Dragon's Tooth
The Dragon's Tooth formation hides Matthew pretty well.
With grandson Matthew in tow and occasionally in front, we used a pretty afternoon to take on this pretty easy hike.
The stream hops along the early part of the Dragon's Tooth Trail were short as always, but at least had a good flow of stream going by.
Up along the Appalachian Trail, the rock scrambles were fun for an eight-year-old, less so for older knees.
We scouted hard for a lunch spot, with Matthew suggesting several and asking about the top of the formation before we sat down on The Day Hiker's favorite flat rock.
Aside from one fall on the rocks for Matthew at the start, the way back down was as easy and pleasant as the way up.
How to get there: Va. 311 west of Salem, over Catawba Mountain and on to Dragon's Tooth Trail parking lot on the left.