This roughly 3.5 mile and sort of loop hike took place on Tuesday, April 22, 2025. It was sponsored by
and was led by Michelle House.
It was a great day for a hike. Around 64 and sunny when I left Manassas, VA around 7:30 AM. I arrived at the Virginia Arboretum around 8:45 AM. Others started arriving between 9:00 AM and 9:55 AM. We had a total of 23 hikers on this trip. My hiking buddy Charlie Johnson brought his wife Susie along on this one. It was good to see her again.
A quick bit of history on this place. In 1926 Graham F Blandy bequethed 712 acres in Clarke County, VA to the University of Virginia. It was named Blandy Experimental Farm. It became the state Arboretum in 1986 and now has over 5,000 woody trees and shrubs from around the world. I hiked here in the late 1980’s or early 1990’s. There were not a lot of trails here then. I remember walking around many fields. It has changed a lot since then.
The maps for this place are very small, hard to read and not resizable. So I will try and remember how we hiked this one. We started by going under the breezeway of a long building called Quarters that held the offices, visitor center and restrooms. We next went to an area called the Pollination Garden. Then we entered the Native Plant Trail and walked past a stone wall that had the remains of a chimney at the top of a rise. We then walked out to a road, turned left and walked about .3 miles to a fenced in area that held chestnut trees. None of the trees were very big. Some were in pots and it looked kike some had been cut down. I assume they are working on making these trees blight resistant.
After passing the chestnut trees we turned left. Someone went and got their vehicle and rounded up six of the hikers that were having a tough time. We walked through a field and walked to an observation structure. The views were nice. We then returned to Quarters and started down Dogwood Lane. The dogwoods were in bloom so it was a nice stroll.
We then turned left onto Walking Loop Drive. Right before we turned I noticed about 15 Electric hookups next to Dogwood Lane. I wondered if people camped here for some reason. I’ll have to find out. We then walked through an area called the Cedars of Lebanon. They were majestic pine trees that lined the road. We then turned right onto Tuleyries LA and walked to a Ginko Grove and a series of research structures. I was impressed at how big the ginco trees were and that they were all in a straight row.
We then turned around and retraced our steps back to quarters. Some of the others looked at the herb garden. I was tired so I proceeded to the picnic area and started eating my lunch. Most of the others followed shortly. Charlie and Susie took off as they had somewhere else to go. I had some nice conversations with my fellow hikers over lunch, then I took off for home. The thermometer said that is was 81 degrees when I left. It didn’t feel that bad as we were in the woods. I got home around 1:30 PM.
This was an interesting place to hike. The loop trail depicted in the AllTrails app is really noting more that the loop gravel road that one can also drive around and visit the various areas within this preserve. I didn’t feel that great when I got home. I think it’s just me being out of shape. The cure: Hike more!
Mike C
By Charlie Johnson
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