Wildcat Mountain Natural Area

Nice quiet place. Decent 3 mile hike. Not a lot of amazing things to look at but it is a nice break from the city.
The trails had a lot of spiderwebs this morning.

We come here often as it is only 3 miles from our house. There are no fantastic views… no real scenery at all except for what’s right in front of you on the trail. About 2 — 2 ½ hours (of course depending on your hiking speed). Bears are everywhere out here so be aware of this as you are hiking. You may not see them… but they see you. Kids… I guess it depends… mine started hiking this one at 12 years old… They liked it. It’s steep then levels out with little ups and downs along the way. Only the start to the top is strenuous.

Went by today and saw a black bear in a tree on the first big incline. Very cool for us to see our first bear in the wild… beautiful.

The Wildcat Mountain Natural Area is privately maintained by the Nature Conservancy and lies just outside of Warrenton, VA. Being privately maintained is always a mixed bag when it comes to places to hike though, even when managed by a stalwart like the Nature Conservancy. Overall, this is a great place to hike if you are looking for solitude! However, if you are looking for amazing views, clear trail markings, and the like, look elsewhere.
We arrived on a beautiful Saturday morning in August, and we had the only car in the parking lot. During the entire hike, we never saw a single person. When we left, our car was still the only one in the parking lot. That is unheard of on the weekends! This is definitely a great place to go it alone without any interruptions.
The tract of land which comprises the natural area is smallish, so there is really no opportunity for a long hike here. The Nature Conservancy advocates a short loop hike totaling just under 3 miles. We opted for a slightly different hike extending out to the further reaches of the natural area which exceeded more than 5 miles in length. Calling this place a mountain might be technically correct, but don’t come here expecting to see a prominent peak with views of the countryside. There is nothing like that here. There are elevation changes and a number of hills but surprisingly very little in the way of striking scenery. We did see an old settler’s house and a spring house though which was marginally interesting.
The advertised short loop trail is fairly well blazed, and some of the trees have detailed plaques explaining their species and providing a lot of details. If you venture beyond this loop trail, you are largely on your own though. There will no longer be any blazes, and important trail-​identifying signs will be all but hidden by overgrowth. At times we had deviations around downed trees and blocked paths. The maintenance clearly is limited to the shorter loop trail. Also, it is VERY easy to miss the return back to the parking lot. Definitely pay attention to the trail at all times. We managed quite a detour with significant elevation change, all for nought.
Our path formally included all of the recommended loop trail along with the John Trail, the Mayberry Trail, the Wendy Trail, and the Tom Trail. Grab a free topo map in the parking lot area to help should you become disoriented along the way.
In conclusion, come for the solitude otherwise I would head for a better nearby hiking area like Sky Meadows State Park. Good luck!
2.75 stars