Lover's Leap - Patrick County, Virginia

We decided to take the southern route to Hungry Mother State Park from our home town of Midlothian, VA to minimize the time we would have to drive on I-81.  We took US 360 south west from Woodlake to US 58 at South Boston.  Turning onto US 58 west, we drove to Danville  where we took a break for lunch.  From Danville, we took US 58 west around Martinsville to Stuart in Patrick County.

Stuart is the county seat of Patrick County.  It is located at the foot of the Blue Ridge Mountains.  My parents lived in Stuart in the early to mid 1970's.  I often visited during my undergrad days at Radford College in Radford, and while I worked for Virginia Tech in Blacksburg.  We drove around town a bit and drove by our old house.

From Stuart, we climbed the mountain via US 58 to Meadows of Dan.  On the way up, we stopped at Lover's Leap Wayside for some awesome views of the Blue Ridge Mountains of Patrick County.  

Click on my photos below to see them in high resolution on Flickr.  You can view the photos in high resolution by clicking here!

The wayside gets its name from the Legend of Lover's Leap.  In the 1600's, a settler fell in love with a Chief's daughter, Morning Flower.  They were criticized and shunned by both the settlers and her tribe. To remain together, the couple leaped off this cliff to their deaths.  If you search the net, you will find many locations with the same name inspired by a similar tragic story.

At the top of the mountain on US 58 is Woolwine and Meadows of Dan.  Gorgeous farm country on a plateau.  We continued on to Hillsville where we picked up I-77 for a short stretch to I-81 South.  We finished the journey by taking I-81 South to US 11 at Marion and Park Blvd to Hungry Mother State Park.