Devil's Marble Yard

The first and by far the most fun hike that I've ever done is Devil's Marble Yard. It's a completely different hike compared to anything else in Virginia. If you are looking for a fun adventure and your favorite words and rock and scramble, I would immediately recommend this one. After a little over a mile hike (this is the easy part, pace yourself and save your energy) you reach the foot of the marble yard.  Along the trail you will cross a stream. I did run out of water during my second time hiking this and used this stream to refill my water bottle on the way back. Although, I lived to tell about this experience I still advise that you use caution if drinking from this, make sure the water is flowing. From the end of the trail you can begin scaling the boulders up however far you may want to go. Surprisingly, with the amount of rocks, I have never seen a snake or any wildlife along the trail. As far as scaling back down the mountain, you have a few different options. The first time I went I came back down the rocks and took the trail back to my car. That was a fairly easy method although it does take a long time, and you will be forced to practically slide down on your buttocks the whole way. The second time, I went I stayed to the right of the boulders and took a "trail" back down that ran parallel to the boulders. This was very steep, and you are still forced to slide your way back down. The only difference is this path does not have boulders but it still ends up at the foot of the hillside where you can take the trail back to your car. Honestly, I would just recommend to take the rocks back down. There is another option if you go all the way to the top of the boulders to take a trail down the backside of the mountain. I've never done it, mainly because it adds extra miles to your trip and my knees already feel early stages of arthritis after just climbing the rocks. Overall, anyone looking for a hike where you can climb rocks without needing cables or harnesses, do this one. This hike is like those movies that you can literally watch again and again without ever getting tired of them. Unlike most hikes I would do this over again in a heartbeat. Not to mention the view behind you gets more rewarding the higher you go up. I would not recommend this hike for families with small children.

Directions: This hike is located near Natural Bridge. Since I'm not familiar with major highways I'll only give the exact location for hikes. That way you can just plug it into your phone or GPS and hit the road.
Petites Gap Rd, Natural Bridge Station, VA 24579
*The parking lot is on your left and it is small (only 5 cars)