House Mountain: Rockbridge County, VA

The view from Big House Mountain looking eastward past Little House Mountain.

The House Mountain trails are a product of local grass-roots conservation efforts initiated by the region's nature lovers.  There is no entrance fee, and limited parking is available off of Saddle Ridge Road near the base of the mountain.

Shadow the Dog and I took on just one of the hike's two peaks during this outing, heading up to the summit of Big House Mountain and enjoying the view during what turned out to be a clear day.  We were delighted to find plenty of snow on the mountain, despite the fact that most of the snow had melted in the valley below.  Near the summit, the snow was about six inches deep and made for tough climbing and tricky descending.

The trail really begins about half a mile from the parking area;  one passes several residences before finally entering the woods.  From there the path is wide an fairly easy up to the area between the peaks, known as the saddle, where there is an informative sign (left) and the trail forks.  Here there are several huge apple trees, remnants of an orchard that once occupied the saddle.  To the right there's Little House Mountain and to the left, Big House Mountain.

Shadow and I went left.  Here the grade quickly increases and a short spur along the rocks takes you to up to the cliffs where the views to the south and west are spectacular.  Coming back from the spur there is more climbing to reach the summit of Big House Mountain.

It's about 2 miles to the saddle and another 1.5 miles to the top of Big House Mountain  To the top of Little House Mountain it's also about 1.5 miles.  That makes about 10 miles to thoroughly explore the area.   I've attached a map below of a trip Shadow the Dog and I took last spring, and there's more information, including a .gpx file here.  Biking is also allowed on the trails, and I'll probably try that out pretty soon, though I have a feeling I'll be pushing the bike once I pass the saddle.