Camping at Cedar Cliffs – The Hike

Tuesday June 16, 2026

The Three Ridges climb awaits me from my base camp on the River Tye. My plan for a lighter day quickly fails. I got the Holy Grail of camping spots.

three crests

FFeeling like I had every reason to sleep in this morning, I decided to do just that. Surprisingly, I made it to two hours of daylight before I started flailing. Not yet and Open Mind must have been silent as they packed up and hit the road, as there was no sign of them when I left my tent. I liked to start quickly and take a break at the nearest shelter for breakfast. The Harper’s Creek shelter was about 3 miles off the trail, emphasis on up.

Somehow it was another mild morning. After surviving several days in the ’90s, these ’70s days seemed like cheating. I was still sweating but it didn’t reach my eyes. I had the shelter to myself while I ate breakfast. It didn’t take long, but I didn’t focus on the time either. I figured with less miles available for today I could take it a little easier for once. When I left the shelter, the climb resumed. I passed Chimney Rock and went up to Three Ridges. There wasn’t much to see either, although Chimney Rock had a partial view of The Priest. However, just down the trail from Three Ridges was the Hanging Rock Overlook.

Hanging Rock Lookout

Open Mind had taken a break along the way, but now caught up with me and we arrived at the sight together. We were equally impressed by the clear view from the top of the mountains. Before us were tree-covered slopes with a touch of civilization at their feet. Blue-tinged mountains blocked the horizon in the distance. Cottony clouds filled the bright blue summer sky. We agreed that we were lucky to be here on such a perfect day. I checked my phone, it was already 8:20 pm and I had walked just under 7 miles. That was a little worrying since I’m usually much more advanced than that. It also explains why I was hungry after so few miles; my hiker hunger usually hits around noon.

View from the Hanging Rock viewpoint.

Talking about hiker hunger

Getting back on the road was difficult, I couldn’t advance at the pace I intended. I had food on my mind, but not the peanuts and sunflower seeds in my back pocket. I was thinking about ice cream. I had been looking at my phone after reaching the top of Three Ridges and thought I could get back to my truck early Thursday if I cut this season a little short and put in some extra miles today. I saw that the Dripping Rock parking area had a spring and tent sites nearby. It was only 15.6 miles from the River Tye. I could pass it and come back after walking a few miles on the trail, and start heading back to the truck. I decided that instead of hiking the 21 miles to a tent site, I would hike to something called Humpback Rocks and then return about 4 miles to Dripping Rock and camp there. The new plan put a little more pep in my step.

Devil’s Backbone Brewery

I caught Open Mind at Reid’s Gap, a popular spot for Devil’s Backbone Brewpub. It is a popular destination for hikers because it provides camping space and showers for AT hikers. Open Mind planned to head there. I would have loved to join him, but it would have put a big hole in my itinerary. I thought I could make room for him later and moved on. The food and beer look good and are different than what is offered at the «outpost» I visited on Sunday while in Lexington.

Holy Grail

The next stretch of trail was about 5 miles and followed the west side of a ridge below the Blue Ridge Parkway. Again it was quite rocky and I had to slow down a bit to make sure I didn’t break my ankles. There were many small missteps and my shoes and trekking poles often collided with the terrain. There was at least one rapidly flowing spring emerging seemingly directly from a rock. These springs are the holy grail of water on the trail and I gladly filtered a much needed liter of water.

Further along this stretch of trail was a decent overlook at Rock Point. Just half a mile from Dripping Rock was another overlook. This one was much better. It was a flat rocky outcrop called Cedar Cliffs. Houses and cars driving on the roads were visible from a relatively short distance. Further away, towns and cities bustled. I could have watched the activity for hours, but I knew I had to keep moving. I noticed what appeared to be a clearing just behind the cliffs: a campsite. This was a privileged place to camp.

A rock spring along the trail provides hikers with a clean, refreshing source of H₂O.

View from Punta Roca.

View from Cedar Cliffs.

humped rocks

Back on the Blue Ridge Parkway, I confirmed that there was, in fact, a rock spring dripping into Dripping Rock. There were also campsites, but with the incredible overlook just a half mile south, I figured it would be worth the half mile water trip to camp back at Cedar Cliffs. I only had the matter of about 8 miles round trip to Humpback Rock. I ran down the trail and caught a few views before reaching the trail leading to Humpback Rocks.

This is an appropriately named feature as these rocks are anything but flat. They leap off the slope at a steep angle that closely resembles dozens of humpback whales traversing a watery surface. The view wasn’t that bad either. I spent about 10 minutes discussing my hike with a trio of hikers who were very curious and encouraging.

I had to keep going, it was 6:30 pm and I had 4 and a half miles to walk plus a stop to pick up water. I was officially running out of energy. I was able to keep my pace but it was an intense mental game. All the other hikers had already set up camp and I was just hoping there would be room for my tent somewhere in Cedar Cliffs.

A lookout on the trail between Dripping Rock and Humpback Rocks.

A lookout on the trail between Dripping Rock and Humpback Rocks.

View from the humpback rocks.

View from the humpback rocks.

View from the humpback rocks.

View from the humpback rocks.

View from the humpback rocks.

View from the humpback rocks.

cedar cliffs

I don’t know how, but it took me almost 2 hours to cover the 4 miles to Dripping Rock. The sun was setting early and the light was decreasing. On the half mile to Cedar Cliffs I ran into more day hikers, one had his flashlight on, probably not a bad idea. I made my way down the dark path and looked toward the clearing behind the cliffs to see if anyone was camped there. There was a hammock hanging, but along the way I noticed there was a nice patch of grass between the cliffs and the tree line. I thought that place might be better anyway. The only problem was finding rocks to hold my Tyvek flooring on. I had to go about 100 feet down the trail to find one at each corner.

Once my tent was up and my sleeping area was ready, I ate my dinner and sat on the cliffs around 9:15 pm The sun had set just before I arrived and the orange sky quickly darkened as I ate. The lights of the houses and cities shone brightly and made the place seem even more special. Below, people would be finishing their days, mentally preparing for the next day. I don’t really bother mentally preparing for the next day. I know the routine, wake up, pack up, walk. I sleep well knowing that the day will be hard but easy.

Just after sunset at Cedar Cliffs.

My sunset camping spot at Cedar Cliffs.

The lights shine below after sunset.

-See you tomorrow

Total: 23.9 miles, 58,426 steps

• Hike type: Backpacking
• Camp: Tent, Cedar Cliffs

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