Peaks View Park in Lynchburg, VA (Blog Hike #297)

Trails: (numerous)

Hike Location: Peaks View Park

Geographic Location: northwest side of Lynchburg, VA (37.41930, -79.22266)

Length: 4.9 miles

Difficulty: 5/10 (Moderate)

Dates Hiked: April 2010, May 2014

Overview: An upland hike featuring a large number of red cedar trees.

Park Information: http://www.lynchburgparksandrec.com/our-parks/peaks-view-park/

Hike Route Map: https://www.mappedometer.com/?maproute=940883
Photo Highlight:

Directions to the trailhead: The easiest access to the trail system at Peaks View Park is from the Ardmore entrance.  Starting from the intersection of US 501 and US 221, head north on US 501.  The first time US 501 turns left at a traffic light, continue straight on Old Forest Rd.  Take Old Forest Rd. 1.2 miles to Ardmore Dr. and turn left on Ardmore Dr.  There is a traffic light at this intersection as well.  Take Ardmore Dr. 0.8 miles to the signed park entrance on the left.  Pass the barn and park in the first parking lot on the right.

The hike: At 250 acres, Peaks View Park is second in size only to Blackwater Creek among the Lynchburg City Parks.  What the park lacks in size it makes up for in terms of facilities.  The many recreation facilities include three lighted tennis courts, seven multi-purpose fields (soccer, football, softball, baseball), volleyball courts, a basketball court, and a disc golf course.   

In addition to the numerous picnic and athletic facilities, the park today also features 8 miles of dirt trails open to hikers and mountain bikers.  In fact, due to the location of the trail system, you will likely meet more mountain bikers on these trails than you will other hikers.  The mountain bikes help keep the trail well trodden, so if you meet people on bikes, courteously step to the side of the trail and let them pass.

The main downside to hiking at Peaks View Park is the lack of direct access to the trail system.  Indeed, to reach the dirt hiking/mountain biking trails, you must first hike 0.4 miles along a paved bike path through the developed area of the park.  The park’s large number of baseball, softball, and soccer fields ensure that the developed area becomes very crowded on nice warm weather weekends.  Thus, I highly recommend that hikers plan a weekday visit to Peaks View Park.

Entrance to Peaks View Park

            To begin your journey to the trail system, pick up the paved path that leads to a concrete bridge over Ivy Creek.  Immediately after crossing the bridge, turn right to begin walking northeast on the Ivy Creek Greenway, a paved bike path.  For the next 0.4 miles you will be walking on this paved bike path with some athletic fields on your left and bubbling Ivy Creek on your right.

Trailhead I

            0.4 miles into the hike and at the 1.00 mile marker on the bike path, you reach Trailhead I for the park’s trail system, marked by a large information board.  Turn left to leave the pavement and enter the trail system.  The trail climbs the hillside using a single switchback and arrives at a fork that forms the beginning of the loop portion of this hike.  To save the best forest for last, I chose to turn right here on the Slick Rock Trail and use the Grapevine Trail going left as the return route.

You will soon come to this trail’s namesake slick rock, a small area of exposed bedrock over which the trail passes.  Most of the forest in this park is reverting farmland, but unlike other such forests, the red cedar trees have managed to maintain their dominance versus their broadleaf opponents.  The exposed bedrock indicates that the bedrock under these ridges is very close to the surface.  Broadleaf trees need deep root systems to grow tall enough to out-compete the cedars for sunlight, and the shallow bedrock prevents such growth.  Hence, the cedars can survive here but not elsewhere.

Entering the slick rock

            The trail makes a sweeping left turn around the end of the ridge and soon ends at a trail intersection which presents two options.  The challenging Roller Coaster Trail heads downhill to the right, but this hike stays near the ridgetop by angling left on the Ridge Cap Trail, which climbs steeply for a brief period to reach an elevation just a few feet below the crest of the ridge.  Like many mountain bike trail systems, this trail system features a large number of trails packed into a small area.  Every intersection is well-signed, so if you print off a trail map from the park’s website before you come, you should have no trouble navigating the trail system.

The Ridge Cap Trail ends at a complicated trail intersection where this hike will turn right to begin the Rock Pile Trail.  Note that, if you took a double left turn at this intersection, you would be on the Grapevine Trail, thus shortening this hike to only 1.8 miles.  Interestingly, the Rock Pile Trail has no major rock formations on it.  What it does have is numerous dips and humps designed to challenge mountain bikers.  The contours can challenge hikers too, but careful stepping should get you through with no problems except perhaps when water tables are very high.

Hiking the Rock Pile Trail

            1.3 miles into the hike, the trail drops to cross a small stream without the aid of a bridge.  Just after crossing the creek, you arrive at a major trail intersection, where the Rock Pile Trail ends.  To continue this hike, you want to first follow the trail to Trailhead II (another point along the paved Ivy Creek Greenway from which the trail system could be accessed), then angle left to begin the Cyclone Trail.

The Cyclone Trail is the longest trail in the park, and this hike will use its entire length.  The length is due to the serpentine route consisting of three very broad switchbacks the trail takes to climb the park’s main ridge.  This route may seem tedious, but it can have advantages.  As you get closer to the ridgetop, the cedar trees thin out and the understory fills in with various bushes, most abundantly honeysuckle.  This underbrush makes a prime opportunity for deer sightings.  When I climbed the Cyclone Trail, I could hear some rustling in the bushes to my right but could see nothing.  When the broad switchback brought me back to that area a few minutes later, four white-tailed deer went galloping from along the trail further uphill.

Hiking the Cyclone Trail

            At 2.5 miles, the Cyclone Trail reaches the crest of the hill and ends at an intersection with the Fire Road.  Turning right on the Fire Road would take you to Trailhead III, noteworthy because it features a bench, garbage can, and the unceremonious end of the paved bike path.  This hike will continue straight across the Fire Road and begin following the Lower Piney Trail.  As its name indicates, this trail heads back into the red cedars.

For the next 0.5 miles the trail maintains a relatively constant elevation with the hillside rising to your left and falling away to your right.  I saw several more deer grazing in the thick understory while I was hiking this section of trail.  At 3 miles, you reach another major trail intersection.  Continuing straight is the Trailhead III Trail (called the Mimosa Trail on the park map) which leads downhill and along a small creek to its namesake trailhead.  Uphill and to the left are the Upper Piney and Fire Road Trails, both of which retrace the route of our Lower Piney Trail albeit at a slightly higher elevation.  This hike will go uphill and then continue straight on the Outback Trail as you pass the farthest point from the trailhead on this hike.

True to its name, the Outback Trail takes you very near the rear park boundary, which is marked with a wire fence on your right.  The forest here is very young with a grassy, shrubby understory.  Soon the Outback Trail curves gradually left to stay within the park’s boundaries.

Hiking the Tom Cat Trail

            At 3.3 miles, the Outback Trail ends at a junction with the Upper Piney Trail and the Tom Cat Trail.  Turn right to begin the Tom Cat Trail and stay near the park’s rear boundary.  A wealthy subdivision soon comes into view over the fence to your right.  I chose this route through the park’s trail system partly because it is largely free of man-made structures such as these houses.  In fact, this is the only point on this hike where the surrounding buildings come into view.  The same cannot be said about some other trails in this park, in particular, the Mimosa Trail.

Very quickly the houses fade behind you, replaced by a deep wooded ravine.  At 3.6 miles, the trail drops steeply into this ravine to arrive at another trail intersection, where the Tom Cat Trail ends.  Continuing straight would lead you back to the Rock Pile Trail and short-cut this hike.  To see the best forest in the park, you should turn right and begin the Steve’s Bowl-A-Rama Trail.

Starting the Steve's Bowl-A-Rama Trail

            The trail climbs moderately as it passes through some nice second growth hardwoods including beech and maple.  A sweeping left turn leads the trail gradually higher as you exit the ravine you entered back on the Tom Cat Trail.  For the next 0.3 miles the trail stays just below the ridgetop as it darts in and out of one steep ravine after another.  Perhaps it was just because I was more tired at this point, but the up-and-down here seemed much harder than the ravines crossed earlier in the hike.

3.8 miles into the hike, another sweeping 180-degree left turn takes the trail slightly downhill as the park’s softball fields come into view further downhill and to the right.  Now the trail again passes through many of the same ravines you passed through going the other direction only minutes ago.  At this elevation, the ravines are broader and less steep than they were earlier.

At 4.2 miles, you reach an intersection with the Grapevine Trail, where you should turn right to begin the Grapevine Trail.  Several wild grapevines can be seen climbing the small cedar trees along this trail, so once again the name fits.  At 4.4 miles, the loop is closed as the Grapevine Trail ends at the Slick Rock Trail.  Turn right and hike the single switchback down to the paved Ivy Creek Greenway.  A right turn and 0.4 miles of walking along paved trail will return you to your car and complete the hike.