Manassas National Battlefield – 5-miler
Time: 1.5 – 2 hours
Gear: daypack – water – leash
Difficulty Level: 1 paw
Scenery: 3 paws
Pack: You and your dog
My go-to hike on the weekends, when I want to get out of the neighborhood, is the First Manassas Trail (loop) at the Manassas National Battlefield in none other than Manassas, VA. This a scenic trail that winds through woodlands and uplands, has wide trails to accommodate a day out with the family, and is a great place to walk or run with your dog. The traffic here is light to moderate. You’ll definitely encounter other dogs as well as a jogger or two.
I park at the Henry Hill Visitors Center and hop on the First Manassas Trail, well marked, on the east side of the parking lot. You’ll walk down a very wide path (can accommodate several vehicles side-by-side) that’s flanked by tall grass. This leads you past a row of Civil War era cannons then narrows and into the woods. You’ll quickly come to a fork in the trail. Follow the right branch, which is marked with the First Manassas Trail’s blue blaze.
You may see deer out in the field to the left of the trail. This should be a reminder not to take your dog off leash in this park, especially if they have a prey drive that you don’t have voice command over (park rules state all dogs must be leashed at all times). The trail will come to a four-way trail intersect that sometimes appears to be a T. You’ll follow the trail to the left.
As you gradually descend (no difficult slopes on this trail) you’ll come to a stream running through the path. I don’t recommend crossing here unless you don’t mind continuing on the next 4 miles with wet shoes. Just before you come to the stream you’ll see a side trail to your left that leads to a wooden bridge. Use this to go over the water and the trail connects following to get you back on track. You’re now out of the woods and are again flanked by fields.
This leads you to a crossing at Route 29. There is no light or cross walk for pedestrians. Please use caution and use this as an opportunity to practice your sit-stays. Cars that travel this road are used to people crossing here but you may have to wait a moment before you get a chance to make your move or until the cars slow for you to pass.
Across the road you’ll ascend a short slope and then follow the trail along the woods edge. If you’re feeling adventurous you can take the trail marked for “Stone Bridge”. This will loop away from your current route and direct you past the beautiful old bridge that crosses Bull Run river. It’s a good photo opp. At the bridge you’ll take the trail going to the left and away from the bridge, along the river, and will connect back to the First Manassas Trail. When you hit the trail, take a right.
After running along the edge of the woods you’ll enter into them once more. You’ll follow the trail to a fork, following to the left this time and out onto the battlefield. These upland fields are some of my favorites. You’ll see nothing but tall grass on either side of you, besides the singular row of cannons, until you crest the slope. From here you see the trail wind downhill, through the fields, and then back up again for the next mile. You can see the historic Stone House, the historic Henry House and the visitors center in the distance.
Continue on past Stone House. You’ll come to the intersection of Route 29 and Route 234 Business. There is a traffic light here with a cross walk and a crossing indicator-light. Make sure to watch for turning cars.
You cross a wooden bridge over Youngs Branch and continue up the hill past Henry House and back to the parking lot. Don’t be surprised if you catch a tour, tourists visiting the Henry House or a riffle loading demonstration. The park is a very active Civil War destination.
An item to note is that the park does require you pay an entrance fee while visiting the battlefield. I’ve never encountered park police monitoring the trails but it is courtesy that you obey the rules and obtain the entrance pass inside the visitors’ center. If it’s your first time in the park then I recommend you head inside to grab a park map (outlines trails), check out the small museum and informational displays and ask the rangers on staff if you have any questions. Warning: dogs are not allowed inside the visitors center.
Directions to the Henry Hill Visitors Center, Manassas National Battlefield from Northern Virginia/DC Metro Area:
- Take I-66 West to Exit 47B
- The ramp merges onto Route 234 Business
- Continue past Northern Virginia Community College
- Take your next Right into the Manassas National Battlefield. If you hit Route 29 then you’ve gone too far
Shenandoah National Park – North District – Matthew’s Arm
Time: Overnight
Gear: Camping checklist!
Difficulty Level: 1 paw
Scenery: 3 paws
Pack: You and your dog or a whole pack
OK, maybe “horribly” is a slight exaggeration. But let’s just say our nerves were as frayed as the ends of the 12’ web leash that Karma snapped two minutes after our arrival to our camp site at Matthew’s Arm.
But I’m getting ahead of my story, and a proper story should be told correctly.
Katina and I had decided on a quick one-night camping excursion at a site that had treated us well last year. Matthew’s Arm is about 22 miles in from the north entrance to the park. It has full bathrooms, several nearby trails and the Elkwallow Wayside store is just a few miles away for our firewood run (remember, you can’t bring your own firewood into the park).
Our little group arrived to our campsite sometime between three and four on Saturday afternoon. Our chosen site – Katina made the reservations online – was next to a couple with two dogs, one of whom seemed particularly annoyed with us, barking aggressively. Hmmm, not a great start.
So I did what I usually do, I tied Karma to the (small) tree on our site and turned to unpack the car. And suddenly, guess who’s standing next to me? Karma effortlessly broke his cotton-web long line and was now grinning wildly in front of me. When I tried to put him back in the car, he had a little tantrum that coincided with the neighboring camper with the angry dog wanting to come over to have the dogs meet. Ugh. Katina thankfully shooed her away and I wrestled Karma into the car. Whew. I was tired already. Meanwhile Cannon was patiently but excitedly waiting in his car – good boy!
So we decided to take the dogs for a quick lap around the campground to try to get the edge off our excited dogs. This lap would later prove to be not enough as we spent a good bit of the evening and next morning breaking up aggressive play among the two BFFs.
We did switch sites when we returned from our walk. Because there were open sites around us, Katina went back to the ranger station and asked to switch to a site we had noticed was empty – no problem. Our new site was against the woods and a group of boys we dubbed “Lord of the Flies” kept walking through the corner of our site in their quest for firewood. At least it gave the dogs something to agree upon – they barked and lunged in their direction every time.
When Karma busted his long line I was forced to loop three leashes together to create a decent tie out. Well – you guessed it – on one of the (last) times the Lord of the Flies crossed through the site, Karma busted another leash and met the kid at the wood’s exit. I give the kid credit, he just stood there while a hundred pounds of fur barked in his face. Ugh!
At some point before this we had opened the wine. We don’t usually drink that much, but the bottle was gone with the evening.
Oh but the fun doesn’t end there! The dogs continued to play too hard and we took turns breaking them up. They managed to break Cannon’s prong collar, at one point getting stuck together like two kids with braces. Finally, Cannon ended up in the car so we could have some peace. Oh, they also stole pieces of wood from each other, resulting in the line of the day from Katina: “It’s like buying your kid a 2×4 for Christmas.” She was right, sticks are not toys.
So finally after I ate my weight in marshmallows and Katina and I had enough, we crawled into our tents for the evening. Karma and I went quickly to sleep although some noisy campers partied late and loud into the night. Katina on the other hand ended up sleeping in her car because her sleeping bag and tent weren’t keeping them warm. Both she and Cannon (somehow) managed to curl up in the back seat of her Cavalier. She awoke to the Lord of the Flies boys staring right at her.
And so it was morning. Once Katina unfolded herself from the backseat, the dogs were ready to go – literally – and Karma drug me out of the tent after Cannon had poked his nose in to see if we were up. I was up!
At this point, Cannon is limping and Karma is pooping mulch (not kidding!) from all the wood he apparently ate the night before. A short walk nearly puts Katina in a rocky stream as Cannon decided to cross without warning. I still don’t know how she did it – in less than a second she bounded across athletically and was standing in front of me on the other side! Wow.
The dogs walked back to the site in an orderly fashion and Cannon went back into the car so as not to further injure his foot (he was fine by Monday). The original plan included a long hike this morning but that was now out of the question. Plus I had re-injured a rib so I was a mess, too. We ate one of Katina’s great breakfasts, packed and were out of the site at noon – check out time.
We survived!
As a result, we have some hints, suggestions, reminders:
- Bring extra dog tie outs! Same goes for anything else you can’t live without!
- Don’t forget you will have to buy firewood in the park because you can’t bring it in with you.
- Speaking of fire, bring newspaper or other fire starters to help the process along.
- Make campsite reservations but know that you probably can switch if your chosen site doesn’t have a tree or is next to a barking dog!
- Know that if you choose a site near a bathroom, you will get foot traffic – it’s a tradeoff so decide what’s more important to you.
- Your food must be locked up in your car if you leave your site. If you leave it out, the rangers will take your food and leave you with a note. You get the food back of course, but you have to go get it from them.
- Be nice to the rangers and all volunteers and staff you meet along the way – they make the park what it is! Say “thank you.”
- And remember, sticks aren’t toys! Bring something for your dog to do.
