Mcafee Knob Appalachian Trail

Awesome trail for hiking. Go prepared and at least bring something to hydrate with. Plan on a few hours at least if you want to get to the views!

Great hike mostly in the shade Would recommend if you going in summer go early around 6 am

Great hike! Worth the walk for the view.Hike is a 5 difficulty but the view is a 10.worth doing all four seasons!

My husband and I like to hike so on our recent visit to Roanoke we started exploring options. We learned that McAfees Knob is the most photographed spot on Appalachian trail. We were a bit nervous about an 8 mile hike, but decided we were going to take it on. That hike was no joke, it kicked my butt. However, I did it and I am not someone in amazing shape by any means.

There were some very steep/uphill parts and some stretches that were mostly flat. Trail was well marked. I was happy for the variation and we stopped as needed. It is doable, its just long. They say it takes you about 4 hours, which was accurate for us as we arrived around 10am, finished about 2pm.

We did the AT trial up and decided to go for the fire road (runs basically parallel but isn't as strenuous) back as we were already tried. I highly recommend this if you not a serious hiker.

Most everything I read kept saying you need to get their early as it gets so busy. That wasn't our experience, but it was an unseasonably colder, windy day so that probably deterred people. We also went on a Thursday to help reduce crowd as recommended.

Note there are no bathrooms near parking. We found an outhouse near one of the camping sites about 2/3 way up, which we were grateful for. I am not sure it is being maintained regularly, so bring your own TP and hand sanitizer.

Now, the view once you get to the top is absolutely beautiful. You can see out so far while you sit/stand on the rocky overlook. I even slowly inched my way out to the very tip of the rock to get the full 360 view. Breathtaking! We brought some snacks to eat up there to replenish (do this) and enjoy the views. We didn't stay up there as long as I would have liked as it was quite cold with the wind when we no longer had the tree cover. Dress appropriately!

After we finished the hike, we took a long nap at our Airb&B. I am not sure I would choose to do it again, but I feel very accomplished that we completed this trail and enjoyed the views and our picutres very much.

Love the AT!!! And love the views from the top of McAfee knob!!! The trail head for this hike is right off highway 311 there is a nice sized parking lot with a porta john in the parking lot the trail going north starts across the street. The trail is well marked with blazes the white rectangles plus it is well traveled since so many people hike this area for a day hike. I started at 7:50 am and got to the summit by 9:55 am but I would say I'm a seasoned hiker. This is definitely not a beginners hike. You go from 1400ft to 4100ft , I believe give or take some feet. You can take the fire road down to make your hike a little easier, I'm not sure exactly where it let's out at the bottom compared to the parking lot.

We loved this hike. It is challenging for the distance, but we never thought the elevation gain was so strenuous. We happened to go on a cold, slightly rainy day in the fall so we only happened to see maybe 10 other people (equally as crazy as we were) on the entire trail. The view even on a cloudy day was amazing!

What an awesome hike. Our new Thanksgiving tradition has been to go on a hike and this was our pick this year.

We got there around 10am since it's a 3 hour drive from Charlotte. I thought it would be empty on Thanksgiving, but it was pretty crowded. We got a parking spot just fine, but the lot was fairly full.

The hike is rated as strenuous, but I thought it was moderate. It's about 4 miles to Mcafee Knob from the parking lot making it 8 miles round trip.

We took the Appalachian Trail on the way there and the fire road on the way back. The fire road is flatter and wider--an easier hike overall. Parts of the AT were covered in leaves making it a bit hard to hike.

Everyone says the last mile is hard. It's uphill but I didn't find it to be too steep.

The views at the end are gorgeous. Luckily it wasn't too crowded and we didn't have to wait to get our picture.

We didn't stay at the top long because it was incredibly windy which made it pretty cold even though the rest of the hike was comfortable.

The whole hike with stops took us just under 4 hours. With views and difficulty combined, we thought it was a great hike!

It's a bit challenging but it's very much worth it. The views on the way to the overlook are really beautiful so it makes the eight mile hike easier, decently need lots of water.

Known as one of the iconic trails on the Appalachian Trail in Virginia, this is a must-do day hike for the views of the Blue Ridge. Hard to get close to the experience, unless you are standing up on the rocks at Dragon's Tooth. Number one tip: head up there early to avoid the crowds at the top, especially in the summer. Tip two: offer to take someone else's photo on the point, and they will do the same for you.

There are two ways to get to the top: one uses the AT all the way and one uses the fire road for the first 2/3 of the way. Tip three: go all the way on the AT for the more interesting (but more strenuous) hike. It's worth it, as long as you are up for it. Tip four: if you have not been hiking for a while and are not in the greatest shape, use the fire road.

Most important tips of all: take a camera, take plenty of water, leave plenty of time to enjoy the hike, and leave early in the morning to avoid the heat in the summer.

Incredible views, worth the hike, take a buddy if you want cool pictures, but you might be able to convince a stranger to take them for you, as you won't find a ton of solitude here.