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Bald Knob and Mountain Lake - Mountain Lake Conservancy, VA

2,563 views · Published 26 September 2018 · 13:58 · Indexed 11 October 2026

Channel: Zachary Robbins · 2018 · Travel & Events

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This was our second hike of July 14 in the vicinity of the Mountain Lake Wilderness. The Mountain Lake Lodge and Mountain Lake Conservancy protect over 2,600 acres of land and have more than 20 miles of trails adjacent to Jefferson National Forest in Giles County, VA. The Mountain Lake Lodge is famous for being the filming location of Dirty Dancing, and is one of those old-fashioned resorts you'll find in the mountains of VA and WV. The area is unique because Mountain Lake is the only natural lake in the southern Appalachians. It is small, and is smaller now since the lake occasionally dries up through fissures. The lake has not fully recovered in many years, and is less than half of the length of the original basin. You'll see in the latter half of the video, the dry areas I walked on were covered in water in Dirty Dancing. They filmed right outside of those gazebos, which are hundreds of yards from the shore now. 

Before starting the hike, we ate at the lodge tavern which was pretty darn good. We started with the short but very steep climb up to Bald Knob. At 4,361 feet, Bald Knob is the highest peak on Salt Pond Mountain, the 26th highest peak in VA, and the 7th most prominent. The clearing near the summit has good west views of Butt Mountain, The Narrows, and Pearis Mountain around the New River Valley. We thought the actual high point was hidden behind the communication towers, and found some more outcrops with good northwest views of Potts Mountain and Peters Mountain in the Mountain Lake Wilderness. From there we took the Moonstomper, Bear Cliffs, Bear Cliffs Connector, and Lower Jungle Trails to meet the Indian Trail which forms a loop around the lake. 

I imagined the Indian Trail as a nice greenway around the lake, which it was decidedly not. This was the most technical trail on the hike, and stayed within thick tunnels of rhododendron and pine. There were few views at all of the lake until the northern tip where we left the trail through massive boulders and finally got an open view. The west side of the lake had even thicker rhododendron, it seemed like nighttime through some sections. The trail ends near the pool and recreation area for the lodge. We followed the gravel paths out into the midpoint of the lake basin, to meet the current shoreline. Compared to the north shore view, the lake looked much smaller from here. The waters were crystal clear, and we saw some large trout. Not sure if it is stocked or natural. Either way, it was fun to explore the only natural lake in the southern mountains.

Hike was 4.6 miles with 894 feet elevation gain in 2 hours and 15 minutes.

Hike location
https://goo.gl/maps/UXUjTo7Cobk

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