Trails / Virginia / George Washington National Forest

Mount Pleasant Loop (Henry Lanum Trail)

Mount Pleasant National Scenic Area, George Washington National Forest (Hog Camp Gap area, Amherst County)

The Mount Pleasant National Scenic Area protects 7,580 acres of high ridges in Amherst County, designated by Congress in 1994, according to the Virginia Wilderness Committee. Its peaks include Mount Pleasant (4,071 feet), Pompey Mountain, Bald Knob, and Cole Mountain, whose open bald the committee calls “a huge open meadow with wonderful views in every direction.”

The Henry Lanum Trail loops over Pompey Mountain to a short spur up Mount Pleasant, which has separate east and west summits. Go Hike Virginia calls it “a fantastic destination in Virginia for an overnight backpacking trip.”

The hike

Go Hike Virginia reaches the trailhead on Wiggins Spring Road (SR 755); the Mount Pleasant lot is about 0.3 mile past the Cole Mountain lot. MyHikes says the lot has three trailheads; take the blue-blazed Henry Lanum Memorial Trail on the right, through a wooden horse gate. Go Hike Virginia notes the first mile gains only about 23 feet.

At about 1.1 to 1.2 miles, the trail leaves an old forest road and crosses a creek, then climbs, the steepest part of the loop. Go Hike Virginia passes an open area just before a junction at 2.2 miles. MyHikes reaches the ridge junction with the Mount Pleasant Summit Trail about a mile after the creek; 40 yards beyond it, a spur marked “Water” leads down to a seasonal spring.

The summit trail climbs on switchbacks to a saddle between the two summits. Go Hike Virginia says each is no more than 0.1 mile from the center. The west summit takes a scramble of about 7 feet up rock, MyHikes says, and one reviewer’s golden retriever couldn’t make it. Go Hike Virginia found the west summit’s sunset the more impressive.

Back at the Henry Lanum Trail, the loop continues along the ridge over Pompey Mountain, where MyHikes describes a 75-yard unmarked spur to an outcrop with northeast views, then descends to the parking area. Go Hike Virginia’s author finished the 6.5 miles in about four and a quarter hours.

To add miles, the Virginia Wilderness Committee describes a 7.5-mile AT and Hotel Trail loop over Cole Mountain’s bald to Cow Camp Gap, where a shelter sits just below the gap, and back to Hog Camp Gap. Go Hike Virginia estimates a combined Cole Mountain and Mount Pleasant hike would take at least seven hours.

For a longer loop elsewhere on the Glenwood-Pedlar Ranger District, see Three Ridges and the Mau-Har Trail.

Tips

Bring water. The summit spring is seasonal.
Pack a jacket. MyHikes warns the summits can be very windy.
Drive carefully. Reviewers recommend high clearance on the dirt access road.
Watch the blazes in fall and winter, when reviewers say the trail is harder to follow.
Look for rattlesnakes, reported by reviewers in 2011, 2012, and 2015.

Camping

Go Hike Virginia describes camping here as dispersed, free, and first come, first served, with no toilets at the summits or trailhead. Forest-wide order 08-08-00-23-3 limits camping to 14 days in any 30-day period and bans camping within 300 feet of a developed parking area. Pack out all trash and store food where bears can’t reach it.

Inside Intel: Go Hike Virginia says the east summit, nearly 3 miles in, has about a dozen small pockets that each fit a two-person tent, plus a stone fire ring with log seating; the author’s group of 10 fit there but not comfortably elsewhere. MyHikes reader Bob (2012) recommended flat sites under the laurel, out of the wind, reached by a path west from the fire pit near the east overlook.

Trail facts

Distance: 6.2 miles (Virginia Wilderness Committee); 6.0 to 6.5 by other sources
Route type: Loop with summit spur
Difficulty: Moderate; about 1,300 to 1,374 feet of gain
Campsites: East and west summits; ridge sites near Pompey; open area near the 2.2-mile junction
Water: Seasonal spring near the ridge junction; creek near the start; bring your own
Permits: None found
Dogs: No restriction found; the west summit scramble may stop some dogs
Trailhead: Mount Pleasant lot on Wiggins Spring Road (SR 755), near Hog Camp Gap
Last verified: October 17, 2026

The Lowdown

Wind on the Mount Pleasant summits:

The east and west summits are exposed and windy, so a warm bag matters when you camp above 4,000 feet. See the bags testers rate.

See what testers chose →

Where this comes from

This page draws on the sources below, along with other guides and trip reports. Links go to the original pages.

Before you go: This page is based on published trail guides, trip reports, and reviews, along with official park and agency information where we could find it. It’s meant to help backpackers discover new trails, not to replace current, official information. Conditions, closures, permits, campsites, and water sources change, and some details here may be out of date or wrong. Confirm everything with the managing agency and check current conditions before you head out, and don’t rely on this page alone for safety or navigation. Backcountry travel involves risk.