Mount Rogers National Recreation Area Guidebook

Book excerpt: Encompassing more than 140,000 acres of scenic beauty in southwestern Virginia, the Mount Rogers National Recreation Area offers outdoor enthusiasts a myriad of activities, from hiking, camping, and fishing to horseback riding, picnicking, swimming, tour driving, and biking. In the only comprehensive guidebook for this region, now newly updated, Johnny Molloy covers all of these activities and more, providing visitors with everything they need, including detailed maps, to enjoy the entire Mount Rogers area-one of the true jewels of Southern Appalachia. Molloy details the more than 430 miles of marked and maintained trails that criss-cross the Mount Rogers NRA and nearby Grayson Highlands State Park. Organized both by type, such as long trails and rail trails, and the areas they cover, including West Side, Central Area, Far East, and High Country, the trail descriptions include comprehensive, narratives of each hike, noting the various trail junctions, stream crossings, and trailside features with their distances from the trailhead. With each trail summary is an information box that offers quick access to such pertinent data as trail type (foot, horse, and/or bike), difficulty, length, degree of use, trail connections, and highlights. Complementing the sections on the extensive trail system are chapters on many other recreational options. Anglers will find lists of the best streams and tips for both fly and spin-cast fishing. For those seeking a way to cool off after a mountain excursion, the book locates the area's favorite swimming holes. Molloy also reveals the best roads from which to view the gorgeous scenery and wildlife of the Mount Rogers area. Rounding out the guidebook is information on national forest and state park campgrounds, picnic areas, and accommodations and services in nearby towns, including motels, bed-and-breakfasts, outfitters, and stores."