Sky Meadow

 Sky Meadow State Park: Easy Escape from DC

Ambassador Whitehorse Trail

Strategically placed benches

Sky Meadow is the easy option for urban dwellers who can't quite commit to the Shenandoah National Park (SNP), but still want to dabble in Virginia's Blue Ridge.  Named by the original owner in the early 18th century for a Scottish island, the park is arguably (especially in the right fog), reminiscent of the endless hills of Scotland.   Previously a functioning farm, now one of Virginia's many state parks, bovine encounters are still possible at Sky Meadow, as I discovered on my last visit, when my coon hound ecstatically divided his time between baying at the cattle and rolling in their leavings.  

Post cow leavings

The park provides a wide range of hikes (and strolls), for those of varying ruggedness.  For those considering Sky Meadow as a brief, fresh air diversion on the way to a winery, head straight from the parking lot to the Piedmont Overlook trail, where minimal effort is monumentally rewarded with endless Piedmont vistas.  For anyone more ambitious, or in shape, a scrubby section of the Appalachian Trail also passes through the park, and can be accessed by following the Ambassador Whitehouse Trail.  There are  strategically placed benches at most of the scenic overlooks in this park that appear like mirages and provide an impetus to take a break...even for hikers who are *never* tired, or winded. 

Flanked and dwarfed by the 4,000 acre G.R. Thompson Wildlife Management Area, encounters with Virginia's fauna at Sky Meadow usually outnumber those with the grazing cattle near the park entrance.  In the late afternoon, deer freckle the rolling hills in swarms, at most I have seen close to a dozen at once, fortunately in the company of a cataract ridden and senile Golden Retriever.  Black bears also frequent the park, and Sky Meadow is also noted as having one the largest populations of redheaded woodpeckers in the state.  Last fall, while heading downward on the South Ridge Trail, my cow pie coated coon hound stepped on a very testy black racer.  For the real dreamers, according to the Winchester, VA based volunteer run organization Cougar Quest, a local resident saw a cougar in the fringes of the G.R. Thompson Wildlife Management Area in the summer of 2011. 

A trip to Sky Meadow can be combined with a further exploration of the flora and fauna of the Piedmont through a visit to the nearby Virginia State Arboretum (400 Blandy Farm Lane, Boyce VA) or just get your buzz on at the nearby Naked Mountain Winery (2747 Leeds Manor Rd, Markhan VA; www.nakedmtnwinery.com) or the dog friendly Barrel Oak Winery (3623 Grove Lane, Delaplan VA; www.barreloakwinery.com) that is, if you have enough hand sanitizer in the car to make your coon hound tolerable. 

Sky Meadow State Park 11012 Edmonds Lane, White Post VA 20144
(540)592-3556
For a detailed trail map and park information visit:
www.dcr.virginia.gov/state_parks/sky.html