Virginia Fly Fishing OR Hiking in Virginia, whether on land or in water, let us plan your trip. A Shenandoah Valley Naturalist Experience.

      Night Hiking & Wildlife Scouting
    GPS/Compass/Orienteering
        Call 540.294.0354

NIGHT HIKING: Most of us have enjoyed a normal, daytime hike.  Few though have ever experienced a night hike in the mountains. Many like the unusual and eerie feeling of the dark hollows and surrounding ridges. Some compare it to the "Twilight Zone". In any case, the night time mountains are alive with moving wildlife.

At night first hear the sounds of wildlife in the dark hollows or ridges, then stalk and see what you were hearing. Wait silently in the dark as wildlife slowly approaches from a trail, then use a light to see what you were hearing.

Other unique advantages of night hiking in the mountains is the ability to see the "Milky Way". People see night stars all the time in their communities, but in the mountains with the city lights far displaced, not only are the stars brighter, but the Milky Way can be seen stretching across the darkened sky.

In warm weather the night mountain air cools and provides natures natural air conditioning.  In the cooler months the cold air is refreshingly crisp and invigorating.

What do you see in this night time image? Click Here.
Now, what do you see in the same image with the brightness, contract and gamma altered? Click Here.
This is some of the fun you have on Night Hikes in the mountains.

Try something new. Try something different. Try a night hike.  You never know, along with the distant screeching of an Owl, there might even be a ghost. Season and Rate Schedule Below.

WILDLIFE SCOUTING: Whether you enjoy hiking, nature walks, photography, nature studies or hunting, Scouting for Wildlife can increase your knowledge base and improve the probability of locating and seeing wildlife. We normally look for deer, turkey, bear, bobcat, rabbit and fox.

With Wildlife Scouting, we will explore the different types of trails, tracks, north ridge, south ridge, deer fields, wind direction, time of day and afternoon, air pressure relationship to ridges and hollows, distant sounds, temperatures, front systems, food, protective cover, water sources, saddles, eyesight, movement, color, ranges, seasonal changes, spotting camouflaged wildlife, and stalking.

Is there anything in this image? Click Here. If you saw something, what was it?

Scouting for wildlife in the Virginia Mountains is available from October 1st through the end of April. Season and Rate Schedule Below.

Full Day: 6-8 Hours (Hiking Only)
$16/Hour: 1 person (full 6-8 hours) 
Add $20 for 2nd person (same as $9.25/hr. each)

Special: 3 Hour Rates - Must be within 15 miles driving distance (Hiking, Night Hikes)
(Late afternoon for Hiking, Nighttime for Night Hikes)
$15/Hour: 1 person (3 hrs.) 
Add $15 for 2nd person (same as $10/hr. each)

Hiking and Night Hiking are available year-around.  Orienteering, Hiking and Night Hiking "off a trail or Old Forest Service Road into an unmarked mountain range" is available from October 1st through April 30th.

In order to increase the probability of hearing and spotting wildlife, all of the above activities are limited to one or two individuals. Hiking will be on old trails, old Forest Service roads and on no trails or roads.  Most hikes are at places where there is complete silence and solitude giving an experience the Colonists and Settlers may have felt in the 1600 and 1700s.  Completely natural. So plan to join us away from the follow-the-crowd, barking dogs, boom-boxes and other city noises that accompany most hikers and nature lovers as they walk and hike the high-profile ridges with other tourist.