Meadows Lane Crabtree Falls Parking Area/Crabtree Falls Trail/Crabtree Falls Meadows/.5 Appalachian Trail Access Tyro, VA 22976

"We took a trip in July 2023 for the weekend. Camped in one of the primitive sites on the right before reaching the parking lot and bathroom at Crabtree Meadows parking lot. The sites are first come first serve, but we found plenty available. They have small white signs from the main road. Our site was amazing, and we were lucky as a local said it's one of the best around. This site is visible from the main road, just a little creek to cross. There's a fire pit and plenty of room for a tent. Here are the coordinates if you are nervous as I was about finding the designated sites: 37.8314637, -79.0847692. From the campsite, we hiked to Spy Rock (6 miles roundtrip), Priest summit (4 miles roundtrip), and Crabtree falls (~2 miles roundtrip). Surprisingly, we didn't need mosquito spray all weekend."

"I CANNOT stress this enough. If you have a small car, weigh the risks. The road is absolutely terrible. I drove in a civic and prayed for my suspension the entire 3.7 miles as I drove between 5-7 mph. If it had just rained heavily, I wouldn’t even make an attempt. You can always park at the other side of Crabtree but it’s gonna make your Spy Rock hike go from 6 miles to ~12. Do you need 4WD? On a normal day no. Just know though that you’re gonna be playing frogger trying to avoid the potholes like they’re IEDs. In the parking lot, I was the only sedan (though I passed a civic coming up and another civic parked right off of spy rock). Spy rock was cool though."

"04/02, lost my favorite cap in this parking lot! Left it on top of the car and drove off :-( Trail up is maintained gravel in okay shape. Beyond is a challenging 4x4 route that dead ends at private property (pictured rock crawling section). Parking Lot has restrooms open April thru November."

"Beautiful area. Def need some clearance on the road. Large rocks sticking up in areas due to rain wash outs. The 2nd creek crossing had higher banks than the first but my 2013 Honda CRV did great. I even drove up in the rain. The road past the crabtree falls parking area was under water so I didn't venture any farther. Camped at a site very close to the parking area but there was lots of broken glass. Campsite was large enough for multiple tents."

"We drove up Meadows Ln this past week to the Meadows Lane Crabtree Falls Parking Area to hike Spy Rock. I drove in an old 2WD Toyota Tundra and had no issues. On previous trip (6 years ago) I drove up in a Honda Odyssey and saw other small cars in the dirt lot. The road has degraded over time, 4WD is not necessary, just good ground clearance. The road is very narrow, so watch for other cars on the blind curves. Here is a recent photo of the second stream crossing, but there are other spots closer to the parking lot with more rocky terrain requiring higher clearance. The meadow has become overgrown, not sure of the quality of campsites like there was back in 2014. There is a nice and indestructible privy at the parking area, but it was locked, so while COVID-19 is still an issue, don't count on being able to relieve yourself. Some nice hikers left their trash (lots of it) at the door of the privy. There is no running water, but a nearby stream will provide a good water source. Please be clean and treat the area, trails and facilities with respect."