rocktown trails at hillandale park

As a local, I really enjoy running the trails at Hillandale. The path that does not go deep into the woods is well maintained. Keep an eye out for dog bombs, though! Not everyone picks up after their dogs. The trails in the woods are more challenging though a little harder to follow. They're fun if you're looking for a run over rocks & on narrow paths. Great place for recreation and safe!

Hillandale Park looks like a real gem and seems well worth checking out if you're visiting Harrisonburg -- especially if you're looking for an attractive place to picnic or a convenient course for hiking, trail-running, or mountain-biking. Nestled in a residential area a couple miles from downtown, the park does not have obvious access points, but it's easy enough to reach if you consult a map. I happened to visit the park on a snowy December morning, so it was pretty empty -- just a few people out walking their dogs -- but the quiet was exactly what I wanted. I was there mostly to try out Rocktown, a labyrinth of mountain biking trails set in the woods. (For a trail map, click on the website link above, but keep in mind that the map has an odd orientation: "up" is southeast and "down" is northwest.) For the most part, these trails are on fairly level terrain -- no steep inclines or declines that I could see -- but they still manage quite a range of difficulty, and the most difficult would be challenging even for daredevil bikers. (Let's just say there's a reason for the name Rocktown!) I didn't have a bike with me, so I went running instead. With only a limited amount of time available, I had to confine my run to the northeast section of the park. Even so, I would probably have gotten lost in the maze if I hadn't been able to follow my own footprints in the snow back to my starting point at the parking lot on Hillandale Avenue. For that reason, I would suggest allotting a fair amount of time for exploration if you plan to ride, run, or hike these trails.