Crabtree Falls is a series of five
cascades and a vertical drop totaling about 500 yards. It is easily accessed
from a paved highway (VA-56) and a trail well maintained by the U.S. Forest
Service.
Take
Exit 205 of I-81 and follow VA-56 over the pass (you'll cross the Blue Ridge
Parkway) to Crabtree Falls. Six miles (6.1 on some odometers) east of the
Parkway, on your right, will be a parking lot and several signs announcing
the fact that you have arrived at Crabtree Falls. The trailhead is there at
the parking lot (again, plenty of signs). It is about 1½ miles to the upper
falls but there are many good vantage points along the way. The trail is
steep but not otherwise difficult. In places where it is wet, it can be very
slippery.
If
you are driving the Blue Ridge Parkway, VA-56 crosses the Parkway at
milepost 27.2. The waterfalls are 6.1 miles east of the Parkway.
Other
web sites referencing Crabtree Falls:
Will
and Wray (they don't reveal their surnames), two Presbyterian pastors, wrote
an interesting description, complete with photos, of a hike they took to these
waterfalls. View it on the Presbyterian Church web site at
Crab
Tree Falls Trail.
Note:
There is another, very popular waterfall, called
Crabtree
Falls, in North
Carolina at milepost 339.5 on the Blue Ridge Parkway.
