National Park | Hikes and Hops

Potomac, MD

Have you ever heard of First Day Hikes? It’s an initiative to get people outdoors and enjoying state and national parks on the very first day of the year. J and I have been doing it for four years now! This year I wanted our first hike to be something special so we did the Billy Goat Trail in Great Falls National Park for the very first time! Guys I cannot believe it’s taken me so long to do this hike because I absolutely LOVED it. It definitely isn’t for the faint of heart but I felt so strong and alive while clambering over the rocks. Let’s check it out!

THE HIKE: Billy Goat A (Great Falls National Park)

https://www.alltrails.com/explore/map/goat-and-canal-to-great-falls-overlook-loop-ffbd6cb

Length: 5 miles
Elevation Gain: 174ft
Difficulty: Difficult
Time: 2.5 -3 hours
Trail use: Hiking Only (No Dogs)
Parking: Large parking lot at trailhead. $20 per vehicle or free with National Park Pass
H&H: 5/5

Great Falls is one of the most popular areas to visit in Maryland. It’s not very far from DC and there are trails on both the Virginia and Maryland sides. Technically Great Falls National Park is in Virginia and the Maryland side is part of the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Historic Park. But the section we’re looking for starts at the Great Falls Tavern Visitor Center. This is a hugely popular area for hikers, bikers, and walkers since the trails branch off from the C&O Canal (a 184.5 river path connecting Harpers Ferry to Washington DC). If you go any time when the weather’s nice, expect full parking lots and busy trails.

The entrance fee to the park is $20 per vehicle which might seem steep but I highly encourage you to invest in the yearly NPS pass if you hike or travel a lot. It’s called the America the Beautiful pass ($85/year) and it gets one vehicle into all National Parks, Battlefields, Historic areas and more! Our pass quickly paid for itself after going to Harper’s Ferry, Shenandoah, and Catoctin.

There are three sections of the Billy Goat Trail (A,B,C). Before heading out to hike, check to see which sections are open. When we went, section B was closed due to flood damage. Our loop took us from the Visitor Center along the canal to the Section A trailhead and then back along the canal after doing the hike. Combined with a couple offshoots to see the overlooks, this loop was about 5 miles.

The Billy Goat section of the trail is difficult. Make sure to be prepared! Bring plenty of water, wear shoes with good grips, and have clothes that you don’t mind getting dirty. After leaving the C&O Canal, the trail is almost completely rock scrambles and even one daunting climb up a cliff face. It was super fun but we were definitely exhausted by the end! My best advice is to take your time. Let the speed demons pass you and don’t be afraid to slide down rocks on your bum. I did that a lot! Oh and make sure you take SO many pictures. This is some of the most beautiful landscape in Maryland, maybe even the whole country!

THE BEER: 7 Locks Brewery

Address: 12227 Wilkins Ave, Rockville, MD 20852
Distance from Trail Head: 11 miles, 20 mins
Website: http://www.7locksbrewing.com/
Food?: BYOF
H&H Rating: 5/5

7 Locks Brewery is located in a large warehouse space in the Rockville area. They have plenty of tables in addition to a large bar. We were there early in the afternoon so we nearly had the first to ourselves! 7 Locks opened in 2015 and has been making a name for themselves ever since! They pride themselves in making excellent beer (and have the awards to prove it!) as well as being a gathering place for the community. We’ve been here several times and the beer never disappoints! Honestly, this time around it’s hard to pick a favorite beer. As usual, we tried a variety of styles and they were all so good! I think my favorite has to be the Billy Goat Tr-Ale since it paired so perfectly with our hike! Also the Bitch Monkey with Cranberry was awesome. I’m such a sucker for something cranberry flavored. It’s just so wintery!

Overall, I’m always very pleased with 7 Locks! It’s not easy to stand out in an area with several breweries to choose from but 7 Locks always manages to impress. Definitely Check them out next time you’re in the Rockville area!

Our Beer:

Redland Lager – Red Lager – 6.3%
Bitch Monkey w/ Cranberry – Fruited Gose – 5.2%
Blockhouse Point Stout – Oatmeal Stout – 5.7%
Billy Goat Tr-Ale – Session IPA – 4.5%

SUM UP: The Billy Goat trail is a famous (infamous?) trail along the C&O Canal in Potomac, MD that is very popular and is also difficult in some sections. It features incredible rocky landscapes with raging waterfalls and quiet river beaches. The hike itself requires rock scrambling and even scaling a short cliff wall. There is a $20 entrance fee and check trail openings before leaving. Only 20 minutes away is 7 Locks Brewing in Rockville. They have a huge space and offer a wide variety of delicious brews.

Luray, VA

I have been wanting to go back to Shenandoah for ages! The only time I’ve been was a quick drive down Skyline Drive with some friends and it was so cloudy we couldn’t see anything. So when some of J’s college friends wanted to do a weekend in Luray, I was game. The only problem is it was cloudy AGAIN! What luck?! So instead of a beautiful overlook, we decided to tackle the White Oak Canyon trail which feature 6 different waterfalls. The full hike is 9.5 miles but we did about a 5.5 mile loop. Afterwards, we headed back into Luray to grab a beer at the local brewery Hawksbill. It was a great spot and we were taught by the locals how to exactly say Luray ending a long debate among us friends. Apparently it’s LOO-ray if you’re a local and Luh-RAY if you’re an out-of-towner. Insider tips!

THE HIKE: Whiteoak Canyon Trail (Shenandoah National Park)

Length: 9.5 miles
Elevation Gain: 2,400ft
Difficulty: Hard
Time: 4-5 hours
Trail use: Hiking and leashed pets
Parking: Large lot ($35 per car fee to enter park)
H&H: 4/5

White Oak Canyon is a fairly popular trail located in Shenandoah National Park near the Skyland Resort. While it doesn’t lead to an amazing vista like the more popular choices such as Old Rag or Stony Man, this out and back trail features 6 different waterfalls! It also climbs over 2,000ft so it’s not for the faint of heart. There are two way to tackle this trail. Either you can start in Shenandoah using the parking lot off of mile marker 43 on the Skyline drive. If you’d rather hike up first and end with downhill, you can start at the other end by parking at the Lower Whiteoak Canyon Fee Station. Since our group knew we weren’t quite up for doing the full trail, we opted to start at the Skyline trailhead. Just a heads up, cell service is very spotty in Shenandoah so make sure you have your trail downloaded ahead of time! Or just go to visitor’s center at Skyland where a very nice guide gave us a map and some trail suggestions.

I really liked this trail because of the huge rock formations along the water. I’m such a sucker for a good water trail and this was no exception. It really felt like you were in an ancient forest. And despite this being a more popular trail, we really didn’t run into too many people until later on at the main falls overlook. I also really liked how we followed the river from where it started as a small trickling stream until it turned into a beautiful waterfall! While it wasn’t the biggest or most impressive waterfall I’d ever seen, it was still majestic in its own way. We spent a lot of time at the overlook relaxing and taking pictures (and taking pics of each other taking pics). Then it was time to hike back up.

Do you ever start walking and not realize that you’re going downhill until it’s time to turn around? Yeah that’s what happened to us. I was so focused on the beauty and not tripping on rocks that I didn’t quite realize how steep the trail had gotten until it was time to turn around. We really got a good workout! If you decide to tackle this trail, make sure you have plenty of water and are ready for a bit of a challenge! Needless to say, we were quite ready for beer after this one.

THE BEER: Hawksbill Brewing

Address: 22 Zerkel St, Luray, VA 22835
Distance from Trail Head: 21 miles, 35 mins
Website: https://www.hawksbillbrewing.com/
Food?: Bring your own!
H&H Rating: 4/5

Okay okay, I know I said I usually try to keep the brews less than 30 mins from the trailhead. But I hope you’ll let this one slide since more than half of the drive is along the beautiful Skyline Drive in the national park!

Hawksbill Brewing is a small brewery in Luray, Virginia which prides themselves on being grown here and brewed here. They partner with local farms in the county to source the freshest ingredients and even make their Hooray for Luray using their own homegrown Cascade hops! Their beer was pretty good and was all the more refreshing after our exhausting hike. Even better though, Hawksbill was one of the friendliest breweries we’ve ever been to. It had such a great small town vibe and we instantly felt welcome. They had a sizable taproom with bar and table seating, as well as picnic tables outside with a lovely view of the mountains. It was too bad that we had to drive home or I could have stayed here all evening!

OUR BEER

Hooray for Luray – IPA – 6.3%
Seven Days a Wheat (Watermelon) – Wheat Beer – 5.25%
Brown Cow – Milk Stout – 6.1%
Cock Your Doodle Doo – Stout – 6.3%

SUM UP:

Whiteoak Canyon is a difficult hike in Shenandoah National Park that features six waterfalls. It has steep elevation but you’re rewarded with incredible views all along the way. Make sure to bring plenty of water and have sturdy shoes! After you finish up this challenging hike, reward yourself with a cold one at Hawksbill Brewing Company. They have a variety of beer styles with a focus on locally grown ingredients. It’s a proudly local place and you may find yourself chatting with the table next to you. If you’re looking to get out of the city, this is the perfect hike & hop for you!