Despite having lived in the Shenandoah Valley for the majority of my thirty-two years of life, Old Rag was one such hike I’d never tackled until last October. It’s one of the most popular hikes of the Virginia and Outside deemed it good enough to make a list of the 25 best hikes in the world. Seems like a lofty title to live up to, but is it worth the hype (and crowds and nearly ten mile trek)?
Nestled inside Shenandoah National Park, this hike requires an entrance fee or National park pass, and you’ll need to buy a day-use ticket online before arriving at the trailhead if you want to hike this between now and November. The ticket is $1 and non-refundable/interchangeable, so if you end up not hiking on your chosen day, you won’t be out of much money. However, if you show up without it the park rangers will turn you away, as they turned away many a poor soul who showed up without a ticket. Leave the furry friends at home and decide whether to do this as a loop or out-and-back. I’d never really considered how Old Rag got its name since I assumed it was named after the fact you’ll probably feel like an old rag after finishing this hike. However, the mountain is made of old rag granite.
My friend, Leanne, and I arrived at the trailhead at the not-so-early hour of roughly twelve. The main lot was full, which added a little bit of extra walking from the parking lot to the trailhead. The first few miles of Old Rag is the “green tunnel” found on the bulk of Virginia trails. However, being mid October the leaves were changing colors which made for an extra lovely trek through the forest and the incline was rather mild. There were a surprising number of folks listening to music via bluetooth speakers too. Every so often we passed, or were passed by, someone. Needless to say, we didn’t find much solitude or quiet here.
We did find one of the funnest trails in Virginia though. The rock scramble requires a good amount of upper body strength but it’s a blast from start to finish. Luckily for us, by late afternoon the majority of hikers had already started a few hours earlier, so we managed to avoid most of the bottlenecks that appear at more difficult parts of the scramble. However, being only five foot two, there were a few places I ended up needed a bit of assistance getting up (or at least, the assistance of other hikers made it a lot easier to haul my short legs up some of those boulders).
My friend and I opted to loop the trail partially because the number of people doing it as an out-and-back had caused a bit of congestion, which we didn’t want to add too. That said, if I were to hike this again I would consider doing it as an out-and-back, because while the second half of the trail was certainly pretty, it felt like we were on the road that never ends.
So is old Rag worth the hype?
Absolutely. If you want a good challenge and a stellar view of the Shenandoah Valley from the top of Old Rag, you’ll find this hike well-worth the crowds and effort.
