A Black Woman's Guide to Hungry Mother State Park

Molly’s Knob is a 3.4 mile out-and-back trail at Hungry Mother State Park. It’s located on S’atsoyaha (Yuchi), Ani-Stohini/Unami and ᏣᎳᎫᏪᏘᏱ Tsalaguwetiyi (Cherokee, East) land in southwest Virginia. Photo credit: Danielle Williams

A few times a year I hike along the Appalachian Trail in Roanoke, VA with what feels like half of Virginia Tech’s freshman class. It’s always a lot of fun. I get the Instagram treatment (hint: photos with great angles) from perfect strangers and I enjoy meeting new people and their dogs. Hungry Mother, on the other hand, has always felt like an off-the-beaten path alternative—smaller crowds, steeper, shorter trails, and gorgeous lake views.

Hungry Mother State Park is one of 38 state parks located in Virginia. It’s tucked away in the southwest corner of the state in an area defined by the peaks and ridgelines of the Appalachian mountains and nearby Jefferson National Forest. The park is located just ten minutes away from I-81. Roanoke, another major hiking destination, is two hours away on I-81 N. The closest major cities are Knoxville, TN (3 hrs) and Charlotte, NC (3 hrs). 

Hungry Mother has everything: campsites, RV sites, bathrooms, trails, non-motorized boating, swimming, cabins, a lodge, trails and more. The Back of the Dragon, a 32-mile, 300-turn scenic motorcycle route also winds through the park on its path from Marion to Tazewell, VA.  

I first stumbled across a description of Hungry Mother in a magazine. The name intrigued me and I was determined to visit. Two years later I finally made my way down from Washington DC. It’s a five hour trip one-way. That first visit I stayed in nearby Roanoke, and drove to Marion for an early morning hike of Molly’s Knob. It took me an additional 45 mins of driving around in circles past crowded campsites and along rows of empty cabins before I finally found the trailhead (36.88542° N, 81.52161° W). Even still, the hike was worth it.

The first section runs parallel to the lake below and offers stunning views of the water through the trees. After that, it makes its way inland for a total of 3.4 miles out-and-back and a thousand foot elevation gain. It’s a great workout with lots of shade, a well maintained path and two sets of benches - one along the trail and another at Molly’s Knob overlook. Don’t forget to enjoy a rest before your return trip.

An off-season view of the lake from Clyburn Ridge Trail. Photo credit: Danielle Williams

On a recent trip to Hungry Mother, I decided to hike Clyburn Ridge Trail, a singletrack mountain biking/hiking path that offers beautiful views of the lake. The trailhead is located just outside the park entrance across from Camp Burson campground. I scanned the QR code provided and paid the $7 parking fee via the Virginia State Park Reservations website. I wrote down the confirmation code and left that on a piece of paper on my dashboard as instructed. After a moment of indecision, I chose to follow the Clyburn Ridge Loop Trail, hoping it would yield stunning views of the lake below. It did not disappoint! Other than almost being run over by two mountain bikers (the trail is pretty narrow), I had the place to myself. Clyburn Ridge Loop trail offers gorgeous views of Hungry Mother lake. Both trails are great workouts and rarely crowded on weekdays or weekends. 

Should you hike here as a person of color?

I’m a disabled Black woman and a solo hiker. I’m also a full-time mobility aid user. For those reasons and others, I tend to be pretty picky about the trails I choose to hike. Although I enjoy visiting off-the-beaten-path state parks I’m extremely aware of the fact that they tend to be located in rural areas which, in recent history, have been predominantly white by design. Marion, VA is no exception. The town of 5.7K is 87.9% white, 8.3% Black, 1.63% Hispanic (all races) and 0.88% Asian. It’s located in southwest VA where 23 African-American boys and men were lynched between 1883 and 1927—a disturbingly high number given that few African Americans lived in the area to begin with. While Marion was not a confirmed sundown town, several nearby towns were.

That being said, I love Hungry Mother and feel very comfortable here. I haven’t had any issues and that might be due to the fact that I only day-hike at this park. I don’t camp and I’m not really interacting with families who are concentrated on the lakeshore in the swimming, boating and camping areas. Also, while hiking just isn’t as popular in the Southeast United States, it does tend to attract college students, who tend to be more diverse (even in southwest VA). If you’re looking for a well-trafficked trail with lots of diverse young people, this is not it—better luck, a few hours north at McAfee Knob or along the Blue Ridge Parkway.

If you are a person of color visiting Hungry Mother, your experience may not align with mine. Have you visited Hungry Mother recently? I’d love to hear about your trip in the comments below.

Hungry Mother State Park is located at 2854 Park Blvd., Marion, VA.