Crabtree Falls - Washington National Forest

We planned a mid-week getaway to enjoy snowy conditions at Shenandoah National Park and the Blue Ridge Parkway. We are frequent visitors to the area in the fall - but got into a "frozen waterfall" kick this year. Mother Nature cooperated with the snow - but some of the Shenandoah Trails were a "no-go" as Skyline Drive and parts of the Blue Ridge Parkway were closed due to conditions.

We were able to go to a Trail we have been meaning to go to for years but it always looked too crowded to offer an enjoyable time. Crabtree Falls Trail in Nelson County, VA - offers a moderate hike with views of 5 cascades of a 1200 ft waterfall - one of the tallest in the US east of the Mississippi.

https://www.fs.usda.gov/recarea/gwj/recarea/?recid=73667

https://www.nelsoncounty-va.gov/Organization/crabtree-falls

We planned out visit for a Wednesday morning following a series of snowfalls. The plan was to be there as soon as the very limited parking lot opened -to avoid crowds/ other hikers ...

... Turns out we needlessly worried about crowds - we had this beautiful ice playground all to ourselves the duration of our visit.

The walk to the 1st Overlook is only 500 ft. But the conditions from the entrance to the trail were markedly different!

We set out to tackle the 2.7 mile trail ( easy/moderate trail) but the parking lot and trail had inches of packed ice - so we decided just to hike ( slide) to the 1st overlook. We were naive idiots and decided the crampons we packed for icy conditions wouldn't be needed by us great ice walkers for only 500 ft....only part of the trip we would do differently!

The falls were awesome- we definitely plan a return trip hike the entire trail and catch all 5 overlooks. Maybe Summer ?

We indulged in the rare opportunity to enjoy these falls in solitude and just watch and listen.

Weather and road closures conspired to alter / and cancel a few of the hikes we planned ...but we had a great cabin on a beautiful property and had a magical time at Crabtree Falls! Until next time....