Kevin Myatt | The Roanoke Times

Wildflowers dot the ground at many points along Harkening Hill Trail. Spring runs a few weeks behind its arrival in the valley, so May into June is the primary wildflower season at the elevations above 3,000 feet.

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Stats

• Location: The Peaks of Otter visitor center at Blue Ridge Parkway's intersection with state highway 43. Parkway mile marker 83, about 30 miles northeast of Roanoke. Length: 3.3-mile loop.
• Elevation: From 2,550 feet at the trailhead to 3,364 at the summit of Harkening Hill.
• Gottasee factor (scenery, scale 0 to 4): 2.5: A pleasant hike through woods and wildflowers. There are many notable rock formations, including three "balanced rocks," plus a few good vista points and one running stream. It's not a spectacular trail, but it has the kind of understated beauty that goes overlooked by crowds but is appreciated by avid hikers and nature lovers.
• Gottabreathe factor (difficulty scale 0 to 4): 2: Going clockwise on the loop, the trail climbs just over 800 feet to reach the summit in 1.5 miles, climbing seven switchbacks at a gentle to moderate grade. Going counterclockwise, it achieves the summit in 1.8 miles, with one moderately steep climb. But there's also lots of nearly level, ridgetop hiking in between ascent and descent, and one level stretch that parallels the parkway.

Though some call it a "peak," this one's not even a "top;" it's just a lowly "hill." But in no way is it making a mountain out of molehill to call Harkening HIll one of the most accessible and enjoyable loop hikes around.

Harkening Hill is sometimes referred to as the third "Peak of Otter," but it's more of a low-slung hump than a "peak." It lacks the easily distinguishable profile of nearby Sharp Top and Flat Top, but shares similar geological and biological features.

This hill peaks at a respectable 3,364 feet, only 400 feet below Sharp Top's summit and 600 and some change below Flat Top. It was tall enough on a recent trek for me and my faithful four-legged hiking companion Cindy (leashed, as required by park rules) to disappear into a low-hanging cloud. Nice views of the Otter peaks, the Blue Ridge and the Shenandoah Valley can be had from various parts of the loop, especially during leaf-off, but on this last trek, a milky white blanket shut the windows to nearly all those views.

That's not all bad, or even mostly bad. There's something soothing about hiking in fog, about feeling tiny droplets sprinkle on your face, about the humid hush that muffles outside noises and concerns. It definitely makes one focus more on what's close at hand than what's far off, and the Harkening Hill trail is one of those places where what's nearby is the featured attraction.

One such up close and personal eye-catcher during this hike was four whitetail deer bedded down in brush just feet from the trail. Although it was not intended (at least not by me), our approach flushed them out, and they leaped away so quickly I didn't even think of my camera. I haven't been on this trail yet that I haven't seen deer.

But the most lasting impression of this most recent hike was the ghostly monoliths looming eerily in the fog. As the trail gets higher, it passes more and larger rock formations. Although only one is advertised as part of a spur trail, there are actually three "balanced rock" formations -- one right beside the trail about a mile in (going clockwise, which is the way I like to hike it) and two on the "Balance Rock" spur trail near the midway point. I'm not sure which is the one the spur trail is named for. There's also a huge rounded rock right beside a giant oak tree, displaying geological and biological age in one trailside glance, and many neat bluffs and cliffs to scurry up and, in clearer weather, gain scenic vistas from.

Part of what makes this hike so enjoyable and accessible is a long stretch of mostly level ridgetop hiking once seven switchbacks are negotiated in the first three-quarters of a mile. If you choose to go clockwise, the trail begins immediately behind the Peaks of Otter visitor center. (It starts as the Johnson Hill Farm Loop to the right of the visitor center if you want to go counterclockwise). Another shorter, flatter loop trail, the Elk Run Trail, also begins behind the center for those with less time, energy or ability. It's a nice little trail too.

For a short distance, the Harkening Hill trail stays low and flat in a glade, but then begins working up the hillside through a nice forest of oaks, poplars and hickories. It's through here that it begins making switchbacks, widely spaced between each other. A few views of Sharp Top and the parkway pop out between the trees, but the rapid spring greening should pull the curtains on most of those in upcoming weeks.

When it finally reaches the ridgeline, the trail splits a forest of large trees, big rocks and flowering bushes such as azalea and mountain laurel. As of this writing on the first day of May, it's still a little early for a lot of blooms in the higher elevations In foliage time, it's more like about early March up there. In late May, expect an explosion of blooming things. There were several small wildflowers along the trail already in bloom, but the trees are just barely budding.

At the summit, there is a sign and a rock outcropping that grants a good rest point and a view -- or on this day, a chance to get your sitter damp. From there, the trail continues its semi-level ridge run a little farther to an intersection with the Balance Rock spur trail. Take a right and go a few hundred yards to the double balanced rocks, one just down the hill from the other. It's downhill, but not very steep. It's nothing like that steep drop to Cross Rock on Flat Top, so it adds no significant additional difficulty to the hike.

After this, the trail begins working downhill at a moderate steep grade to a clearing. Land in Peaks of Otter area began being cleared for subsistence farming decades before the Revolutionary War, and a small settlement, boosted partly by tourism, hung on until the Great Depression. The clearing affords one of those "Hills Are Alive with the Sound of Music" type feelings when the visibility allows you to see Flat Top dead ahead. Incidentally, this is the clearing that I talk about seeing on the Flat Top hike that helps you judge how high you are. A little farther down once the trail re-enters the woods, there's a rocky bluff to the left that grants a view down toward the restored Johnson farmhouse that's the feature of the Johnson Farm trail.

A hiker who came up the other way told me that the trail is steeper going counterclockwise than it is the way I came. Going counterclockwise does climb the same elevation more directly without the benefit of switchbacks, but it also climbs the same 814 feet in about 1.8 miles as compared to 1.5 miles going clockwise. So it's about a draw. Although park literature refers to parts of the trail being "steep and strenuous," I would defend my gottabreathe rating of 2. Someone in average physical condition will have a moderate amount of difficulty on this hike, and its elevation gain is similar to that of the Star Trail to Mill Mountain in Roanoke, also rated a 2.

As the trail works down, there are three trail intersections. Two are marked by signs, both of which point the left route as the one to the Johnson farm, which makes for a nice side trip, and the right route as the one back to the visitor center. One unposted trail, however, crosses across the main route. Stay to the right here.

One final feature is a refreshing mountain stream. The trail crosses the small creek on rocks, then follows it for a while downhill toward the parkway. It's always pleasant to see and hear water splashing through the rocks. I allowed my dog the pleasure of splashing in it a little. If it had been in the 80s instead of in the 50s, I would have joined her.

When you see cars going by about 30 feet to your left, you know the hike is almost finished. It finishes its last eighth of a mile or so paralleling the Blue Ridge Parkway.

The Peaks of Otter Recreation Area on the Blue Ridge Parkway is one of the most popular and accessible hiking areas around. On summer weekends, all of the trails get a pretty good workout, but Sharp Top absorbs most of the throngs. With this trail description and the one before it about Flat Top and Fallingwater Cascades, I hope to have shown many would-be visitors that there's more to see at the Peaks of Otter than Sharp Top. Certainly, Sharp Top is the most attention-grabbing feature, probably the most recognizable mountain peak in Virginia. Although I'm going to move on to other areas for the next several articles, I'll return here sometime soon to rate the Peaks' feature presentation.