2 Hikes in George Washington National Forest That You Can’t Miss!

With such close proximity to Shenandoah National Park, George Washington National Forest in northern Virginia doesn’t get the attention it deserves.  I hiked 2 trails in this national forest, and I had them completely to myself!  But even if we had passed several people, I would highly recommend these 2 hikes in George Washington National Forest!

With over 140,000 acres (YES, you read that amount correctly) of protected land, I was only able to visit a small section of the forest.  But in that section, you won’t want to miss these 2 hikes!

I’ll get to the details below, but the two trails were Duncan’s Knob and Kennedy Peak.  Both of these trails are in the furthest eastern section of the national forest.  Let’s check out some links and then dive right in.

Important Links 

–George Washington National Forest Website

–Duncan’s Knob – AllTrails Link

–Kennedy Peak – AllTrails Link

-Where we camped – Post Here

Location

There are a plethora of hikes in George Washington National Forest, after all there are 140,000 acres of land here.  However, the section of the national forest that we’ll be talking about is in the circled area below.

Just an hour south of Winchester, VA, 2 hours west of Washington D.C. and 2.5 hours northwest of Richmond, VA, these hikes are the perfect getaway from the city rush.  Whether you take a day trip to hike here, or you stay for a week in one of the designated camping areas, you can’t go wrong with a few hikes in George Washington National Forest.

But how much time SHOULD you spend here?  Let’s discuss!

Time to Spend Here

With 140,000 acres, I can pretty much guarantee you won’t have enough time to hike all of this beautiful forest.  But I’m here to offer some suggestions.

With such close proximity to many major cities in Virginia, there are a few different options for you to spend some time hiking here.  You can either take a day trip, stay nearby for a weekend, or stay even longer.

But what do I recommend?  I would say that a weekend is the perfect amount of time to spend hiking here.  There isn’t too much diversity in this area of the national forest so the views can get a bit repetitive. 

However, if you are in some serious need of unplugged time, and being in the woods, you can definitely spend longer than a weekend here.  The choice is yours!

Our Itinerary

My husband and I hiked in George Washington National Forest 2 different times.  We were camping nearby and hiked to Kennedy Peak one day after work and then we hiked to Duncan’s Knob on a Saturday morning.  

Our total time spent hiking was about 7 hours, but these gorgeous views were comparable to those seen in Shenandoah National Park!  We were glad we spent some time here, and we highly recommend you don’t skip this area!

Camping 

As I mentioned above, we camped at a campground nearby called Creekside Campground.  This privately owned campground was a great place to camp with Full Hook-Ups and wifi while still being affordable.  

With its proximity to Shenandoah National Park and many hikes in George Washington National Forest, we really enjoyed camping here.  You can read more about our stay and our experience here.

But you should know that there are many options for primitive camping all throughout the national forest!  We actually ran into a couple who were camping near the trailhead for Duncan’s Knob and they camped there quite often.  

Camping is very affordable here ($10 per night), but there are no showers or bathrooms, so it’s a little too rustic for my husband and I.  But if this is your speed, check out all of the campgrounds on their interactive map!  (Simply choose the campground option in the top-middle of the screen).

Hikes in George Washington National Forest

The number of hikes in George Washington National Forest seems to be infinite.  I couldn’t possibly list all of the hikes in this part of Virginia, but I will go into detail of where we hiked.  

Ok so let’s get to the 2 hikes in George Washington National Park that we did!

First up was our after-work hike to Kennedy Peak.

Hike #1: Kennedy Peak (Dog Friendly)

Kennedy Peak is a great little hike that just about anyone can do.  This 5.5 mile trail has 875 feet of elevation gain and is considered a Moderate trail.  The hike itself has a pretty easy incline the entire way, so I might argue that it’s a little on the easier side.  

You will start by parking at the Edith Gap Lookout.  Be warned, there is very limited parking here.  Like, just a few cars can fit and there are many signs telling you where NOT to park so you don’t get towed.  And from what I’ve read, if even part of your tire is on the main road, there is a change of a ticket.  So be careful with the parking situation.  

Once you park, you’ll be following the Massanutten Mountain Trail pretty much the whole way until the very end when you pick up the Kennedy Peak Trail for the final ascent. 

At the top, there is an old wooden structure that you can climb up and enjoy a beautiful view of the Shenandoah Valley!  I can only imagine what this place looks like at sunrise.  

Hike #2: Duncan’s Knob (Dog Friendly)

Our second hike in George Washington National Forest was up to Duncan’s Knob.  

The trailhead is located at Crow’s Creek Campground.  Be warned, there isn’t much parking here and the road to get here isn’t paved.  We didn’t need 4-wheel drive at all, but the road is narrow and will get your vehicle pretty dirty.  But it was worth it!

This hike is classified as difficult and was 7.5 miles long with just over 1,500 feet of elevation gain.  The hardest part about this trail is the elevation comes in 2 steep sections.  One section is right after the start of the trail, and the other section is right before the summit.  

You’ll be hiking on the Scothorn Gap Trail for the first 3 miles, then the Gap Creek Trail for about a half mile before making the final left hand turn towards Duncan’s Knob.  

The final 0.2 miles is a challenging rock scramble.  You’ll need to use your hands as you scramble to the summit.  

Our dog struggled with this part, so we took our sweet time!  If your dog won’t be able to scramble on these large rocks, I would leave him/her at home.  

After we had our fill of the beautiful views, we hiked back down the way we came.  The descent is entirely downhill, so it makes for an easy hike back to the car.    

Conclusion

If you are looking for some great and hidden hikes in George Washington National Forest, you won’t want to miss these 2 trails!  Our hike to Kennedy Peak and our hike to Duncan’s Knob rivaled the hiking we did in Shenandoah National Park.  

With so much attention on the national parks, this national forest has become quite the hidden gem and is a great alternative for northern Virginia hikers!

As always, feel free to reach out to averagewildexperience@gmail.com with any questions.

Happy Hiking!