(Each of the following pictures can be clicked on to enlarge)
The parking area is located off Mountain road, not too far past the Fish Hatchery. There is a sign marking it and not much else:
The Trail head is pretty easy to find from there. Here it is :
This is pretty much how the trail looks for a while, meandering through the forest:
The trail will get a little lost sometimes when it wonders through a 'rock garden'. It's not really lost, you just have to look a little ahead for the 'i' trail marker:
Finally you reach the first overlook looking down on Front Royal:
There a long grade, then you run into some serious rocks:
Then some mind blowing vistas:
(this one is my favorite picture from the hike)
The path continues on of course but vistas like the ones above are not visible (at least in the summer). We went past the big camp site:
And over the 'hump' mountain, before stopping for a rest before heading back. The entire hike took about 3 hours, with a couple of short rest breaks. I would guess it was about 5 miles or so. No climbing gear needed, just careful stepping to get over the numerous rocks and such. Here's a video of me going over the rocks:
