About us
THE CLUB www.nvhc.com
The Northern Virginia Hiking Club (NVHC) offers a range of hikes of various difficulty levels in Virginia, Maryland, DC, and beyond. The club also offers other outdoor events occasionally. NVHC members reflect the rich diversity of the Washington DC Metro area. Annual membership fee is $5. Guests are welcome and enjoy a month’s free participation in the club events. NVHC is a nonprofit organization and donates funds to local parks and trail maintenance organizations from time to time. The selection of the parks and organizations is based on club usage - it is our way of giving back. Monies vary each time - $7,200 was donated in 2023.
Members are required to accept the liability disclaimer by typing “Accept” in the fields presented when they join the club.
DIFFICULTY RATINGS
NVHC hikes are assigned difficulty ratings. A combination of linear distance and elevation gain is used to determine the rating, with 400 feet of elevation gain considered to be equivalent of 1 mile of linear distance. With the “miles” derived from elevation gain added to the linear distance, following are the ratings:
A+= Very Difficult (19 miles or more)
A = Difficult (13 miles or more, but less than 19 miles)
B = Moderately Difficult (10 miles or more, but less than 13 miles)
C = Moderate (7 miles or more, but less than 10 miles)
D = Easy (Less than 7 miles)
For example, a nine-mile hike with 1,000 feet of climbing would be rated B (9 + 2.5 = 11.5).
Elevation loss is not measured in this system. Also, the difficulty rating is separate from the pace of the hike, which is determined by the leader, and is usually specified in the individual hike descriptions.
RSVP ETIQUETTE
Often there are limits on the number of participants on NVHC events, set by our leaders. This creates wait lists on Meetup. If you find yourself in this situation, we request that you keep in mind the interest of the leaders and your fellow hikers, and follow the guidelines below:
- If you RSVP’d “yes” for a hike, change your RSVP to “no” as soon as you decide not to go, so that someone else can go.
- If you RSVP’d “yes” to overlapping events on the same day, decide on one as soon as possible, and change your RSVP to “no” for all others.
- If you are on a wait list and decide not to go, remove yourself from the list.
DOGS ON HIKES
Dogs are welcome on NVHC hikes at the discretion of the hike leader. Several restrictions apply including advance notification to the leader, dogs being well behaved, and their being kept on a six foot leash. See dog policy located at [https://tinyurl.com/nvhcdogpolicy] for details.
Upcoming events
17
DC Urban Hike and Book Store Crawl (Rating: C)
Rossyln Metro Station, 1800 North Moore Street, Arlington, VA, USDetails:
You *must* read the following NVHC Sign-in Sheet Statement/Liability Disclaimer, https://nvhc.com/signin.pdf and answer the question “I accept” when you RSVP to be permitted on the hike.
Meet at the outdoor plaza at McDonald’s across from the Rosslyn Metro entrance on N. Moore Street. Street parking on Sundays should be free, but double check just in case.
This is an 8 mile hike that will start on N. Lynn Street. We will cross the bridge, go into Georgetown, and heads towards the waterfront. From there we will use various streets to make our way to our first stop: East City Bookshop (https://eastcitybookshop.com). From ECB we will head to our next stop, located on H Street: Solid State Books (https://www.solidstatebooksdc.com). Once we leave Solid State, we will head back towards Eastern Market, where there is a metro station that can take you back to Rosslyn (hike leader plans to do exactly this).
***Optional brunch stop at Mr. Henry’s prior to book store visits***
Mr. Henry’s menu can be seen here: https://www.mrhenrysdc.com/menus/#brunch
We hike at a pace of 2.5 to 3.0 mph while moving.
Leader: Michele Douglas (703) 463-0597
15 attendees
Antietam National Battlefield - Maryland (Rating: B)
Dulles Transit Center Park and Ride, XHG8+GGG, dulles, VA, USYou must read the following NVHC Sign-in Sheet Statement/Liability Disclaimer, https://nvhc.com/signin.pdf and then answer the question that you will see when you RSVP with "I accept" to be permitted on the hike.
This is a 10.5 mile circuit hike with 750 feet elevation gain in the Antietam National Battlefield, Maryland. https://www.nps.gov/anti/index.htm. We will hike on various trails in the park, pass farm houses, monuments and walk along the Antietam Creek. We hike at a pace of 2.5-3.0 mph when moving.
Dogs are permitted on this hike in accordance with the NVHC Dog Policy. https://tinyurl.com/nvhcdogpolicy
Leader: Ed Brimberg 703-944-9920 (C)
Carpools: Arrive at the Dulles Transit Park and Ride by 7:30am, Carpools leave at 7:45am. GPS Coordinates: 38.976317, -77.433659, https://maps.app.goo.gl/5VB71QdWsy9KjGZi8.
Go to the end of Pacific Blvd and turn left into the Park and Ride lot.
Suggested carpool fee is $7. The leader will be at the carpool location. Driving time to the trailhead from the carpool location ~1 hour minutes.If you are going to the trailhead, arrive at the Antietam National Battlefield Visitor Center at 9:00am. Hike starts at 9:15am. GPS Coordinates: 39.474278, -77.744583
https://goo.gl/maps/z2N6nCSqT7G7nHXu8Neither the Club nor the hike leaders are responsible for coordinating transportation to/from the trailhead. Hikers are not guaranteed to get a ride to the trailhead from the carpool location. Carpooling is organized by the participants and they participate at their own risk.
Park Entry Fee: $10/person or $20 per car whichever in less. Free with National Park Pass. You will need to go in to the Visitor Center to show your pass and get a receipt. They open at 9am.
AllTrails map for hike: https://www.alltrails.com/explore/map/map-4f6312f--59?u=i
You must be experienced in hikes of this distance, pace and elevation gain. There is significant uphill in the first couple of miles.
30 attendees
Skyland Lodge & Dozen+ Views (Rating: A)
Skyland pollock restaurant, 400 Skyland Upper Loop Mile 42, Luray, VA 22835, Luray, VA, USThis hike will be about 11 miles with about 2,000ft of elevation gain. We will depart the trailhead at 9:00am sharp so please arrive early enough to get signed in and ready to head out by 9:00. There are bathrooms at the trailhead. We will hike at a 2-2.5mph pace, so please make sure you are comfortable with keeping this pace.
You must read the following NVHC Sign-in Sheet Statement/Liability Disclaimer, https://nvhc.com/signin.pdf and then answer the question that you will see when you RSVP with "I accept" to be permitted on the hike.
Trailhead parking will be at the Skyland Lodge Upper parking lot, which is just past mile 42 on Skyline Drive (Coordinates: 38.59212, -78.38069). We will depart the parking lot and take the road down to the Whiteoak Parking lot (the one along Skyline drive, not the one on the park boundary), where we pick up the Whiteoak Canyon Trail to the Limberlost Trail. When we come to the Crescent Rock Trail, we will take it to the first vista. Then we will pick up the AT again and head north to the Skyland Stables, where we will turn and take the road up to the trail out to Miller's Head, and our snack/lunch break. We will return along that spur trail, and then traverse Skyland on the Passaquadomy trail around Stony Man to the AT, where we will ascend to the Little Stony Man Cliffs, and then ascend up to Stony Man where we will enjoy our final grouping of viewpoints. When we are done enjoying ourselves and the view, we will take the AT again south this time back to the Skyland lodge and our vehicles.
There are over a dozen viewpoints along the way, among the best westward views in the park. You can help me get a consensus count for future postings.
Rehydration will be after the hike back at the Skyland Lodge. The Gift Shop (which should be open) has a good selection of cold beverages (at excellent prices) for our rehydration, and tables with yet more views.
Carpools will be up to you. Feel free to organize in the comments section below. (Hike Leader will NOT be at the carpool location)
Dogs are not permitted on this hike as they are barred from the Stony Man and Limberlost trails.
Leader: Dale Johnson 540-454-5592
I will close RSVP's at 9pm the day prior (so you won't get promoted to the hike while you sleep), so if you need to make a change after that just message that so we are not waiting for you.
20 attendees
Keys Gap to Split Rock via Appalachian Trail (Rating: A)
Centreville Park & Ride, 14700 Lee Hwy,, Centreville, VA, USYou must read the following NVHC Sign-in Sheet Statement/Liability Disclaimer, https://nvhc.com/signin.pdf and then answer the question that you will see when you RSVP with "I accept" to be permitted on the hike.
This hike is a 11 mile out and back, with an elevation gain of about 1,700 ft on the Appalachian Trail, following the border of Virginia and West Virginia, from Keys Gap (Route 9) to Loudoun Heights. We will view but not descend into Harper’s Ferry before turning back. Our pace will be about 2.5 MPH
Dogs are permitted on this hike in accordance with the NVHC Dog Policy. https://tinyurl.com/nvhcdogpolicy
We meet at the Keys Gap Parking lot on the north side of Rte 9 (GPS: 39.2616, -77.7624) just west of Hillsboro, VA. Carpools are highly encouraged, since parking is tight. Overflow parking is available a short distance away at the corner of Rte 9 and Charles Town Road (GPS: 39.2621, -77.7649)
Suggested Carpool location is Centerville P&R. Suggested carpool fee is $7.00. Hike leader will not be at carpool location.
Neither the Club nor the hike leader is responsible for coordinating transportation to/fro the trailhead. Hikers are not guaranteed to get a ride to the trailhead from the carpool location. Carpools are organized by the participants and they participate at their own risk.
Try to get to the trailhead a few minutes early so we can get signed in and start promptly at 0900.
Hike map: https://www.alltrails.com/trail/us/west-virginia/keys-gap-to-split-rock-via-appalachian-trail
Bring a snack or early lunch and plenty of water.
Leader: Dick Pregent 703-587-2359
Driving time from Northern VA is about 1 hour.
Parking Fee: free
20 attendees
Past events
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