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At just over 3000 feet, Burkes Garden is the highest valley in Virginia. Except for a narrow water gap to the northwest, the valley is completely surrounded by ridges from 500 to 1500 feet high. From the air or on a small scale topographic map, the valley looks like a crater carved out by an asteroid impact or volcanic explosion. Its actually a product of erosion that is sometimes called "God's Thumbprint".
The only paved road into Burkes Garden is State Route 623, which leaves State Highway 61 heading south from Gratton. Almost immediately it begins a winding climb of Rich Mountain. From the ridge crest there is a shorter descent into Little Creek Valley, then it quickly passes through "The Gap" into Burkes Garden. The valley suddenly appears, spreading out beyond the old Gose Mill Pond. Next to the pond, a historical marker provides a brief introduction to the history of the valley. Geese and a great blue herons are common in the pond.
At the mill pond, a left turn onto Route 666 provides a loop around the east end of the valley. Fall colors along the loop are wonderful. Pastoral farms dot the landscape. The open fields provide far ranging views across the level bowl.
The Appalachian Trail follows the ridge of Garden Mountain for over 7 miles along the south side of the valley. At 3500 feet, Walker Gap is a great place to access the trail (map) for the short but moderately steep (1.3 miles) climb to 4409 foot Chestnut Knob. The Gap can be reached by following Route 727 from Burkes Garden Post Office. The last quarter mile of the road is steep and rutted, but was passable in our minivan in October of 2001. The trail sticks to the forested ridgeline with occasional limited views. Some of the trees are huge. The bald summit has nearly a nearly a 360 degree panorama.
There is a large stone shelter cabin on the summit, complete with door, windows, table, and plywood bunks. Shelters on the Appalachian Trail are primarily intended for the use of long distance hikers, but most are happy to share the space, especially if you have fresh food to share! Trail etiquette dictates that you should vacate a full shelter when space for through hikers runs out, so bring a tent just in case.
My son and I arrived at the empty shelter late on the Sunday afternoon of Columbus Holiday Weekend. Just before dark we were joined by a southbound through hiker. We enjoyed hearing of his adventures almost as much as he enjoyed our sausage, fresh strawberries, and hot chocolate. I had expected that the southbound through crowd would already be to our south, but be he informed us he was actually further along than most.
I envied him of his remaining days on the trail, following the spectacular fall colors south on trails devoid of the crowds of summer, across the high and perhaps snowy summits of the Smokies, passing vistas that are invisible while summer's green blanket of leaves obscures the landscape. North to south sure sounds like the best way to hike the trail to me! I can't imagine hiking Virginia and Pennsylvania during July. Perhaps springtime's bugs along the 100 mile wilderness in Maine would change my tune!
The sunset that evening was spectacular. Shadows crawled across the valley. High clouds to the west were turned to brilliant reds and oranges. The colors slowly faded as darkness fell. Only a few lights down in Burkes Garden along with a few other points of light on the horizon broke the darkness. Star gazing was as good as it gets in the eastern U.S. It dropped to 22 degrees on the summit that night, but only fell to 41 inside the cozy shelter. The morning dawned clear and calm. The heavy frost down on Burkes Garden turned it so white it looked to be dusted with snow.
Our southbound friend departed early. A little later Matt and I followed him southeast, exploring the balds of Chestnut Ridge (2 | 3) down to an enigmatic ridetop pond. The views from the ridge extend well into Tennessee and North Carolina. 10 year old Matt was surprisingly willing to explore the area beyond the shelter, even with a heavy pack awaiting in the shelter for transport back down to the car. I must say that the BB gun I purchased for the trip as a sort of carrot to keep him moving was highly successful. I was amazed at how well he took on the responsibility of handling this "big boy's toy".
Chestnut Knob is a "must see" for anyone who enjoys high places. By Virginia standards, its about as good as it gets. I can't imagine it disappointing anyone on a clear day. The summit marks the southern boundary of the Beartown Wilderness, a remote area covering the second highest ridge in Virginia. Its home to spruce-fir forests with high altitude wet meadows and bogs. Chestnut Knob would make a good base camp for explorations into that mostly trailless area.
Jefferson National Forest (GORP)
Appalachian Trail Map of Southwest Virginia
Shivers Home Page & Outdoors America
Last Modified: October 31, 2001
