Labor Day weekend

Humpback Rocks on Blue Ridge Parkway has a self-guiding trail through a reconstructed mountain farmstead. A hiking trail from the parking area (at mile 6.1) leads 0.75 mile to "The Rocks", whose humped appearance gives the area its name. http://www.thebackpacker.com/trails/va/trail_792.php


Crabtree Falls In a mountain gorge in western Nelson County is Crabtree Falls, consisting of five tiers of major falls and several smaller ones. Crabtree Falls plummets 1,200 feet down the northern flank of a 4,063-foot-high mountain called The Priest. The icy waters of the falls are in the headwaters of the Tye River, which gained notoriety in the devastating flooding rains of Hurricane Camille in 1969. The Tye River nearly moved the little community of Massies Mill on VA 56 off the map. Then the trail winds through hemlocks and past an old family graveyard. It's an easy 10-minute walk to the first of five major cascades. From there, the hiker climbs 1.7 miles up a steep trail with switchbacks. Moist air from the falls makes ideal habitat for several varieties of ferns, mosses, and wildflowers. Along the way, viewing platforms with benches enable hikers to catch their breath while enjoying views of the cascades, and children like to investigate the small cave on the trail. At the top, the trail continues 1.2 miles farther along Crabtree Creek to Crabtree Meadows parking lot on VA 826 (Crabtree Farm Road).

St. Mary's Trail. The path leads up a scenic narrowing gorge toward St. Mary's Falls. After a stream crossing and .5-mile short of St. St. Mary's Falls Trail continues along the main stream and dead-ends at a double waterfall at the base of steep rock cliffs.
• Degree of difficulty: Moderate to falls (on .5-mile spur off St. Mary's Trail), with stream crossing that can be difficult in wet seasons or in icy conditions.
• Surface: Natural forest floor, rocky sections, stream crossing.

Only had time to walk around Charlottesville downtown a little bit. There are a lot more to see next time according the city profile.
http://www.epodunk.com/cgi-bin/genInfo.php?locIndex=25368


Hiked Jeremy's Run Trail, a relaxing 5-mile walk up the creek valley. There are several crossings along the way. The severity depends on the time of the year and the amount of recent precipitation.
http://www.midatlantichikes.com/id82.html