Charlottesville Chapter of the Potomac Appalachian Trail Club

Bear Church Rock – February 11, 2022

A warm and sunny winter day greeted 11 folks and Remi the fabulous hiking dog for a wonderful hike to Bear Church Rock. Starting from the Graves Mill parking, we walked beside the Rapidan River before turning to accompany the Staunton River. Several small falls and some beautiful pools surely attract water-lovers during the summer.

Most of us took a short out-and-back detour to visit the Jones Mountain cabin. Harvey Nichols built the cabin in 1918 and lived there until 1937. PATC restored the cabin in 1969-71, and members can rent it. Hike leader Iva had read a book about the cabin and gave us some background about it and the interesting Mr. Nichols. In addition to the cabin, where we had lunch, we saw the grave of one of Nichols’ wives.

A steep climb brought us to Bear Church Rock, where Iva passed out Valentine’s Day chocolates. We enjoyed the view, the warm sun, and the camaraderie before starting back. 

Today’s 8.5-mile hike took us past an impressive mountain laurel grove, which will be gorgeous to see in spring. In addition to the scenery along this route, the lack of crowds is another plus. We had Bear Church Rock to ourselves and saw only a few other people throughout the day.

submitted by Marian Styles and Iva Gillet