Trayfoot Mountain–Paine Run Loop

The Trayfoot Mountain–Paine Run Loop is a 9.4-mile circuit from Blackrock Gap, linking the Appalachian Trail, Blackrock Summit’s boulder field, the wooded Trayfoot ridge and Paine Run. It climbs and descends about 2,200 feet. Allow five to six hours with breaks: this is a hard, full-day hike, mostly through forest, with one big open payoff at Blackrock. If that view is your main goal, the separate one-mile Blackrock Summit loop from its own parking lot is a much shorter choice.

From the Blackrock Gap lot, cross Skyline Drive to the concrete Appalachian Trail marker and head north. The AT crosses the road again and climbs steadily through forest; a short Blackrock Hut spur branches off early. At about 1.2 miles, you reach a junction with the blue-blazed Trayfoot Mountain Trail. Keep going on the AT to Blackrock Summit, then use the Blackrock Spur to rejoin Trayfoot farther along. Turning at the first junction skips the standout view and changes this loop.

The AT skirts a broad jumble of angular rocks on the mountainside. You can leave the tread to scramble higher among the boulders, but the scramble is optional. From the open rocks, the Shenandoah Valley and Massanutten Mountain spread out below the ridge. This is the route’s clearest photo stop: include a few foreground boulders so the view reads as a summit, not just a distant valley.

After Blackrock Spur, the blue-blazed trail climbs steeply along an old fire road, narrowing into forest. The marker near Trayfoot’s roughly 3,380-foot summit stands under trees; there is no summit overlook. The ridge then rolls through long wooded stretches, with occasional glimpses toward Paine Run and Skyline Drive. A rocky outcrop opens toward pointed Buzzard Rock before the trail drops steeply on switchbacks into the drainage. Loose rock makes the descent slower than the map suggests.

At the yellow-blazed Paine Run Trail, turn left toward Blackrock Gap. The tread follows an old roadbed and climbs gradually after the main stream crossing. Accounts differ on how long it stays beside the water, so expect a crossing and some stream-bed sections, not a continuous creekside walk. The route eventually leaves the old road and turns uphill for its final stretch to the car; after so much descending, that sharper climb can feel like a sting in the tail.

Park at Blackrock Gap on Skyline Drive, around mile 87.3–87.4; cross the road to start on the AT. This is separate from Blackrock Summit parking at mile 84.4. A park entrance pass is required. Dogs are allowed on these trails on a physical leash no longer than six feet. Day hikers do not need a backcountry camping permit; an overnight stay does, and Blackrock Hut is an early side spur rather than a late-loop campsite.