Lion's Tale - Accessible Trail For the Visually Impaired - George Washington National Forest VA
N 38° 43.685 W 078° 31.998
17S E 714425 N 4289490
A handicap-accessible trail provides the visually impaired hiker with an extrasensory adventure through the forest.
Waymark Code: WMBXHZ
Location: Virginia, United States
Date Posted: 07/01/2011
Views: 4
The Lion's Tale is a ½-mile accessible loop trail designed for the visually impaired in George Washington National Forest. It is a sensory adventure into the woods that encourages the hiker to feel, smell, and listen. High contrast interpretive signs with Lop Ears, the friendly mountain lion guide, are imprinted with braille and tell the story of the forest and how to experience it using different senses. Embedded wooden boards in the surface of the barrier-free trail alert the impaired hiker to a nearby sign.
Benches provide places to sit and feel the sun, listen to birds and insects or the babbling of a stream, smell the wildflowers or the boggy areas. Feel rounded river stones, a cold running spring, the different textures of tree bark, exposed roots, a rotten log, and even play in a stream.
The Lion's Tale is a cooperative project of the Lions Clubs of VA and the Forest Service. It is open year-round. There is no fee. Handicap-accessible toilets are available in the parking lot.
Directions: From I-81: Take exit 264 and continue east on US 211 into New Market. Turn left onto US 11 at second traffic light. Go north to the next traffic light and turn east (still US 211). Turn left at approximately 3 miles onto FDR 274 (Crisman Hollow Road). Lions Tale Accessible Trail is approximately 8 miles from US 211.
Please note that the area is subject to flash floods which sometimes deposit excess dirt and other debris on the trail and footbridges through swampy areas which unfortunately, could make it hazardous to handicapped hikers.