Warm Springs Mountain Preserve – Ingalls Overlook Trail

The Ingalls Overlook Trail is located in Warm Springs Mountain Preserve, a keystone tract nested within a 77,000-acre unfragmented forest providing essential habitat for wide ranging mammals and migratory songbirds. This 1.2 mile out-and-back trail (2.4 miles round-trip) offers the unique opportunity to experience an Appalachian oak-pine forest entirely from a ridgeline. If you arrive during the late spring and early summer, listen for the lively song of Indigo Buntings or the buzz of Golden-winged Warblers along the power line right-of-way near the trailhead. Chestnut-sided Warblers and Cerulean Warblers can also be found at this site. Ovenbirds, Scarlet Tanagers and Black-and-white Warblers are abundant summer breeding songbirds in the area but also listen for the less common Blue-headed Vireo and Rose-breasted Grosbeak. Interpretive signs along the trail provide an overview of the natural history of the area. The trail culminates with a lookout point offering stunning views of Shenandoah Mountain and across the Cowpasture River valley and offers the opportunity for viewing the fall migration of Broad-winged Hawks and other raptors. There are many species of butterflies and moths to observe in spring and summer. In the early spring, look for pink lady-slipper orchids, mayapple, bloodroot and other spring ephemeral wildflowers along the trail. Visitors are advised that the trail is a moderately strenuous uphill hike towards the lookout point, but then an easy downhill hike on the return.