Wind Rock overlook (VA)

 

This is simple. You drive. You park. Walk for less than 10 minutes. You get the best view. Even great is the fact that you will be facing west (of-course you can decide to face the other way) so the view is simply great if you wait till after sunset. The pictures in the post are from two different trips to Wind Rock and thus the difference in greenery.

Where is it ?

Heard of Mountain Lake Resort in Virginia ? Heard of the movie "Dirty Dancing" ? One of the reasons why the Mountain Lake Resort is popular is that it was the location where the movie "Dirty Dancing" was shot. About 5 miles from the Mountain Lake Resort is the Appalachian Trail. That's where the Wind Rock overlook is.

Where exactly on the map ?

You can find information about it on the internet. In Google-maps search for "37.412001,-80.522675". This location is on State Route 613 or the Mountain Lake Road. Here is the link:
http://local.google.com/maps?q=37.412001,-80.522675&num=1&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=23.875,57.630033&ie=UTF8&ll=37.412105,-80.522691&spn=0.001672,0.001548&z=19

If you zoom-in and look in the "Satellite view", you will notice a clearing just off 613. That is the parking place. Depending on how you are looking at it, if the parking is on the left, then on the right is the trail where you need to go. There is a wooden board on the right and the trail is pretty obvious. Also, it has white marks on the trees. So park here and then walk.  

 

What is the best way to get there ?

From the Virginia Tech campus there are two ways you can reach the Wind Rock parking lot. Obviously I'm assuming that you will drive and that you need a straightforward route. 

• One way is: US460 --> Mountain Lake Rd (613) --> Wind Rock
• Another option is: US460 --> Big Stoney Creek Rd (635) (this is after you cross the road to Cascades) --> State Route 613 --> Wind Rock
• This route is longer. However it is much more scenic. The pictures (with water) featuring in the post "Motion blur, silky water effect" (http://bishtss.blogspot.com/2011/05/motion-blur-silky-water-effect.html) were taken on this route. 

On both these routes look out for deer's. (The picture below was taken by a friend. I tried taking pictures of deer's but they just did not like the idea)

How is the drive ?

The final stretch, my guess is the last 2 to 3 miles, on both these routes is "bad". I would say it is less bad when taking the first route. The drive is bad but not that bad really. But in case you or your car or others in the car really don't feel comfortable then there is an option of park-and-walk. When you are taking the first route, an option is to park about 2 miles from Wind Rock (about 3 miles after the Mountain Lake resort) in a parking area from where another loop trail starts. In this case you will have to walk about 2 miles (uphill) to reach the Wind Rock parking spot. I think this is the place where you can park (don't come after me if it is not) :

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&source=s_d&saddr=Mountain+Lake+Rd%2FState+Route+613&daddr=Mountain+Lake+Rd%2FState+Route+613&hl=en&geocode=FXyJOgIdo4oz-w%3BFaDcOgIdUlIz-w&mra=ltm&dirflg=w&sll=37.402142,-80.517254&sspn=0.053797,0.049524&ie=UTF8&ll=37.401426,-80.514464&spn=0.026762,0.024762&z=15

Anything else ?

If you make the effort to reach Wind Rock then stay there till after sunset to see some amazing views. Visit it in different weather conditions. Obviously take your safety into consideration. You can also camp there for the night.