Abbott Lake Trail

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Peaks of Otter

Virginia BRP Highlights

Blue Ridge Parkway

Peaks of Otter

Abbott Lake Trail

This easy, one mile loop trail around Abbott Lake takes hikers through a woodland forest and open field, offering a close-up view of this picturesque lake. Most start this hike from the Peaks of Otter Lodge parking area, however you can also start from the Peaks of Otter Picnic Area off VA 43. This will add another 0.6 miles to your loop hike for a 1.6 mile hike. Or you can continue down the picnic area drive and park near Polly Woods Ordinary.

Abbott Lake is a 24-acre impoundment that was created soon after the Peaks of Otter Lodge was built in 1964 to eliminate a boggy meadow where the lake is now. The lake is named after Stanley W. Abbott, the Blue Ridge Parkway's first landscape architect and the man largely responsible for designing the Parkway. Today, no one would propose the flooding of a rare high mountain bog.

This is one of those must do hikes and most visitors do the loop either first thing in the morning or after dinner, prior to sunset. When we visited the area in June 2007, we watched a black bear walk along the same trail we had just walked along as we ate our dinner in the restaurant. There are pictures and a map below. This hike is featured in the hiking guide book Hiking the Blue Ridge Parkway as well as Best Easy Day Hikes of the Blue Ridge Parkway.