The trail begins at the north end of the sidewalk in front of the wall, and climbs steadily and easily. There are a few rocks in the trail, so sturdy shoes would be helpful. The two sketches identify the principal features of the view, and require no comment.

Wildflower note: Near Bettys Rock, in early spring, look for pink moss phlox, Phlox subulata. Later, a small white flower with leaves that are toothed at the end is three-toothed cinquefoil, Potentilia tridentata. Mountain laurel blooms here in June.

The trail begins at a marker post across the Drive from the overlook, 25 yards south of the north entrance. It climbs a few feet, passes through a patch of mountain laurel, and then descends steadily. Along the trail you may find scattered junk: oil drums, paint cans, bottles, broken glass, scrap iron, and the remains of an old car. About a mile from the start, and 120 yards before you reach the Limberlost trail, you pass an abandoned dump on the left. For most of its length the trail follows an abandoned road. The road was built by the mountain people who once lived here. But junk and dump are the work of the CCC, which had a camp near Timber Hollow Overlook.

Take the Bettys Rock trail, at the north end of the sidewalk beside the wall. Almost immediately, turn left on a side trail and descend to the AT. Turn right on the A.T. and go 2.0 miles to the stable, on your left. Turn right here and walk to the paved road, which is the north entrance of Skyland. Turn right and go about a hundred yards to the Drive. Cross the Drive, enter the Whiteoak Canyon parking area, and take the trail at its north (left-hand) end.

Start at the marker post across the Drive from the paved parking area. About 80 yards from the Drive, at point "B" on the map, cross the yellow- blazed Skyland-to-Big Meadows horse trail. Continue on the blue-blazed Cedar Run trail.

As above, to Cedar Run falls. Return to the trail and continue downstream a little less than half a mile, to the Park boundary, which is marked by red blazes on the trees on both sides of the trail. From here, take a short side trail down to the water. Look upstream, between two large boulders, to see a small but beautiful waterfall.

If you wish, you can cross the stream here; a trail of sorts continues downstream on the left bank. (At some future time this may become the trail, because the present trail crosses private property.)

On the present trail (on the right bank of the stream) continue downstream a little less than 0.2 mile to a concrete marker post. Turn left here, toward the water. (Avoid the abandoned trail that goes straight ahead on private property.) The trail swings right and parallels the stream. Less than 200 feet from the marker post, where the trail seems to disappear, you're supposed to turn left, ford the stream, and find the trail on the other side. (The red blazes on the left of the stream mark the Park boundary, not a trail.) After crossing the stream, join the trail that comes down the left bank. Then pass a side trail, on the right, that goes to the parking area in Berry Hollow.

Continue around the foot of the ridge and into the bottom of Whiteoak Canyon. Cross Whiteoak Run and reach the Whiteoak Canyon trail at point "F" on the map (page 146.) Turn left. About 0.7 mile from the junction, cross a stream that comes down from the right. This is the largest tributary of Whiteoak Run. It's also a source of some embarrassment, since its original name was Nigger Run. It was later changed to Negro Run, which didn't quite solve the problem. On the latest maps it has no name. A short distance upstream on Nameless Run are a good-sized waterfall and a pool deep enough to swim in.

Continue uphill through a narrow canyon on a steep, rough trail, past all six waterfalls of Whiteoak Run. Near the top of the upper falls, at point "H" on the map, the horse trail comes in from the right. After another 30 yards, the horse trail turns left and crosses the stream. Ford the steam here and stay on the horse trail, straight ahead and uphill. (If the water is too high, continue on the Whiteoak Canyon trail, cross the steam on a foot bridge, turn left, return to the horse trail, then turn right.)

Take the trail at the north end of the paved parking area. It starts out nearly parallel to the Drive, then curves left and joins the A.T. less than 100 yards from the start. Turn left on the A.T. and climb steadily. A little more than 0.4 mile from the start; the trail crosses the first of three talus slopes—slanting rock piles formed by rocks rolling down from the disintegrating cliffs above. But there's no reason to feel nervous about crossing a talus slope; there has been relatively little movement of the rocks since the end of the last ice age.

Beyond the first talus slope, the next half mile is a rock-garden hike. The mountainside to your left consists of tiers of wild rock gardens, one above another, with a rich assortment of ferns, mosses, and lichens. The plants with broad lily-like leaves are yellow beadlily, Clintonia borealis, which blooms in late May and early June. (The flowers are yellow; the plant is sometimes called blue beadlily because its fruits resemble blue beads.) Smaller plants with thick fleshy leaves, growing where a small amount of soil has collected on the rocks, are Allegheny stonecrop, Sedum telephioides. It blooms steadily from mid-July to mid-September, with flowers that vary from deep salmon-pink to nearly white.

Sixty yards beyond the first talus slope is a second, with a view to the right across Timber Hollow, The highest point in sight, with rocky cliffs on its left face, is Stony Man. Nearer, and a little to the left, is the rounded summit of Bushytop, from which a ridge descends toward the left to the abrupt angle at Millers Head.

After another 200 yards cross the third talus slope, with an overgrown view. Worth noting in late summer are several mountain ash trees, with compound leaves and masses of bright red berries. (The mountain ash is not an ash, but a member of the rose family.)

About half a mile beyond the third talus slope, the main trail splits at a narrow angle. Take the left-hand fork, which climbs 0.9 mile to the summit. The climb is steady, but not difficult. As you near the top you will pass several ledges on the left. All of them offer interesting views, but of course none can compare with the view from the summit. At two or more points a side trail branches off toward the right; keep left at all such junctions, until you come out in front of the shelter. This is Byrds Nest No. 2, the second of four open shelters for which materials were donated by the late Senator Harry F. Byrd Sr. Camping is not permitted on or near Hawksbill summit.

Continue 75 yards beyond the shelter to the observation platform, elevation 4,050 feet, the highest point in Shenandoah National Park. There's a broad view here. At the far left is the town of Stanley; just to the right of it, and much closer, is the rounded crest of Nakedtop, with cliffs on its right-hand slope. To the right of Nakedtop is Buracker Hollow, with the town of Ida at its mouth. From Ida a ridge rises toward the right to the angle at Millers Head, then to the rounded summit of Bushytop. The high point, with rocky cliffs on its left face, is Stony Man. Farther right and closer, down below you, is Crescent Rock. Still farther right, in the distance, is the rocky summit of Old Rag.

Cross the Drive from the south end of the parking area. Turn right and walk in the grass beside the Drive, less than a hundred yards, to a large wooden sign. Turn left, and enter the woods on an abandoned road. Less than 400 feet from the Drive, the horse trail comes in from the left and joins the old road. Note: you will walk three miles on the horse trail; horses have the right of way.

About half a mile from the Drive, watch for a concrete post on the left, that says "Mile 6.5 Horse Trail." (That's the distance back to the stable at Skyland.) Beyond, the trail begins to swing to the right. About 0.3 mile beyond the marker, look for two wooden signs: the first says "Horse Trail to Skyland", and the second "Horse Trail to Big Meadows." Beyond the second sign, the trail narrows abruptly. Between signs, 30 feet from the first one, the old road trace leaves the horse trail and goes 30 degrees to the left. It resembles a game trail, overgrown with bushes; it goes less than 0.2 mile to a mountaineer homesite. If you want to explore, you might note the direction of the sun as you leave the trail, so that you can return by keeping the sun in the opposite direction. Here's how to reach the homesite:

About a hundred feet from the trail, the road trace passes six feet to the left of an oak tree with a double trunk. Thirty yards farther, look for a big sharp rock sticking up in the middle of the road. Continue a hundred feet more. Then, with another double-trunk oak 40 feet ahead, and the remains of a rotting rail fence on your left, leave the road trace and go 30 degrees to the right. (As an alternative, if the road trace seems easy to follow, stay with it; it swings to the left, then makes a sharp switchback to the right and heads directly for the homesite.)

After leaving the road trace and going 30 degrees to the right, continue in a straight line, joining a rotting rail fence on your right. About 120 yards from the road trace, look for a spring on the left, and two abandoned cars on the right. You'll see rock piles and scrap metal all around you, including a bedspring, buckets, and tubs. (Don't collect souvenirs; leave the junk for others to enjoy.) In sight ahead are the gateposts of a former picket fence, and the filled-in remains of a chimney.

Return to the horse trail. If in doubt, go directly uphill. If you have a compass, go northwest, Turn left on the horse trail.

Watch for the Mile 7.5 marker post on the horse trail; less than 300 yards beyond it, the trail swings to the right, where an older trail, now abandoned, goes steeply downhill straight ahead. Pass through a grove of hemlocks, and cross three small branches of the Rose River. Then, a few hundred yards beyond the Mile 9 marker on the horse trail, join the Rose River Falls trail. Turn sharp left, downhill, passing a post that says "No Horses."

Continue downhill for about 0.4 mile, to a point where the trail turns sharply to the right. For the next half mile the route parallels the Rose River, with a number of cascades and pools visible from the trail. From a low point on the trail, 0.7 mile from the horse trail, you have a good view of the falls, on the left. If you like, continue a few feet more to where the trail swings up to the right; ahead on the side trail are some rocks that offer sitting places with a view of the falls.

Now turn around and go back three-quarters of a mile, to the junction with the horse trail, which comes in from the right. Go straight ahead, uphill, another half mile to a gravel fire road. This was formerly the Gordonsville Turnpike. In November of 1862 Stonewall Jackson passed this point, going from right to left, with about 20,000 men and a number of supply wagons, on his way to Fredericksburg. Turn right onto the fire road, go 40 yards uphill, and cross the Drive. Continue about a hundred yards on the fire road (not the paved road into Fishers Gap Overlook) to the Appalachian Trail, and turn right.

The A.T. passes several ledges with views to the left and, a third of a mile from the fire road, goes along a ledge below Franklin Cliffs. Continue 0.9 mile to a side trail on the right that goes to Spitler Knoll Overlook; then another 0.6 mile to a side trail on the left that goes to Rock Spring Cabin. Less than 0.3 mile beyond the Rock Spring Cabin trail, watch carefully for a side trail that doubles back sharply to the right. Turn right onto this trail; it climbs steadily for 0.9 mile to Hawksbill summit. Where side trails branch off toward the right, keep left, until you come out in front of the shelter on the summit. The observation platform is 75 yards beyond the shelter. For a note on the shelter, and on the view from the platform, see page 156.