Ashby Gap
location_onParis, Va.
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Head to the tiny town of Paris for a hike through lush forests and magical glades to 1,500-foot vistas in Sky Meadows State Park. Start at the Ashby Gap AT trailhead and walk south 2.3 miles to Whitehouse Overlook. You’ll be rewarded with panoramas of hills and farmland in the upper Crooked Run Valley.
Distance from DC: 62 miles
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Weverton Cliffs
location_onHarpers Ferry, W. VA.
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The scenic out-and-back trail from Harpers Ferry National Historic District to Weverton Cliffs spans 4.1 miles. Cross the Potomac River via a restored 19th-century railroad trestle, then follow the AT along the riverbank to a steep side trail. Sheer stone cliffs deliver dazzling views of the waterway as well as foliage in Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Historical Park.
Distance from DC: 67 miles
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Stony Man
location_onLuray, VA.
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Shenandoah National Park’s second-highest peak, Stony Man, can be accessed via an easy three-mile round-trip hike on the AT. Start at the Little Stony Man parking lot, passing through gorgeous ridgeline forests. The path culminates in a bouldered summit with eye candy that includes Skyland Resort, Massanutten Mountain, and the distant Alleghenies.
Distance from DC: 93 miles
This article appears in the September 2025 issue of Washingtonian.
