This past weekend, JG and I rented a cabin in far Southwest Virginia. There is a hike that I heard about several years ago and it has been on my mind that I have to do it. It’s called The Devil’s Bathtub. I knew it would be challenging, I’ve read about the many creek crossings, but it sounded like something I really wanted to try.
Friday morning, we did a small hike outside the town of St. Paul where we spent the night in a really cute boutique hotel called The Western Front. If you are in that area, I highly recommend staying there.
Anyway, we decided to check out the parking for the Devil’s Bathtub as we planned to hike this on Saturday. Here’s what we found:
Notice how these are all 4-wheel drive vehicles. We started up the road and quickly realized our Camry did not want to go any further.
Not exactly welcoming! I get that it’s annoying to have property close to an attraction like this, and I get that people will park where ever they have to, but what I don’t get is this: you have an amazing attraction in a county that could really use a boost. Why not pave the road, put in a decent parking lot and capitalize on this. The nearest gas station is about 5 miles away, there is no cell service. We felt like this was something locals have decided not to share (wait a minute, I do know about that too). I know there are ways to get there, but after seeing the barbed wire and signs, we decided not to put out any more effort.
On to Plan B, (always have a plan B). There is another cool hike called Hanging Rock trail that takes you along the Little Stoney Creek and rewards you with some waterfalls. We drove to the trail head and were surprised to see only one other vehicle in the parking lot. Guess Why?
We have had a lot of rain in the area so it was not that big of a surprise. Of the 3 miles, about 1/2 mile of the trail was open. What the heck, we had to see how far we could go.
This is as far as we were allowed. At least we got to experience a portion of the Little Stoney. And, what we saw just left us wanting more. Don’t worry Scott County, we will be back.
The Unassuming Hiker 
I’m sorry you didn’t get to do Devils Bathtub, I was waiting to hear all about it! At least you an JG had a small hike and a nice weekend getaway!
Nice pictures of Little Stony Creek!
LikeLike
Thanks Hannah, it seems like I researched it to death only to be disappointed. Oh well.
LikeLike
Well, that’s too bad that your hikes got derailed either partially or totally. Better luck next time, Karen!
LikeLike
Thanks Deb!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Great reminder to always have a Plan B….and a Plan C! I’m sorry that you didn’t get the hiking done that you wanted to. I’m glad that you’ll be back!
LikeLike
Just like a hike, life has its ups and downs.
LikeLike
Well I’m sure that was disappointing – you’d think such conditions might get a mention somewhere on the interwebby. If you knew you had to park (I’m guessing) a half days walk from the actual track in, would that have made a difference? Still, you found a really nice B&B 🙂
LikeLike
Thanks Pauline, I think if we knew how far we would have to walk to the trail head, it might have made a difference. The hike is 7 miles, so it’s not like you want to tack on another couple of miles. I will get there someday.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Good pictures despite the frustrations
LikeLike
Thanks Derrick!
LikeLiked by 1 person
What’s worse is the distance you travelled to get there for a non-event 😕
I too have experienced trails where the local people are outright unfriendly towards hikers. I get it … some people are real jerks and ruin it for everyone else.
… or sections of the trail that are not usable because of unsafe conditions caused by the weather.
I guess it’s all part of the adventure.
LikeLike
Joanne, we would have made the trip even if we knew we couldn’t do the hike. There are plenty of other great hikes in the area. And, yes, a handful of people can ruin things for everyone. But I still don’t get why they don’t promote this gem, they could generate some much needed revenue.
LikeLiked by 1 person