Stiles Falls is a 3.2 mile moderately trafficked out and back trail located near Shawsville, Virginia that features a waterfall and is rated as moderate. The trail is primarily used for hiking, running, and nature trips and is best used from April until October. Dogs are also able to use this trail but must be kept on leash.
Located on a Methodist Camp (Alta Mons) and open to the public to hike for free. For more information, please review the website. www.altamons.org/hike.html
April 3, 2021Beautiful waterfall and great hike with stream crossings. Bring extra shoes and socks just in case. I would say easy to moderate hike. If not for stream crossings for sure would be easy.
March 13, 2021This was a great hike with kids and a dog. The waterfall was beautiful and the kids had fun crossing creeks. We plan to take them all back again.
January 14, 2021Lovely trail. Had to cross water three times.
January 12, 2021This was my first time here. It was snowy and icy but passable until the 3rd stream crossing. We had to turn back there because the rocks were covered with ice and the stream was too deep and it was too cold to wade through. We wore our crampons on the way back for the most steep, slippery parts and they were fabulous. Overall this is a great hike. Very pretty and not strenuous. There is one short part where there is a cable on the side to pull yourself along with. I needed it because it was slick but otherwise my hiking pole would be enough even there. It's very narrow there. Parking is plentiful and there are warm, clean bathrooms. Overall a great day other than not seeing the falls. I will return.
December 21, 2020Great
December 5, 2020Pretty easy hike. Fun. Beautiful falls, liked the story of the name. I did it solo, during the week and not another person to be seen. I did not find it hard to navigate, straight forward following the creek up. I hunted around at the crossing for the easiest path and did not get wet feet. I recommend this hike, worth the trip.
December 2, 2020Had a great time doing this little hike! I am looking forward to doing this one again during the spring. Trail was easy to navigate in my opinion. The beginning is a road traveling through Camp Alta Mons. There are 3 crossings through the creek that would require wet feet after rainfall, but otherwise you can conquer with rock hopping. The waterfall is beautiful. There is some rock scrambling at the end and can be slick. I would say this trail is kid and pet friendly.
November 29, 2020November 18, 2020November 18, 2020If you go after a hard rain (two days of solid rain in my case), the creek is pretty difficult to cross if you want dry feet. The current is strong and very deep in places. I could only make one crossing on my initial go of the trail. Came back with better boots and a plan. The majority of the trail is following an old road, so I brought my bike the second time. It was perfect. Biked out and even crossed the creek, pushing it along side a couple times. Ditched it towards the end as there is one climb on a goat trail with a cable hand rail. The falls were better than expected. Gorgeous and quite powerful. And really cool if you make it to the top and beyond them. It's steep and washed out with a few roots to help you up. But boy is it worth it! So cool. Such color in the stones. So blue. Then, the return is all downhill and a fun ride out of there. Now, I want to go back and get there with more daylight.
November 14, 2020November 13, 2020November 7, 2020Nice short hike, lots of little spots to climb. No service at the bottom
November 1, 2020I was hesitant to do this one because it was on private land. After checking the website it was pretty straightforward. The first mile in is a comfortable stroll through the camp. As a former summer camp kid, I enjoyed this part the most. The last half mile gets onto a single track path with some difficult scrabbles. Going the day after a moderate rain, I was unable to rock hop 2 of the 3 creek crossings. I forged with my trekking poles, with the water being no more than 2 feet deep. I suggest going that route and bringing some extra socks to change out of when you get back to the car. The waterfall was nice, but I wasn't about to hang out for long with cold wet feet.
October 31, 2020October 20, 2020over all in good shape. the creek crossings can be a little rough, but well worth it!
October 17, 2020September 28, 2020Good, but don't go solo. Just opened back up today, so decided to go for the first time. The trail was a slight uphill climb for most of the hike, them rapid uphill later on. There's a rock scramble to see the best view of the falls, but I wasn't going to chance it, the rocks felt very slippery and I didn't feel safe without anyone watching my back. Trail markers were helpful, as was AllTrails.
September 27, 2020Trail isn't marked very well in a couple of spots and the creek crossings are a little rudimentary, but this trail is a lot of fun, especially the rock scramble at the end.
September 11, 2020Stiles Falls is closed temporarily due to covid 19. Before going check the website for information www.altamons.org. This hike is on private property please respect this closure. Thank you!
September 6, 2020It was a really nice trail, especially because I had some first time hikers in our group. It was a nice introduction to hiking for them (college age students though. Might not be the best first hike for others as there are some slippery rocks and steep scrambles.) The path is not fully shaded but it wasn’t long enough to feel like it was too sunny. Took us a bit less than 2 hrs not counting the time spent playing in the pool at the bottom of the waterfall. Very pretty falls, though not the greatest, it is rewarding for the short hike!
September 4, 2020This was a pretty easy trail, and I say that as a pretty inexperienced hiker. It is important to follow the white blazes or you could veer off trail pretty easily. That said, I wish the white blazes were easier to identity, they’re done with spray paint which over the years has faded so sometimes we really had to look around to know our next move. Since I’m not a super experienced hiker I was a little nervous around the rock scramble I read about at the end, I was especially nervous about coming back down but it wasn’t so bad, and the falls were beautiful, especially getting to see them so close. There is no parking fee, but they do ask people to sign in and out, plus they accept donations. Since it’s privately owned but they allow the public to use the trail we decided to make a small donation. Lastly, since it is private there are apparently times when the trails are closed to the public, before you go you can double check that it’s open by visiting the camp’s website at www.altamons.org/hike.html
August 28, 2020Had a great visit today! Nice moderate hike for myself and my husband. Only about 8 other people on the trail. We wanted some more distance, so we added the Bishop Loop trail which is right beside and it was very overgrown and hard to navigate. But we will definitely return to Stiles again!
August 27, 2020This trail is listed as a moderate level trail. The walk in is very flat and easy and a lot of the trail is the same, however, there is a great deal of this trail that I would say is actually difficult and should be rated as such. The trail is not marked well in places and after crossing the creek, areas can be very slippery and treacherous. The falls themselves are beautiful but since the site was recently shown on the local news it's very busy. Not everyone I met on the trail was accommodating when it came to sharing the trail or the pool at the falls, one group was downright rude and very loud. (There was almost no social distancing and no masks at the falls either.) I would hike it again, but probably with hiking poles and definitely not alone.
