Over years of hiking (see accompanying story on preceding pages), starting most weekends from Roanoke, Va., you tend to repeat a few and find favorites, mostly in the Central/Southwest Virginia area. Many are loops, which are more fun to us than out-and-backs. We are also partial to climbs at the start, which allow you to walk mostly downhill after lunch. The best maps are the National Geographic Hiking and Trail maps for non-Appalachian Trail Hikes and the AT maps for walks on The Great Trail. They’re available in outdoor stores or online from NG and ATC. Ten hikes/areas, in no particular order, except that the first listed was our inaugural hike, and has been repeated in some form each Valentine’s Day weekend since:

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