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MOUNTAIN TOUR: CRABTREE FALLS, FISH & APPLES
This tour begins and ends at Wintergreen Resort. Total drving time is 90 minutes not accounting for any stops you choose to make.
Wintergreen Resort is an 11,000 acre, four-season, family resort stretching from the peaks of Devil's Knob and Black Rock Mountain to the floor of the Rockfish River Valley. The resort offers 17 ski slopes, 45 holes of championship golf, 25 tennis courts, 6 pools, 25 miles of hiking trails, a lake, an equestrian center and a summer music festival.
Wintergreen to The Fish Hatchery
Leaving the resort, turn right just beyond the gatehouse and proceed up Rt 664 one mile to the Blue Ridge Parkway. Turn left onto the Parkway and continue South for 14 miles. Enroute you will find plenty of ``overlooks" at which to stop and soak up the panoramic vistas of the Shenandoah Valley. Turn left on Rt 56 and make your way down the mountain for 3.5 miles to the Fish Hatchery on your right (Rt 690-Fish Hatchery Lane). Each year 150,000 newly hatched brook, brown and rainbow trout are nutured to maturity here before being released in the lakes and rivers of Virginia. Fish at various stages of maturity are visible in cascading pools. There is no fee and the hatchery is open from 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
Crabtree Falls
From The Fish Hatchery, turn right on Rt 56 and continue down the mountain 4 miles to Crabtree Falls on your right. There is a 3 mile hiking trail that parallels the cascading falls and provides several scenic lookout points along the way up to the top. Crabtree Falls is the highest waterfall east of the Mississippi with a 1200 ft. drop into the Tye River. There is no fee.
Apple Country and the Appalachian Trail
From Crabtree Falls parking lot turn right on Rt 56 and continue down the mountain for 12 miles through the historic villages of Tyro and Massies Mill. Notice the ``backpacker" symbol for the Appalachain Trail which goes from Main to Georgia. If you don't choose to hike the trail, continue down the mountian. You are now entering apple country. This time of year, apples will be ripe on the trees. Orchards that you will pass are Fitzgerald's on the left, Silver Creek on the right and Dickie Brothers on the right. The road also crosses over the Tye River several times. There is good trout fishing all along the Tye River. When Rt 56 reaches Rt 151, turn left on Rt 151 and go North for 10.5 miles to Rt 664. Turn left and go back up to Wintergreen. |
