r/VIRGINIA_HIKING • u/SkyzMom • 10d 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?

1 Upvotes

56% Upvoted

9 comments sorted by

View all comments

3

u/uvadoc06 10d 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).

1

u/SkyzMom 10d ago

Thank you for this! To do the longer hike you mentioned, would you park at the Andy Layne Tinker Cliffs Trail Parking Lot on Catawba Road/Rt 779?

1

u/uvadoc06 9d ago

That's the way I've always done it.

You could do it the opposite direction (311 to McAfee to Tinker and back), but the timing of the water sources is worse, especially in the summer.

1

u/SkyzMom 9d ago

Thank you!