North Valley Trail Map (click to enlarge)

Length: 1.5 mile, one-way
Time: 1 hour
Difficulty: Moderate

This trail report does not cover the entire North Valley Trail, which runs from its southern terminus at Pyrite Mine Road to its northern terminus at Burma Road. The Prince William Forest Park trail map states that the total distance is 3.1 miles, while the National Park Service’s official North Valley Trail web page claims that it is 2.6 miles. My hike covers 1.5 miles of the trail, ending at the Quantico Cascades Trail. This is near the halfway point, so I am inclined to believe the trail map.

I started my hike on the North Valley Trail at Pyrite Mine Road, a gravel road that is open to both hikers and bikers. The North Valley Trail is not located near any parking lots, so you must actually hike or bike additional miles just to reach it. You can either use the 1.1-mile Pyrite Mine Road, which is accessed at Parking Lot D on Scenic Drive, or hike along the South Valley Trail from various points in the park. I hiked the North Valley Trail as part of a larger hike, using the South Valley Trail to access it.

The South Valley Trail ends at Pyrite Mine Road just to the left of the historic North Branch Quantico Creek Bridge. The bridge was built in the late 1800s in conjunction with the Cabin Branch Pyrite Mine. It is typical of a pony truss bridge: a bridge supported by a truss—a structure formed with triangular units—but without overhead bracing. Cross the bridge and you will be on the North Valley Trail and hiking through the old mine site.

North Branch Quantico Creek Bridge in Prince William Forest Park

Cabin Branch Pyrite Mine operated from 1889 to 1916, after which time the property was bought and operated by the Agricultural Chemical Company until 1920. As the name implies, pyrite (aka Fools Gold) was the source of revenue. Back in the late 1800s and early 1900s, pyrite, or iron sulfide, was mined for its sulfur content. Sulfur was used to produce sulfuric acid, which in turn was an ingredient in hundreds of finished products such as glass, soap, fertilizer, paint, and textiles. Sulfur itself is used to make gunpowder, a profitable commodity during World War I. Today sulfur is produced from natural gas and oil byproducts.

Just a few minutes from the bridge is one of the few remaining physical remnants of the mine, the foundation of the commissary building. Most other buildings were made of wood and have either rotted away or were torn down and used to build the cabins and other wooden structures at Chopawamsic Recreational Demonstration Area back in 1935. The park was renamed Prince William Forest Park in 1948.

Foundation of the Cabin Branch Mine commissary building located along the North Valley Trail in Prince William Forest Park

I hiked the North Valley Trail during a rain storm. The surface is made of some sort of clay that becomes slick as ice when wet. To help alleviate the mess, the National Park Service constructed a long boardwalk through the muddiest areas. It runs nearly a quarter mile.

Boardwalk through the muddy area on the North Valley Trail in Prince William Forest Park

About halfway down the boardwalk is a viewing platform where you can look out over what was once the heart of the mine. All structures have been removed except one. Unfortunately, I never saw it because the forest has grown up quite a lot since the platform was built, though in the fall when the leaves are off the trees it may be visible.

The abandoned mine created an ecological disaster of sorts, causing Quantico Creek to run orange with waste and leaving piles of pyrite tailings everywhere. Starting in the 1970s, the National Park Service began to clean up the area. This effort lasted all the way through the mid-1990s. Mine shafts were sealed, tailings were buried, and trees were planted. All you see today is a forest.

Observation deck overlooking the old pyrite mine site in Prince William Forest Park

Information panel on the Cabin Branch Pyrite Mine

Not long after the boardwalk ends, the trail crosses back to the west side of Quantico Creek via a second bridge, though this one has no historical significance. On the other side is the intersection with the Cabin Branch Pyrite Mine Trail. There are a few more building foundations about a tenth of a mile up the trail. If these are of interest to you, visit the Cabin Branch Pyrite Mine Trail review to find out what there is to see.

Intersection of the North Valley and Cabin Branch Pyrite Mine Trails in Prince William Forest Park

Once you cross the bridge, take a right to stay on the North Valley Trail, which now becomes a traditional, earthen hiking trail, not a gravel road as it was prior to the boardwalk. The terrain is a little rougher than that of the South Valley Trail, and while it does run along Quantico Creek, there are often long stretches where trees block the view of the water.

Start of Prince William Forest Park’s North Valley Trail on the west side of Quantico Creek

View of Quantico Creek from the North Valley Trail in Prince William Forest Park

There is another building foundation just a couple of minutes away. The foundations in this area are the remains of the boiler room, the machine shop, and the engine room. Two of these are better seen from the Cabin Branch Pyrite Mine Trail, while the North Valley Trail provides a good view of a third building foundation. Unfortunately, there is no explanation as to which is which, though a wayside exhibit does give a general description of the mining operation.

Unidentified building foundation from the Cabin Branch Pyrite Mine in Prince William Forest Park

Unidentified building foundation from the Cabin Branch Pyrite Mine in Prince William Forest Park

As you head north, Quantico Creek gets wider, though as before, trees often block the view. There are even a few segments where the trail veers far away from the creek, and you can neither see it nor hear it, though you know it is still nearby based on the lushness of the ferns and other vegetation.

Lush terrain along the North Valley Trail in Prince William Forest Park as it follow Quantico Creek

The trail remains completely flat until it crosses a footbridge about .75 mile after leaving the mine site. At this point it heads straight up a tippy-toe steep hill—that’s what I call a hill so steep that you must push off on the balls of your feet to move forward. The trail also gets rather rooty, so watch your step. The good thing is that there is a bench at the top. You can hear the rush of cascading water down below, though once again, you can’t get much of a view due to the trees.

Rough and hilly section of the North Valley Trail in Prince William Forest Park

To get back down the steep hill to Quantico Creek, the National Park Service built some steps out of logs. In fact, the hill is so steep that the trail descends along a switchback (a zigzag trail that makes the descent more gradual). At the bottom is a beautiful cascade. The green color of the trees reflects off the pools of still water. You may notice some “waterfalls” marked on the park map, but this is not one of them.

Cascade on Quantico Creek along the North Valley Trail in Prince William Forest Park

In another quarter mile the North Valley Trail comes to the first of two intersections with the Quantico Cascades Trail, an L-shaped trail that starts near Parking Lot E. This cuts over to a series of cascades (the aforementioned waterfalls on the trail map). I opted to take the detour to the cascades, so it is at this point that my hike along the North Valley Trail ends. Take a right to get to the cascades, which are a tenth of a mile away. Staying on the North Valley Trail at this point takes you completely away from the creek.

Intersection of the North Valley Trail and the Lake Quantico Cascades Trail in Prince William Forest Park

The trail runs high above Quantico Creek on a ridge when it passes the first of the cascades, and the view is largely obscured by the trees. It is only the uppermost cascade that you can easily access, but unfortunately the trail comes out above it so you can’t get a decent view. I suppose you could Lewis-and-Clark-It™ to the base, but that was more than I was willing to do at this point. It isn’t an impressive cascade, and unless you simply haven’t seen much in life, you are bound to be disappointed.

Upper most cascade at the end of the Cascades Trail in Prince William Forest Park

Regardless of whether you want to hike the North Valley Trail to its end at Burma Road or return to Parking Lot E—which was my destination—you must take the Quantico Cascades Trail to the west. Start the trip from the wayside exhibit titled The Power of Water (there are a few wayside exhibits at the cascades). Turn so your back is to the creek and you will see two trails. The one on the left is the official Cascades Trail. The one on the right is an extremely steep shortcut that reconnects with the Cascades Trail near the top of the hill. You are free to take whichever you like.

Two choices for the hike back on the Quantico Cascades Trail to Parking Lot E in Prince William Forest Park

If you hike back on the official Cascades Trail, you will find that it forks just around the corner. Stay to the right to get back to the North Valley Trail intersection. I don’t know where the trail on the left goes, other than it follows a small stream and is overgrown.

Regardless of which route you take, you have an extremely difficult quarter-mile hike to the intersection with the North Valley Trail. This is the steepest hiking trail that I came across at Prince William Forest Park, and I hiked all but a few miles of the available trails. Once you reach the intersection, you can take a right to continue on the North Valley Trail or stay straight to get to Parking Lot E via the Quantico Cascades Trail. A left sets you off hiking south, back the way you just came.

Steep hike back along the Cascades Trail to Parking Lot E in Prince William Forest Park

I hiked the North Valley Trail as part of an 8-mile loop hike that starts at Parking Lot E on Scenic Drive. For those who want to tackle a highly interesting hike, from Parking Lot E, cross the road and look for the Mary Bird Branch Trail and take this to Old Black Top Road. Turn right on the road and head towards the Turkey Run Ridge Group Campground. Find the Turkey Run Ridge Trail and hike south until it ends at South Valley Trail. Take a left on South Valley and hike north until you get to North Orenda Road, at which point you must jog to the right for a quarter mile in order to reconnect with the South Valley Trail. South Valley comes to a final end at Pyrite Mine Road. Take a right over the bridge and the road naturally becomes the North Valley Trail. North Valley passes through the ruins of the Cabin Branch Pyrite Mine and eventually comes to the eastern terminus of the Quantico Cascades Trail. Take this back to the parking lot. For more information on any of the trails mentioned above, click the links to read a detailed trail review.

Loop Hike Map (click to enlarge)

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