Grayson Highlands State Park — Hotel in Lansing

We visited in early November 2024 on a Friday afternoon. This was our 25th Virginia State Park for the VA State Park Trail Quest.

We came here primarily to see the ponies as many do. We were hoping to stop by the visitor center but it looked like the road leading to it was closed and not sure if it was a thing where they closed for the day or if it was for the season. It was unfortunate we had to drive so far into the park to realize it was closed. We did see a ranger in a truck stopping at the closed gate and he mentioned that there was a shop at the front of the park at the main office but that they were packing up and getting ready to leave. We quickly drove ALL the way back to the front and pulled into the office parking lot. There were still cars there but the blinds were shut, doors locked and the sign said CLOSED even though the hours on the door stated 9-4PM and we were there at 3:05PM (took a picture).

We were very sad as we drove over an hour from Hungry Mother State Park where we were staying to check out the ponies and grad some merch for our Trail Quest collection. I decided to at least grab some photos of inside the shop through one of the unobstructed windows when I noticed movement in the back. I nicely waved at them just to say hi and surprisingly they came to the door and graciously let us in to quickly purchase merch. We were coming up to a holiday weekend and I guess they were trying to get out early which I understand but it would've been nice if that information was posted online or somewhere before we drove so far. We picked up a couple of pins and hiking medallions and proceeded to drive back to the back of the park to find the ponies.

Along the way we did stop at a large overlook on the right hand side. It had a couple of benches and a binocular station to look out. It was pretty cool sight but I think the sun had already set too far in the sky and a lot of the valley was in shadow.

Once we made it back to the back, there is a long parking lot at Massie Gap that is adjacent to a large field where the trailhead for the Rhododendron Trail begins. This is the place to stop if you're looking for the phones. There were maybe 4 other cars there and the park closes at sunset. We decided to do a quick hike knowing we were racing the sunset. There are gates so make sure they close behind you. The signs for the national forest area looks like it's seen better days as much of the text was faded almost into illegibility probably from direct sunlight. Be aware there is little to no cell signal (Verizon) while we were in this area or on the trail. We passed a few hikers coming back down and asked if they saw horses. They all confirmed they were less than a mile out. I want to saw it was closer to 0.5 mile before we ran into the ponies.

The hike itself wasn't too bad with a couple of washed out areas (probably hurricane Helene damage) but the views were amazing and the trail was different enough it kept our youngest very entertained. We soon came upon a horse and then 2 more. We didn't have a ton of time so we didn't want to go much further but our goal was accomplished. We didn't get too close but the horse wander right next to the trail and so we gladly took pictures. We saw further up the trail there were a couple of hikers petting the horse up there which we didn't think you were supposed to do.

We turned back around after spending maybe 10-15 mins observing the horses. We wanted to do so many of the other trails from that clearing. But we were afraid we would lose the light too quickly and we would need to get out.

100% would do again. We would drive out of our way to come back here. There were so many trail options. We did have Hurricane Helene come through a couple months prior so some trails were still closed. Our thoughts were to come back with our scout groups and do some backpacking. The weather was perfect while...

This was my 34th Virginia State Park, and it is absolutely my favorite.

Camped at Hickory Ridge site 6 for 2 nights. We had an SUV and 2 tents for our family. The site had a large, well defined gravel area for our tents, a picnic table, fire pit, and a hang pole for trash.

Our site was located right next to a water spout. Not sure if it was drinkable. Just around the road in walking distance was a spout marked drinking water. The two bathrooms near the site both had flush toilets. The one closest to the camp store had a Pepsi machine for $1 a can.

The bathroom in the middle of tent sites had mens and women’s bathrooms. Women’s had 3 toilets, men’s had 2 stalls and a urinal, and both have 3 sinks with mirrors, 2 heated hand dryers, and a shower with hot water! The shower has grab bars, a changing area with a bench, and places to hang items. Both were heated, which was awesome given that it was cold outside.

Between the men’s and women’s bathroom was an door with two sinks. One for washing dishes and one for laundry. It was really convenient that it was inside rather than outside. There was also a counter to set things on.

The camp store was great—lots of clothes, ice, firewood, cold drinks, shelf stable foods and all the normal camp incidentals you might need.

The camp host was the most active I’ve ever experienced. They drove around and brought extra wood or ice if you needed it! Super convenient, especially at 7pm when the camp store is closed.

The main visitors center had absolutely hands down the best merchandise I’ve seen at a state park, both in quality and range in style of merchandise. We ended up getting some sweat pants as the nights were going to be colder than we expected.

The trails were wonderfully maintained. We ended up taking the rhododendron trail to the wild horse trail to the Appalachian trail to the Appalachian spur trail. The spur trail was my favorite—shady, woodsy, lots of moss and ferns, a wooden foot bridge, and we ran into a herd of the wild horses, including two nursing mothers with...

No matter where you go in this park, there are stunning views (and wild ponies). We parked at Massie Gap and the trailheads were easy to spot. We did two hikes in one day: Haw Orchard Mountain and Twin Pinnacle Loop and then Wilburn Ridge via the Horse Trail, the AT, and Wilburn Ridge Trail. Twin Pinnacles takes you through a fairyland forest directly off the road/parking area. The 544 foot climb was rocky, mostly stone steps, up to Big Pinnacle overlook, probably the best view of the hike and only half a mile in. Further on was the Massie Gap overlook and Little Pinnacle, and then an easy woodsy loop back to Big Pinnacle and the hike down to the parking lot. 2 miles total. Next we headed through the gate that keeps the Wilburn Ridge ponies contained to the Ridge and Mount Rogers, and we headed up the Horse Trail to Wilburn Ridge. Rather than turning right onto the AT at the first junction (which is a longer and apparently less scenic route to the Ridge), we stayed on the more direct Horse Trail (gravel and loose rock was hard on the soles of the feet) until we met the AT and the Rhododendron Trail at a second horse gate. From there it was a short climb, first on the AT (white blazes), then left on the Wilburn Ridge Trail (blue blazes) up to the first set of boulders that make up the ridge. If you're comfortable with boulder scrambling, you can climb up and over this first ridge and then hike a short distance to the next and taller ridge. The views are spectacular and sublime. The wild ponies are the cherry on top. Round trip of 4-5 miles, depending on how far up the...