Henry Lanum Memorial Trail

Henry Lanum Memorial Trail is a moderate hiking loop in the Mount Pleasant National Scenic Area of George Washington National Forest in Virginia. Most people complete it as a counter-clockwise loop, using the blue paint for wayfinding, and the route is mapped as a short hiking-specific member loop (no horse use).

Plan on roughly a 4.8–6.15 mile loop with about 1,300–1,374 ft of gain, typically around 3–4 hours on the move. The trail stays wooded much of the way, with a mix of easier old fire-road walking early on and a steeper, rockier climb after the first creek crossing.

A key early phase comes through what amounts to a gentle first section (around the first mile), then after about 1.2 miles the trail crosses a creek and begins a steeper climb toward the gap. The ascent is described as getting rocky as you work up toward the Mount Pleasant area junction.

Around the 2.5-mile mark you intersect with the Mount Pleasant Summit Trail. From there, the route uses a side spur to reach the saddle between the east and west peaks, then returns back to the junction to continue the loop.

Camping and overnight use are a major part of the appeal: there are backcountry campsite pockets near the summit area along the Henry Lanum Memorial Trail, including small fire-ring setups in multiple spots. The summit area is also referenced as having east- and west-facing lookouts reached by turning toward the respective spur toward each summit viewpoint.

The route is mapped with intermediate trail visibility and ground surface, with a width around 2 m and mapped smoothness flagged as very rough/hard to follow in places—so treat it as an “in-the-woods” navigation hike rather than a simple walk along an easy footpath.

More information: Mount Pleasant: A Scenic Loop Hike in Amherst County, virginia hikes: Mount Pleasant loop, October 24 2019, Mount Pleasant Loop, Amherst, Virginia - The Outbound