Wildlife watchers should park in the parking lot and walk the last leg of the road that curves to the top of the mountain. As a birding spot, it has doubly seductive power: this is a fantastic venue for finding “northern” migrants in the summer and it is very easily accessible. Whitetop Mountain is an excellent area to watch for unique wildlife any time of the year.
The road winds through a variety of habitat, including eastern and northern hardwood forests, open meadows, mountain balds, birch-and-spruce forests, and northern red spruce forest. This information is typically posted on a site's own website.Īt 5520 feet, Whitetop Mountain is the second highest summit in the Commonwealth of Virginia and the highest point that can be accessed by vehicle. The wind had swept the ridge clean of snow in many areas, but I didn’t want to struggle with the straps of my snowshoes in such bitter cold, so I just kept them strapped to my feet, zipped up my windproof fleece jacket, swapped my beanie for my warmer fur-lined bomber hat, and carried on toward the summit.Important Notices COVID-19 & the VBWT Before heading out to visit a site on the Virginia Bird & Wildlife Trail, be sure to check if that site has any COVID-19 policies or closures in place. The ferocity of the wind concerned me as I struggled forward, my snowshoes clacking and screeching over patches of ice and granite. In fact, some of the most beautiful sights I enjoyed on the trail were due to the water - icicles formed along the edges of brooks and small waterfalls and in one spot, the water was moving so swiftly it had formed a layer of fluffy foam that formed, then froze, floating atop the water and crumbling to the touch of my mitten.Īs I neared the top of the mountain and the red pines started to disappear, I was greeted by a bitter wind that nearly knocked me off balance. But I wore waterproof hike boots, so walking in the flowing water didn’t bother me. They helped quite a bit.ĭespite it being in the 20s that day, recent warm weather had water pouring down the mountain, often along the trail. When the mountainside became steeper, I snapped up my snowshoe heel lifts, which are little metal bars that pop up under my heels that give me support as I climb, taking some of the strain of my calves. Eventually the trail branched off from the snowmobile trail and became narrower, but still fairly wide and easy to follow.
Luckily for me, the deep snow on the Red-Orange Trail had been packed down by snowmobilers and snowshoers that had come before me, making it easy to snowshoe on. The mixed forest covering the slopes of Rumford Whitecap Mountain includes a wide variety of tree species, including large white and yellow birch trees, stands of striped maple (which is also known as moose maple or moosewood, since it’s a favorite snack for moose), tall hemlocks and red pines. The Black-White Trail is 4.75 miles and travels east to Black Mountain. Whether you hike up and down the Red-Orange Trail or Starr Trail, or create a loop of the two, the hike is approximately 5 miles total.Īlso, the Red-Orange Trail intersects with what’s known as the Black-White Trail 1.63 mile from the trailhead. Past the summit, you’ll notice red marks on the rock and trees that closely resemble the trail markers, however, this red paint is marking the preserve boundary. The trail officially ends at the summit, which is marked by a round metal geological survey marked embedded in the bedrock. Both trails climb the mountain for about 2 miles, and then, about 0.5 mile before the summit, the trails come together, and the Red-Orange Trail continues to the summit.
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