Old Rag Mountain Hike, Shenandoah National Park

Amazing hike. The uphill was challenging and as a 5ft woman some of the scrambles were quite challenging as well. The views were incredible, and I’m so glad I did it. The way down was a long way, but a lot of it was a fire road which was much welcome after the long climb. Bring lots of water and snacks! We had lunch up top-just remember to leave no trace. My fiancé did the hike in tennis shoes so it’s doable but wouldn’t recommend. I was very thankful for my hiking boots with good traction and ankle support!

This is an intense hike with multiple challenges. If you are an experienced hiker, the scramble is likely to be your favorite part. If you are inexperienced, the scramble will probably be challenging and a little intimidating (though not insurmountable for most). If you are very small or large person you will face some unique obstacles including some extended reaches, squeezes, and/or flexibility challenges. Again, not insurmountable for most, just challenging. The trail begins at the moderate level and goes “up” from there. I’ve tried to include pictures of many of the scramble sections to help folks get an idea of what the rock scramble looks like. The trail gets progressively rockier the higher you go until you finally get to the scramble section. One of the first intimidating elements is an approximately 8’ gap you have to shimmy down. It looks scary at first glance but is actually not bad as there are easy foot and hand holds. This remains true for much of the rest of the hike where scrambling is required. There were only a couple of spots that didn’t have easy foot or handholds. A hiking buddy is a great idea. The hike down from the summit is pretty easy on the fire trail, although it is long (5 miles). Make sure you have plenty of water. Like many have said, parking on weekends can be tough. We got there at 8:30 am and there were 2 parking spots left in the main lot (there is an overflow lot).