Note: Due to trail damage from Hurricane Helene, please be sure to visit the Appalachian Trail website and the Virginia Creeper Trail website for the latest status updates before planning your outdoor adventures in Southwest Virginia.

Perfect peaks for photography, proposals, or maybe picnics! Whatever your purpose for a perfect peak, these are those. Set out on an adventure during any season and be rewarded with panoramic, breathtaking views.

When it comes to sky-high peaks, there's an area in Virginia that sits head-and-shoulders above the rest. Grayson and Smyth Counties in southwest Virginia have five summits exceeding 5,000 feet that'll impress every hiker.

Mount Rogers

Elevation: 5,729 feet
36.660ºN  -81.545ºW

BR20110203V_047.TIFPhoto Credit: Kyle LaFerriere, @laferriere.photography
  • 200,000 acres
  • Four wilderness areas; two national forests
  • 500 miles of trails that include the Appalachian Trail, the Virginia Creeper Trail and Virginia Highland Horse Trail
  • Virginia's highest road; leads to the summit of Whitetop Mountain
  • Campgrounds available

Whitetop Mountain

Elevation: 5,525 feet
36.639ºN  -81.605ºW

BR20110403V_003.JPGPhoto Credit: Nicholas Moore, @nicholasmoorephoto

Whitetop is the beginning (or the end) of the Virginia Creeper Trail, a 35-mile rail-to-trail with points in Abingdon and Damascus as well. It's also part of the Mount Rogers National Recreation Area.
National Geographic Map

Pine Mountain / Wilburn Ridge

Elevation: 5,525 feet
36.657ºN  -81.521ºW

BR20092903V_010.JPGPhoto Credit: Brad Deel, @brad.deel

Wilburn Ridge is the highest peak on Pine Mountain and is part of the Mount Rogers National Recreation Area. The best access point is through Grayson Highlands State Park at Massie Gap.
Hiking Upward Trail Map
Grayson Highlands State Park Trail Map

Buzzard Rock

Elevation: 5,095 feet
36.635ºN  -81.617ºW
Buzzard Rock is a summit of Whitetop Mountain. Indeed, the two can be experienced in the same trip. The distance between them is just shy of seven miles.

Haw Orchard Mountain

Elevation: 5,007 feet
36.630ºN  -81.510ºW
Haw Orchard Mountain is within Grayson Highlands State Park. Access the trailhead at Massie Gap.
SummitPost.org Overview

See Virginia's other mountain destinations at Virginia.org/Mountains.