After several failed attempts to find a hike, we settled on Tibbet Knob in the George Washington National Forest, the sister hike to the famous Big Schloss. Both trails share the same parking lot at the Wolf Gap Campground. The trailhead to the yellow-blazed trail is across the street.
This 3.2-mile hike is filled with steady ups and downs making it a quick and easy but still with the reward of spectacular views. There are two short but steep (almost a 90-degree angle) rock scrambles in the last quarter mile of the hike. A few hundred feet away, the trail rewards you with probably one of the best panoramic views of any hike in this region. Unfortunately, the residual winds from the storm started to kick up when we made it to the summit and with temperatures hovering above 30 degrees, it was too cold and windy to enjoy a leisurely lunch and take in the views.
Given the short length of the trail, some folks may not find the hike worth the 2-hour drive from the DC area. However, the spectacular views along make the trek worth it. If you’d rather make this part of a longer trip, there are several great camping spots all along the trail or you can stretch the hike to 5.2 miles by continuing on the Tibbet Knob Trail to state road 691, but you’d have to trek back out the same because there’s no easy way to get back to the parking lot from the road.
Hiking Misadventures 