Thomas Knob Shelter — Attraction in Virginia

We started hiking at around 6:30p, it was raining, and we were also carrying a huge bundle of firewood. So after 3.5hr of hiking in the rain and pitch dark, this shelter was such a blessing to 3 cold, wet, and tired hikers. We were already super grateful to not have to pitch our tent outside, but were even more happy to discover it had an upstairs loft. We pitched our tent upstairs and started cooking ramen and hot dogs on a portable stove we brought. Despite the horrible conditions outside, the shelter kept us warm and dry throughout the night. We got woken up by 2 rangers, but they were super chill and just reminded us to clean up our mess.

The shelter is honestly perfect for campers regardless of weather. The view from the back is fantastic, especially in the early morning. There’s a privy not to far away with a clear sign and trail. A bear box is available if you keep walking down the main trail for a couple of minutes. There’s also a water spring with cool fresh water down a 5min rock trail (follow the blue markers). As a bonus, the shelter also has a travel log where you can write your own story or message and read entries...

Wow - I survived that big storm system as it roared through. Kudos to whoever built this thing. Winds were worse than any hurricane I've been through (from FL). That's 5 stars, but the condition around the shelter is horrible. Day tripping masses from Grayson Highlands (I hope AT hikers would be better??) make a mess. Fire pit? It says no fires (and I tore down the pit, so.....). Trash, obvious not using of privy around shelter, food and fuel cans left in shelter (yeah, mice). Not unusual for AT shelters, but disappointing. And don't use the spring. It's just downhill from the shelter - as mentioned the secondary privy. Guess what runs downhill. Hence the norovirus...

This shelter proved a sweet spot in the higher altitude. We had tents, but opted for the loft reached by way of a ladder. We experienced high winds that night, with the lowered temps and clouds incoming with dense humidity. It was great to start the next the next day without breaking camp in a direct rain. Nice that we could remain fairly unpacked. Love the huge bear boxes. This one was located quite a distance from the shelter. Rates as the best shelter on...