Hone Quarry - Dayton, Virginia

Hone Quarry

Our trip to Hone Quarry was spurred on by a three-day weekend, a desire to stick relatively close to home, and the need to get out in nature. I tweeted my favorite travel guru who just happens to be based in Richmond: Becky of The Girl and Globe for some kind of remote, but still close and awesome spots. We ended up picking something a little closer to home and thanks to having been to Elizabeth Furnace in the George Washington National Forest before, honed our search on this general area.

We ended up outside of Dayton, Virginia (JMU area for you Bulldog fans) in Hone Quarry Campground – a relatively primitive site (no running water/cell service) but a luxurious feel thanks to car camping and a real live pit toilet. The site was $5/night and while we prefer free camping (who doesn’t?) it was a fine price to pay for a weekend of relaxing. There's also wood a plenty that you can scavenge (please, never, ever cut down living trees!) for fires, saving you a few bucks. 

View from Lover's Leap Overlook

Our hopes were set on mountain biking and climbing (which we haven’t done since January) but those were quickly dashed when the guide book promised a short 15-minute walk to the crag… and we had walked 30 and still no crag. Either way, we enjoyed the stunning views and the last few days of fall.

There’s plenty to do in this area and we will be back to explore Hidden Rocks – another climbing spot the book swears is there. But if it’s not, at least we’ll get a good hike in.