Bull Run Conservancy

I've been driving through Thoroughfare Gap now for 15 years, admiring the mountains there with their white cliffs as I would approach from the west every morning. But I never had any idea there was a whole network of trails contained within its green heights. A mere 20 minutes from my house is a near wilderness of rugged terrain ascending to 1,200 feet with splendid views of the Fauquier County horse country. This area known as the Bull Run Conservancy is right off 66 near Haymarket. It's managed by a non-profit environmental group and covers 800 acres. The area was once homesteaded and as you hike there are numerous remains of buildings and other signs of a civilization being retaken by the woods. Now that I know this place is there I will be going out there a lot. This morning, Shaun and I did 5 miles of hiking there, and only saw one other person the whole time, and they were down in a valley on another trail.



View from the summit of Bull Run Mtn. looking west over Fauquier County. The Blue Ridge is no the horizon.

Remains of house near the Chapman Mill site.
Near an old dump site.

Dawson cemetery.