I took my family up to the highest point in Staunton, Virginia.  There is a car accessible dirt road to the top (most two-wheel drive cars should make it up.)  Finish the trip off with a stop by Kline\\\'s Ice Cream, right near the bottom of the road.  

This is a hike to the highest point in Waynesboro City.  It involves a hike up a steep powerline road and then a small walk in the woods.  The eastern section of the loop I made is much easier to hike.  I would recommend following this path to the highpoint.  

Well, this backpacking trip was supposed to be a fun-filled weekend with my dad on the AT.  Unfortunantly, in the first half mile, my dad fractured his ankle and couldn\'t go on.  I took him back to the car, he headed to the ER and I headed back on the trail.  The remaining trip went well.  There are not a lot of spectular views on this section.  I did see some birds I had never seen before, the Eastern Towhee, a brown-headed cowbird, and a brown thrasher, which woke me up in the morning with a pretty call.  

I wanted to hike the entire Hanging Rock Battlefield Greenway.  However, a poorly marked greenway and well-worn sidetrails took me on a different path.  Anyways, still a nice little stroll in the woods and I found a local climbing area.  There are some climbing bolts at the top of a cliff you can hike to.  

I recently joined the Roanoke Outdoors Social Club and this was my first outing with some of the members.  My wife and kid tagged along as well.  The overlook is beautiful and it is very easy to reach.  

Roanoke is in the process of building a greenway system throughout the city.  I parked downtown near Elmwood Park, where the Mill Mountain Greenway, currently begins.  I traveled this greenway that connects with the Roanoke River Greenway.  I then road the length of the Roanoke River Greenway.  There are plans to extend the Roanoke River Greenway even farther in both directions.  The only other thing worth mentioning is that there is a short gap on the greenway right around the hospital.  However, a short ride on the road or sidewalk connects the gap in the greenway.  There are plans to complete the gap, hopefully in the near future.  

There is a wheelchair accessible perimeter path and a woodland loop dirt trail for the veterans at the Virginia Veterens Care Center.  Thanks for your service to this country.  

This is the highpoint of Pittsylvania County, Virginia.  Unfortunantly, most of the views of Smith Mountain Lake are blocked by trees.  Nevertheless, this is a nice little hike along a dirt road to the summit of Smith Mountain.  Supposedly, if you hike another two miles along the ridge from where I stopped, there is a nice view of the lake.  There was a little snow still left on the mountain from a storm earlier in the week during my hike.

I decided to get out for a run in preparation for eating a yummy Christmas dinner.  I found some well-worn trails on a nearby high school campus.  They are probably used for cross-country practice.  There are some old trail markings painted on trees.  I saw several other people jogging the trails as well.  They must be fairly well known among locals.

At the northern terminus of the Wolf Creek Greenway, a multi-use trail picks us and follows the Blue Ridge Parkway, both to the north and south.  I choose to hike south.  The multi-use trail begins blazed in yellow and is open to hikers and horses.  After crossing over Route 24, the blazes disappear, but a well-defined trail (at least in most sections) continues.  The trail parallels the Blue Ridge Parkway for the entire route with houses and farms on the opposite side.  At the Hardy Road crossing, the trail disappears completely, however, I've heard there are plans to continue a multi-use trail sometime in the future.