Big And Little House Mountains - Hiking trail near Lexington, Virginia, United States - Description

The summit of Big House Mountain offers views to the East, South and of Little House Mountain. The summit of Little House Mountain offers a view from West to East.

From the trailhead parking lot follow the "Trail" signs up the private access road for about 1 mile to a white gate. (Do not try to follow what appears to be a trail behind the parking lot). Be careful to not hike down any of the private driveways. Most of them are well posted.

The trail is now an old dirt road and is not blazed. It will continue uphill to the saddle for another 1.3 miles. The saddle is located between Little And Big House Mountain and provides a beautiful camping area. From here you can decide to do Little House Mountain, Big House Mountain or both.

Little House Mountain (2.4 miles roundtrip from the saddle):

Little House Mountain can be climbed from the saddle following a very faint trail straight up to the ridge. To find the trail, take a right in front of the kiosk at the saddle. Follow the grassy road for a 100 feet or so looking for a Y intersection (The grassy road will go downhill to the left and a faint trail will go uphill to the right). If you start going downhill on the grassy road, you have gone too far.

Follow the faint trail going uphill to the right. Once it reaches the woods, look for blue blazes. The trail will climb steeply straight up the mountain and through a boulder field. Once on the ridge top, follow the trail to the other end of the ridge through some nice rock formations. The overlook is at the end of the trail.

Big House Mountain (2.7 mile round trip from the saddle):

From the saddle, continue on the unblazed trail to the left of the kiosk. The trail will become very steep until you reach the summit of Big House Mountain in 0.9 miles. Views to the South open up before the summit (especially in the Winter). Continue along the ridge past an old brick building to the end of the ridge to another overlook.

To return to the trailhead, simply backtrack.

From Exit 188 on I-81:

Go west on Route 60 (Midland Trail) about 6 miles, then turn left on Jacktown Road (Rt. 641). Go about 3.5 miles, then turn right on Saddle Ridge Road (Rt. 643). Go the to end of state maintenance.

WARNING: Trailhead parking is very limited. A maximum of 4 cars can be parked there.