Rose River Trail to Story of the Forest Trail Loop is a 6.4 mile moderately trafficked loop trail located near Stanley, Virginia that features a waterfall and is rated as moderate. The trail is primarily used for hiking, walking, and trail running and is best used from March until October. Dogs are also able to use this trail but must be kept on leash.
dogs on leash
hiking
trail running
walking
forest
river
views
waterfall
wild flowers
wildlife
bugs
rocky
My husband and I did this hike on July 1 and the beginning is fantastic. This starts as the Dark Hollows Falls Trail at mile 50.7 and follows a river for the first half of the hike with tons of falls and photo ops. After you steer away from the river, it just becomes a hike for distance. If you continue on the Appalachian Trail and don’t cut back to the camp grounds where the map shows, there is a great view a couple hundred yards away. At the end, you walk through a camp ground, which is a bit odd.
Very nice hike! It was a good level of difficulty for three fairly in shape hiking novices. The flowing water and views were pretty! The only downside was that the trail at the end was not clearly marked.