Places To Run

There are dozens of quiet and scenic places to run in our beautiful neck of the woods and here’s just a sampling of our customer’s favorites…

1. Ridge Road — Widely considered to be one of the most beautiful and serene roads in the county, this rolling 4 mile gravel road is located about 8 miles west of town just off Garth Road at Route 678. Please park off of Garth Road (on the right hand side of Ridge) and no unleashed dogs please (residents along Ridge have had problems with unleashed dogs chasing their livestock)! If you’re looking to go between 8-12 miles, cross over Garth to Decca Lane, which is a two mile (hilly!) gravel road that winds its way up to Meriwether Lewis Elementary on Owensville Road.
2. The Saunders Trail to Monticello — Opened in the mid-nineties, this popular public crushed gravel path gently meanders up the base of Carter’s Mountain, past the historic Michie Tavern to the gates of Jefferson’s famous and beautiful “Monticello”. Parking is available at the base of Route 53 (take a left off Route 20 south…about a quarter of a mile from the 64 overpass and across form PVCC).
3. Dick Woods Road — Another beautiful crushed gravel country road that travels up to 8 miles in one direction. Take 250 West to Miller School Road and follow for about 2.5 miles until you see Dick Woods Road on your right.
4. The Rivanna Trails (RTF) — Charlottesville is home to one of the nation’s best urban trails systems, an almost completely uninterrupted 20 mile loop of soft surface paths that circle the city. The fine folks at the RTF have been volunteering their time throughout the year since 1992 to create and maintain this wonderful network of trails. A detailed map of the entire RTF path system is also available for free at Ragged Mountain.
5. Sugar Hollow Dam — Located at the base of the Blue Ridge Mountains in the far western part of Albemarle County, this beautiful area has numerous options for scenic and peaceful running. From the parking area above the dam one can cross the stream and head southwest up the side of the mountain along a wide and soft fire trail (the famous “Blue Hole” swim area is located along this trail) for several miles. It’s almost exactly 4 miles from the parking lot to the Appalachian Trail, and another 200 meters past that to the Blue Ridge Parkway. Head back down the road away from the dam and you can log almost 5 miles of scenic running, following the river east, before you arrive in the village of Whitehall. Turn around and head back towards the dam and take a right on Sugar Ridge Road and within a mile you’re soaking in the breathtaking scenery of Whitehall Vineyards.
6. The Trails at Walnut Creek and Mint Springs Parks — Thanks to The County of Albemarle Parks and Recreation department we have two wonderful venues for miles and miles of soft surface wooded trails. Walnut Creek is located south of town off of 20 or 29 and Mint Spring is located due west of the village of Crozet. A detailed map of these and all of the other County Parks is available at Ragged Mountain free of charge!

1. Free Union Runs — Many of our customers claim that the most gorgeous runs in our already beautiful county are to be found along the roads of Free Union. Start at Wesley Chapel Road and head in any direction and you’re in for a visual treat (Ballards Mill, Catterton and Spring Chapel are among our favorite roads in this beautiful hamlet).

A booklet containing over 30 detailed and measured running routes is available for a small fee at Ragged Mountain (over 5,000 copies of this popular map booklet have been purchased over the years).