Grayson Highlands State Park
Virginia State Park, Adjoining The Mount Rogers National Recreation Area And Crossed By The Appalachian Trail · Mouth of Wilson, Virginia
Nearly five thousand acres of open highland at the top of Virginia, where the forest gives out above four thousand five hundred feet and the ridges run as grassy balds studded with rock. It looks like the north of England or the Scottish borders, which is a strange thing to find in the American southeast, and the reason it looks that way is that a free-roaming herd of ponies has grazed it since the 1970s to keep the balds open. They are not tame. They are not fed. They wander the trails, they walk through camps, and they will take food out of a hand and bite the hand that offered it. Beyond the ponies the park is the doorstep to the highest ground in the state: Mount Rogers, at 5,729 feet, is a few miles out along the Appalachian Trail from Massie Gap, and the Appalachian Trail itself runs through the park, so this car park is where a great many thru-hikers and section walkers start. There is also serious bouldering on the highland rock, a small campground, and views on a clear day into North Carolina and Tennessee.
829 Grayson Highland Lane, Mouth of Wilson, Virginia, 24363, United States
Park open daily, generally 8 AM to dusk, with shorter gate hours and possible road closures in winter snow and ice. Visitor centre and campground are SEASONAL - both close for the winter. Parking fee applies per vehicle. Massie Gap car park fills completely on autumn weekends. The September pony round-up date moves each year.
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