Do you like exploring country roads? I certainly do! Yesterday I set out to locate a particular spot, and the road became narrow and unpaved. It seemed vaguely familiar though, and when I saw this house, I realized I had been down this road about 20 years ago.
The spot I was looking for was shown on a webpage that I came across when I
was writing Friday’s post about
Inskeep Landing. The website listed public access points on the Shenandoah. All the other
places were familiar to me, so I was curious about this one near Maurertown. I
wanted to take pictures of the river from a new spot.
My GPS wasn’t much help because I didn’t know the name of the road, but I had
saved the map on my phone. The county route number is 661, and now, after looking at another map, I think the
road is Ridgeley Road. (I am glad my parents taught me how to read maps!)
I think I found the place that is marked on the map. Bear in mind that this website appeared
to be in need of updates, and the state DWR Site lists a different place for
boating access. I plan to check out that one too.
There were several vehicles parked along the road, and nobody in sight, so I assume they were either kayaking or tubing on the river. This is not a good location for carrying anything heavy because the bank is quite steep. Also, the North Fork is shallow and rocky here.
A little further down, I stopped to see Helsley Bridge, but there was a sign saying it was a private road. One thing to remember about online maps and the GPS is that they don’t often indicate that a road is private, plus the maps can be pretty confusing in a rural area.
A few steps away was an old bridge across a creek, and it appeared to be in danger of falling down. It had been blocked off with a large log.
I continued to follow the road I was on and it soon returned to the Valley Pike, having formed a long U-shape like a bend in the river. Most of the roads here follow routes dictated by geography, specifically the curves of rivers and the gaps in the mountains.
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