Crabtree Falls

Tuesday morning, we woke up to very cold temperatures, but at least the snow had stopped. We checked out of the hotel and returned our ski gear to Ski Barn and then started making our way home. But we didn’t head straight home; with all the recent snow, we were going to see some more frozen waterfalls! Once in Virginia, we continued heading east, eventually getting on I-81 and taking VA-56 east into George Washington National Forest to Crabtree Falls Day Use Area. The waterfall consists of several distinct drops, altogether totaling around 1000 feet, the highest waterfall in the eastern United States. However, you can’t see the entire thing from any point unless you’re in an airplane. We had stopped for Subway along the way and had lunch at the picnic area by the South Fork Tye River.

Then we started our hike up along the waterfall. The first section of trail is paved and handicapped-accessible and leads to an overlook at the lowest section of the waterfall.

Although there was no snow on the ground, the temperature was cold enough that much of the waterfall was frozen, though some liquid water was still flowing. We got some pictures from here and then began heading up through a long series of switchbacks and stairs along the waterfall.

The trail never got far from the waterfall, heading away for a short distance then cutting straight back. Overall, the waterfall has at least five distinct cascades that are significant and would be considered a waterfall on their own.

Slowly, we made our way up along the waterfall.

The going was slow because there was a lot of stops to view the waterfall, but also the going was treacherous in some places.

A thick layer of ice covered the trail in spots, including a few places on stairs.

This made the hiking a little tricky. A combination of careful footing and a little butt-sliding allowed us to safely cross the many icy spots. At one point near the middle of the waterfall, we came out to a view where the water and ice appeared to be going into a hole in the cliff face.

Unfortunately, some fallen trees partially obscured the scene. As we approached the top, we could tell we were almost done as there was no more waterfall to be seen higher up.

The very top portion of the waterfall was perhaps the most scenic. The water and ice cascaded down a high cliff more than 100 feet and was quite beautiful.

We finished up the trail at very top of the waterfall. We couldn’t see the waterfall itself from here, but the views of the surrounding mountains were beautiful. Highway VA-56 was visible in the distance far below.

We sat here for a few minutes enjoying the view and then started making our way back down. The icy spots were a little tricky, but other than that, it was an easy hike downhill. Back at the car, we started making our way home after a great winter weekend.