The Channels Natural Area Preserve, Virginia

Date	Distance	Time	Elevation Gain	Average Moving Time	Year to Date Miles
10/1/2023	6.9 miles	4 hours 4 minutes	1,173'	2.2 mph	209.8

Parking: 

• Route 80, The Channels Natural Area Preserve. There are exactly 10 parking spaces, and they are strict on parking only in those spaces.

Map:

• Channels State Forest General Map (virginia.gov) 

Directions:

• From the parking lot, take the trail uphill. Pass a retreat. At around 3 miles in, you will arrive at the Channels formation, shown in grey on the map. Return the same way.

Day 3 of my retirement celebration was a trip to the Channels. I had heard of this before, and noticed it was about an hour away from where we were staying. We had read that parking was very limited, so I came up with a backup plan in case we couldn't park there. We got lucky. The hike in started on a gravel road, which led past a retreat with cabins. From there it turned into more of a trail. The hike was uphill the whole way, sometimes gradual, sometimes more steeply. The trail split and we weren't quite sure which way to go, but we stayed left. We passed a tower (no access). Shortly after that we reached another split in the trail. A small spur trail to the left goes to the top of the channels formation. The path straight ahead descends down into the channels. The channels are large sandstone rocks, 30-40 feet tall, reminding me of a slot canyon. It's very unique and worth a visit. This is the longest hike I've done since January, but I did have foot pain as expected.