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Round Hill Appalachian Trail Festival 2020 Dates Rescheduled for September 12 and 13
Round Hill’s Appalachian Trail Festival is being pushed back to September 12th and 13th in order to comply with CDC social distancing guidelines. Visitors can expect two days of live music, trail talks, kids’ activities, food, and more. At this free, family-friendly event, the public is invited to celebrate outdoor opportunities in the area.
The festival will kick off at 11 a.m. on September 12th with a scavenger hunt. Participants will have the opportunity to familiarize themselves with various nonprofits. These include the Potomac Appalachian Trail Club, Appalachian Trail Conservancy, and Loudoun Wildlife Conservancy. In addition to this exciting, informative event ,there will be a line-up of speakers, food, live music, and more.
The following day at 11 a.m., a variety of more hands-on activities will begin. Participants will be able to sign up for a hike, learn how to set up a campsite, try out yoga for hikers, practice trail first aid, taste some campfire cooking, and join in other nature- and trail-themed activities.
The town of Round Hill sits between two well-known AT centers—Bear’s Den to the south and Blackburn to the north. Hikers pass through the Roller Coaster, a rocky, undulating 13-mile stretch of the trail with a remarkable overlook, via the town of Round Hill.
The festival offers a chance for Appalachian Trail visitors to meet the local community and vice versa. Travelers and day-hikers will be offered a shuttle from the trail and be invited to share trail stories, restock supplies, sample local food and beer, recharge phones, camp, and more.
Thanks to various sponsors, including REI Co-op, Whole Foods, Loudoun County, Meadows Farms Nurseries & Landscape Friends of the Blue Ridge Mountains, H2 Land Company, Darn Tough, and the town of Round Hill, the festival is free to the public.
For more information, visit the Round Hill Appalachian Trail Festival website.
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Comments 3
I wonder if I’d be able to host some thru hikers this season. I’m buying a house in Round Hill and I’m a former AT thru hiker. Does Round Hill have a program in place to host hikers? Or offer rides from Bear’s Den?
Hi, Greg. I think you asked a question last year about Round Hill and A.T. hikers. Sorry, I didn’t see it until now! Round Hill was designated an A.T. Community by ATC a couple years ago. Our local committee, Round Hill Outdoors, works on A.T.-related projects–like our festival (which I head up). When we can hold the festival in June again, we will once again offer shuttles to and camping at the festival–but that’s a one-off offer. We’ve talked about setting something more extensive up–but haven’t ever gotten that going. Besides offering rides and hosting hikers, we also talked about something simple like doing a drive for some of the things hikers might need (bandages, ibuprofen, bug spray, energy bars, etc) and setting up an “Angel Box” up at Bear’s Den. If you’re still interested in getting something like this going, we should talk about it. I do know that our local PATC chapter, the Blue Ridge Chapter, is going to start maintaining trails up at Bears Den, which is the closest (and easiest to access) trail center to town. So, Bear’s Den seems like the most likely place to engage with hikers. I’m rambling on. Please let us know if you’d like to get involved with Round Hill Outdoors, our A.T. Festival and/or working on a program like this. A belated welcome to Round Hill! –Jody
Hoping to get this updated on The Trek! The festival had to be cancelled in 2020; our new 2021 dates:
SEPTEMBER 11-12
Same location. Same two-day format with great live music, speakers and hands-on activities. (But we won’t be shuttling hikers, as we had to postpone from June.)
Hope to see you at the festival!