We did the Emerald Pond hike in the Massanutten area today. It is a little over 8 miles and is a lollipop, so there is a little loop at the end, but there's some out-and-back as well. The hike starts from the abandoned Massanutten Visitor Center on Highway 211. I couldn't find any reference online as to when it closed. There is an article in the Washington Post from 1989 that references it being open, but other than that, there is little information on it.
In any case, after a short descent, the trail climbs steeply for a bit more than a mile to a really nice overlook of the Shenandoah Valley to the west. We took a brief break there and then continued south on the Bird Knob/Massanutten Trail. From the overlook, there is probably another two miles of very gentle climbing and then a slow descent towards Bird Knob. About a mile after the overlook, the Massanutten Trail splits off to the left. We stayed on the Bird Knob Trail. The trail passed through lots of pine groves and mountain laurel, nice and green in the middle of winter. We came out into a meadow with a tiny frozen pond at the end of the Bird Knob Trail. From there, we descended to Emerald pond, which is, indeed, clear and and green. After a bit of confusion about which way to go, we headed up the hill to the Massanutten Trail, which follows a forest road for a few miles. We passed a lot of large Allegheny Mound Ant mounds, but I neglected to take pictures of them. At the junction with Bird Knob, we retraced our steps to the car.
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