A View from the Buffalo

Buffalo Mountain, that it. This past Sunday the air in Southwest Virginia was crisp and dry, even by Autumn standards much less mid-July. It made for a perfect day to hike up a mountain. Once owned by Robert E. Lee and his brother Charles, Buffalo Mountain (located in Floyd County, Virginia) is now a 1140 acre nature preserve maintained by the Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation. A straight-up one-mile trail leads through the thick forest to a rocky summit of 3,971 above sea level, providing 360 degree views. On this day, I was able to see Pilot Mountain in North Carolina to the south, the Peaks of Otter to the northeast, Big Walker Mountain to the north and the Grayson Highlands (possibly Mt. Rogers and Whitetop) to the west.




From Buffalo Mountain, the Blue Ridge Parkway is just a short drive away so I decided to get a few more miles under my feet and hiked the Rock Castle Gorge Trail. Here is view from Rocky Knob of the valley 1800 feet below.