By John Holden
These are some of my favorite places in over 30 years of extensive hiking and walking in Virginia, West Virginia and North Carolina and are always with a nature focus. All of these destinations in the months ahead are reachable on a day trip.
A Journey for Some Outstanding Fall Tree Time…
The State Arboretum of Virginia is under 2 hours away (near Winchester and Blandy) and worth the drive for just being in the Gingko Grove in their Fall colors.
There are 300 Ginkgo trees there. They were planted in the 1930’s taken from seeds from the UVA grounds.
There is a native plant trail that allows an easy 1.5 mile walk (The Willow Trail), through multitudes of fall blooming meadow wildflowers. On the trail there is a small boardwalk that skirts a wetland, which offers great birding opportunities.
The 3 mile perimeter road can be walked or driven and has several stopping places, allowing further exploration of grasslands and a walk in a bamboo grove.
The main area behind the “Quarters” has an outstanding pollinator garden of native plants (most with signage) and had a good butterfly population in late September.
And the trees… there are over 5000 trees and shrubs there and many are magnificent in their size and fall coloration.
Master Naturalists have trained and volunteered there.
Check out their website and directions at this link.
John