Comers Rock Recreation Area

So you’ve hiked up Iron Mountain and now you’re 3800 feet above the sea, and guess what? You’re dead tired. What’s better than hiking back down? Pitching a tent at the Comers Rock Recreation Area, a campground in Virginia’s Jefferson National Forest near the border with North Carolina. Small, primitive, and extremely secluded, these mountaintop sites give you access to a historic log cabin with stone fireplace, and offer panoramic views from the Comers Rock Overlook, a former fire tower. Less than two miles away, Hale Lake is a mountainside pool popular among fishers who prefer peace & quiet while they angle, a great spot to chill after a long hike in the summertime. The grounds are open year-round, but the road to them gets real icy in colder months, so watch your back (tires, that is—four wheel drive helps).