ABOUT THE PARK: North Carolina Division of Parks and Recreation
TRAIL MAP: Online Map
Our hike outlined in pink below.
DIRECTIONS:
From Hungry Mother State Park, VA 62 miles, about 1 1/2 hours on scenic country roads.
I plugged the park address into the GPS: 3042 Frank Parkway, Roaring Gap, NC 28668
Online Maps and Directions
Park in the Upper Parking Lot (#12 on park map) which is beyond the park office on the left, opposite the turn for the campgrounds.
HIKE DISTANCE: Many distances are possible. The Stone Mountain Loop takes you from the Upper Parking Lot to the Stone Mountain summit, Hutchinson Homestead and Stone Mountain Falls over a 4.5 mile distance on mostly wide gravel trails, bridges over all stream crossings and steps built into mountainsides. We added in additional rugged hiking trails which are not as heavily used for a total of 9.5 miles.
HIKE DIRECTIONS:
From the Upper Parking Lot the trail starts to the left of the restrooms.
You will meet up with the Stone Mountain Loop Trail which will be marked with orange circles. Turn right to follow this trail to the Stone Mountain summit.
Signs will warn you of possible dangers. The danger lies in striking out on your own off the marked trail. If you stay on the trail, you have nothing to worry about.
Reaching the summit, it was a humid, hazy day so the views were not the best. Regardless, they were still spectacular:
To descend from the summit, follow the railing to a long series of steps.
Coming down the mountain, continue following the Stone Mountain Loop Trail where you will find a couple of benches...
... and just beyond on the left, Hutchinson Homestead:
Walk through the homestead meadow for great views of Stone Mountain from the bottom looking up to where you were a short while ago.
Continue through the meadow to hook back up with the Stone Mountain Loop Trail. From this point we turned right on the Cedar Rock Trail then left on the Black Jack Ridge Trail.
We then continued on to the Wolf Rock Trail where we took a long break at a vista where we had the whole place to ourselves.
The Wolf Rock Trail then switchbacks down through quiet forests.
You'll come back out on the Stone Mountain Loop Trail where you turn right and soon pass the Hutchinson Homestead on the left again. Continue on the Stone Mountain Loop Trail towards Stone Mountain Falls. Once again, stay on the trail and you have nothing to worry about.
A long series of steps which offer decks with benches throughout will bring you up to the top where you continue back to the Upper Parking Lot. My dog is usually terrified of going up steps but she had no problem with these so the steps are not at all steep or intimidating.
Sadly, we found quite a bit of litter at Stone Mountain summit. A local man who frequently hikes there told me the park staff comes through regularly to clean up. Well, that is simply ridiculous and park personnel should not have to do that. How hard is it if you can bring it in full, to take it back out empty? There simply is no excuse for littering. I squished down the cans and bottles and my dog packed them out in her backpack because my conscience simply will not allow me to walk by and ignore it. Please don't leave your garbage behind to ruin the beauty for others.
