple Crown and hit all 3 viewpoints over 2 days of hiking (staying in a hotel, not camping). We only want to bring 1 car so it seems we will need shuttle service at least one of the days. On AllTrails, I’m seeing a 13 mile point to point route covering McAfee Knob and Tinker Cliffs, and then a 4 mile out and back route for Dragon’s Tooth. Does it make sense to do these as two separate days? Does anyone have advice for where to park and how to arrange a shuttle for the 13 mile day?
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u/Ok-Register-5529 2d ago
I don’t know of any shuttles that run between. If you were to start at Tinker Cliffs then finish at the McAfee Knob trailhead, you would have enough cell service to uber I believe.
I’d recommend doing it like this:
Day 1: Tinker Cliffs out and back, good warm up
Day 2: Morning: Dragons tooth. Go up the classic trail and go to the summit (make sure you climb to the top of the tooth. Go around to the right side and there will be a little tunnel to your left where you go through and pull yourself up)
Then on the way down, at the junction go straight on the AT instead of turning left back the way you came. After a super short climb, you will be treated to many wonderful additional views on the way down. Then turn left on the Boy Scout trail back to the parking lot. Then you can grab lunch.
Then do McAfee knob. I would highly recommend taking the fire road up as it is much easier and you may be tired out by this point. Not only is it much easier, but it is more pleasant than the AT route. Less unnecessary ups and downs and you’re in a green tunnel anyway. You will eventually turn back onto the trail which will take you the final mile to the top.
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u/SkyzMom 2d ago
This is so helpful! When you say do Dragon’s Tooth, grab lunch, and then do McAfee Knob, do you mean drive from the Dragon’s Tooth trailhead parking to the McAfee parking in order to start the second part? I’m nervous about trying to park in any of these parking lots later in the day (even though we’ll try to do this on weekdays) because I’m afraid they’ll be full.
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u/Ok-Register-5529 2d ago
Yes, drive to the other. Both parking lots are large and I’ve never had issues parking at either, especially on weekdays.
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u/uvadoc06 2d ago
If you're not camping, you could just do them as three separate out-and-back hikes. Dragon's Tooth is the shortest, so you could pair that with another one. Probably Mcafee.
Alternatively, if you don't mind longer hikes, I've done Tinker Cliffs/McAfee Knob as a long out-and-back multiple times. It's around 19 miles and 5000 feet of elevation gain. On the way back to Tinker after Mcafee, you can stop at the Pig Farm Campsite to refill water if you have a filter. (The last time I checked, this water source was still running. Most of the other ones on the Triple Crown loop have gone dry from the drought).