Douthat State Park is located in Millboro, VA and slightly north of Clifton Forge, VA. Primary trail activities include hiking, leashed dog walking, and mountain biking with a subset of trails that allow horseback riding. Parking anywhere within the park requires the purchase of a day pass or an annual pass. The Blue Suck Falls trail head is also the parking lot for the Discovery Center; which includes port-o-potties and a water spout. The Blue Suck Falls trailhead is located on the southern end of the park and near the Camp Carson Shelter. Cell phone service was nonexistent at the trail head but a signal was available higher on the trail. My phone did not acquire a GPS signal until we reached Lookout Rock and was able to record partial coordinates for the Blue Suck Falls trail; starting at Lookout Rock and returning back to the trail head.
Blue Suck Falls Trail is 3.0 miles long. We only hiked to Lookout Rock; which was a 2.2 mile hike with an elevation gain of 1000 feet; from 1,400 feet to 2,400 feet. The following elevation chart estimates the descent from Lookout Rock to the Blue Suck Falls trailhead. The big drop in the chart is due to a temporary loss in GPS signal and, thus, the elevation change was more gradual than depicted.
The hike to Blue Suck Falls is 1.3 miles and of gradual ascent. It is a densely forested trail that is wide and not very rugged. Further, there was not much breeze so it was very hot and humid.
Blue Suck Falls is a very small waterfall and was dried up on our visit.
From Blue Suck Falls, the hike to Lookout Rock is 0.9 miles and a steeper ascent. In addition, the forest canopy opens up in several spots to offer views of the mountains across the way and to allow a breeze to flow through (seen below). Halfway to Lookout Rock, we were passed by two mountain bikers. They looked like they were in great shape because they were handling the 1000 foot elevation gain with ease.
Lookout Rock is small and the top of it is only able to support one person. The top of it is not flat and, thus, is not very safe to walk on so please be careful when climbing on it. The view from Lookout Rock includes a glimpse of Douthat Lake.
The following video shows the view from Lookout Rock.
The following is a leaf from a young tree that I believe is a Striped Maple. Its leaves are opposite, have three lobes, are five to eight inches long, and resemble a goose’s foot.
In addition, we saw baby Wood Frogs hopping across the beginning of the trail.
Finally, we saw baby American Toads.
In sum, the hike to Lookout Rock on the Blue Suck Falls trail is fun, of moderate difficulty, and includes lots of interesting plants and animals. We have not explored any other nearby trails but if you live near Roanoke then you may enjoy the following:
Two Knobby Tires 