Dragon’s Tooth in Jefferson National Forest, VA

Hike Dragon’s Tooth Jefferson National Forest, VA

Class 2 4.8 miles 1400 gain 2-4 hrs Out + Back Jun 15, 2016
Effort
Beauty
Personality
Solitude

Dragon’s Tooth GPX Track

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Located in The George Washington and Jefferson National Forest, the hike to Dragon's Tooth follows the Dragon's Tooth Trail, where it calmly ascends for a bit, and then merges with the Appalachian Trail as it makes more steep progress up Cove Mountain. Initially the hike is a typical trail with some manmade rock steps, but soon leads to a fun section of small scrambles overlooking the countryside. There aren't any difficult moves, but scrambles aren't super common in this area and this makes for a nice change of pace from the normal trail hiking. The terrain is a bit rocky and slower-moving than you might expect from the relatively low mileage. The Dragon's Tooth rock feature is the more popular name for the mountain on which it is housed, Cove Mountain. The very cool rock spire known as "The Tooth" creates a nice frame for the mountains beyond. There are other cool rock formations nearby worth checking out.

PEAKS ON HIKE
Elevation (ft) / Prominence (ft)
Peaks on hike
Elevation
Prominence
1
Cove Mountain (Dragons Tooth)
3050 ft
830 rise

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Along the Dragon's Tooth Trail.
Along the Dragon's Tooth Trail.
Tame switchbacks lower down.
Tame switchbacks lower down.
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After merging with the Appalachian Trail, the hike gets more steep and rocky.
After merging with the Appalachian Trail, the hike gets more steep and rocky.
View back, nice glimpses toward distant mountains.
View back, nice glimpses toward distant mountains.
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Ascending some fun scrambling.
Ascending some fun scrambling.
Another cools ection of scrambling.
Another cools ection of scrambling.
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Rungs embedded into the rock to aid in ascending.
Rungs embedded into the rock to aid in ascending.
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Approaching the Dragon's Tooth and its sibling rock outcroppings.
Approaching the Dragon's Tooth and its sibling rock outcroppings.
Dragon's Tooth.
Dragon's Tooth.
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Cool views while playing within the rock outcroppings.
Cool views while playing within the rock outcroppings.
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Hire me or show me some love!

Hire/refer me as a web developer or send me a few bucks if you find my site useful. I’m not sponsored, so all fees are out-of-pocket and my time preparing trip reports is unpaid. I really appreciate it!