News Flash

A few months ago, on the Out of the Office podcast, Alex North mentioned he’d never hiked Dragon’s Tooth. I quickly signed him up to do a Roam RoCo with me to explore the trail. Leading up to the hike, Alex was a little warry about what he’s gotten himself into. Even along the way, when we reached the rock scrambles he said, “you didn’t tell me about this.”

Behind the camera, it was Allen’s first time hiking Dragon’s Tooth, as well. I had hiked Dragon’s Tooth about half a dozen times before, so I donned my adventure guide hat for the hike (I even made sure to brush up on my Appalachian Trail history before the trip!)

One of the great things about hiking with friends is getting the chance to catch up without screens or a lot of distractions. We talked about music, football, work and all sorts of things while stopping along the way to point out cool views, streams and lichen (my favorite organism!)

Getting out in nature is a great way to connect with each other and the world around you. We even ran into a few cool groups of people along the way including medical professionals on a backpacking trip learning how to care for outdoor-related injuries in nature.

If you’re going to try the trail yourself, the McAfee Knob Trailhead Shuttle now offers stops to Dragon’s Tooth, making it even easier to get there. And in late October, with the leaves changing color, now is one of the best times to go out hiking!

Dragon’s Tooth is rated as a hard trail on AllTrails. It’s 4.6 miles with 1,256 feet of elevation gain. Most of the strenuous hiking comes in the last 0.7 mile where you’re gaining a lot of elevation and encountering the rock scrambles, so take your time and pack plenty of water and snacks!

Em Poertner is Roanoke County's Public Information Specialist. She hosts the Out of the Office podcast and Roam RoCo video series. If you have ideas for something to explore around Roanoke County, email her at epoertner@roanokecountyva.gov.