The best walks and hikes around East Lexington

It's a very nice hike with the steepest incline at the end. Beware especially the last stretch between goat point and the Big house mountain outlook leads trough pretty heavy undergrowth. The trail at this point is well marked although not always well noticeable on the ground and ticks are all around. The overlook is not at the top of the mountain as the pictures on the komoot map make believe. It is all the way at the end of the marked trail even further than what komoot indicates. Because of that we unfortunately missed it.

Woods Creek Park is a lovely local park on the western side of Lexington, Virginia. There is a playground, open green spaces, and a picnic pavilion. The Woods Creek Trail also runs through and ends at this park, making it a great place to begin or end your hike along it.

The Woods Creek Trail is a gravel multi-use trail that links the historic Jordan's Point with Woods Creek Park through the Washington and Lee University and the Virginia Military Institute's (VMI) campuses. This is a great urban trail on the northwestern side of Lexington.

The Jordan's Point Historic District is located in Jordan's Point Park in Lexington, Virginia. Developed around 1800 by John Jordan and John Moorhead, the site originally housed a sawmill. In 1806, they dammed the Maury River and constructed a cotton mill in 1808. Although only foundations and the millrace remain from these early industrial activities, notable surviving structures include the miller's house, built around 1815, which is now a local museum, and a chapel built in 1874. The district's historical significance was recognized in 2016 when it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

The Chessie Nature Trail is a relatively flat, gravel and dirt multi-use path that runs between Lexington and Buena Vista, Virginia, along the Maury River. Although there are several access points along this seven mile trail, there are no facilities, so plan accordingly. Hikers, runners, cyclists, and dog walkers are all welcome on the trail, but dogs must be leashed at all times, especially because the trail passes through private lands and active cattle farms.

This is the proper parking area for the House Mountain Trail that takes you up to Big House Mountain, Little House Mountain, and the shelter between them. There is a large parking area right off Saddle Ridge Road, so you do not need to park on the side of the road, which might result in a ticket. From here, you then walk back to the road and hike up it to reach the trail.

Big House Mountain stands at 3,645-feet and is a great, challenging peak for anyone looking for an adventure. This is the taller of the two peaks that make up House Mountain. The challenging, steep trail is fairly easy to follow, thanks to some recent trail work, but is unblazed. There is a shelter for camping a few miles below the summit on the saddle between Little House and Big House Mountains, making it a great destination for an overnight trip.

Goat Point, or Goat Overlook, is a scenic, rocky outcropping that offers panoramic views just a short distance from the summit of Big House Mountain. The short spur trail to Goat Point is just before a rock canyon on a ridge and Tabletop Rock, a huge slab of rock precariously balanced on another. Goat Point gets its name from a local goat actually used to live on the mountain and would look for handouts from hikers around the 2010s. Sadly, the goat has not been seen for some time, but the overlook named after it is a fantastic spot to stop at as you make your way to the summit.