If you’re looking for a mid-summer hiking/swimming/waterfall adventure, let me suggest a trip to the North Fork Moormans River Trail west of Charlottesville. It’s in Shenandoah National Park, but you reach it by driving through Crozet and hiking up, rather than going to Skyline Drive and hiking down. I wrote about a hike my wife and one-month-old daughter did on the trail last week for my Sunday Times-Dispatch column.

Beautiful swimming hole on the North Fork Moormans River in Shenandoah NP.

Round trip the hike was just under 4 miles. It was a workout, but I wouldn’t call it more than moderately strenuous. It’s a great hike for this time of year because there are at least three large swimming holes worthy of a cooling dip. And at the top of the hike we found a beautiful 45-foot waterfall. Well worth the 1:30 drive from Richmond.

Here’s the link to the hike on HikingUpward.com

The 45-foot waterfall at the top of the river, 1.8 miles into the hike.