The Cascades Trail and then the Nature Conservancy Trail to Barney's Wall. 8.0 miles.
From the archives, a hike from December 2006...
It was a warmish day with a good smattering of hikers along Little Stony Creek, and an even bigger gathering around the falls. But as usual, once we headed on up from there on the Nature Conservancy Trail, we had things pretty much to ourselves for that gentle, pleasing climb and then the little side trail out to the Barney's Wall vista into the gorge below and out over the New River Valley.
It's a favorite lunch spot, even with the constant breeze and cooler temperatures there at the precipice. There's a small, audible but nearly invisible creek running down one side of the mountain into the gorge, and on this day after lunch, we continued a little further on the Conservancy Trail to find the upper reaches of its flow, before turning back for the pleasant, easy walk back down to the parking area.
