Virginia
Counties crossed: Washington County → Smyth County → Grayson County → Wythe County → Bland County → Tazewell County → Giles County Briefly joins the West Virginia border here → Craig County → Montgomery County → Roanoke County → Botetourt County → Bedford County → Rockbridge County → Amherst County → Nelson County → Augusta County → Albemarle County → Rockingham County → Greene County → Page County → Rappahannock County→ Warren County → Fauquier County → Clarke County → (rejoins the West Virginia Border here) Loudoun County
Virginia has the most mileage of the trail of any state (more than a quarter) with 550.3 miles (885.6 km) of the trail, including about 20 miles (32 km) along the West Virginia border. Some consider the Virginia section to be the wettest, most challenging part of the hike for northbound hikers. Substantial portions closely parallel the Blue Ridge Parkway and, farther north in Shenandoah National Park, the Skyline Drive.
McAfee Knob is affectionately known as "the most photographed spot on the A.T."
The plant life on Virginia's section of the trail includes thickly-growing wild blueberry bushes. The bushes are especially numerous along the trail's central sections, through the Shenandoah National Park, and its northern sections. The blueberries ripen in late summer, offering hikers a plentifully available food source.
The annual "Trail Days" festival held in Damascus, Virginia has become the largest single gathering of Appalachian Trail hikers anywhere.
Read more about this topic: Appalachian Trail By State