A rugged corner of Between the Hills beneath the bluff that looms over Harpers Ferry.
History
Loudoun Heights is both a mountain and the small community below it. The mountain is the first summit of the Blue Ridge south of the Potomac, straddling the Virginia–West Virginia line, and its steep north face rises high above the Shenandoah River and Harpers Ferry. The community lies in Loudoun’s Between the Hills valley along Harpers Ferry Road, hemmed in by the Blue Ridge, Short Hill Mountain and Harpers Ferry National Historical Park. The Alliance lists it among its vanished villages, though its page has no text yet.
The heights mattered in war. In spring 1861 Confederates under Stonewall Jackson built blockhouses on the summit, and in September 1862 John G. Walker’s division seized the mountain and hauled cannon to the crest to shell Union positions during the siege of Harpers Ferry. After Antietam, Union troops camped there and stripped much of the upper slope of timber. On the night of January 10, 1864, John Mosby’s Rangers made a night attack on Maryland cavalry under Henry Cole and were driven off.
Today the area is known mostly for steep hiking, including the Appalachian Trail’s descent toward Harpers Ferry.
Nearest course
Our closest passes
- Sunday Purcellville Trek Gravel RideApr 9, 2023 · 31.1 mi · 2.9 km away
- Upper Loudoun County meandering gravel rideMay 7, 2023 · 29.8 mi · 2.9 km away
Sources: Loudoun Historic Village Alliance – Loudoun Heights (page has no content) · Wikipedia – Loudoun Heights, Virginia · Wikipedia – Loudoun Heights (mountain) · National Park Service – Loudoun Heights · Loudoun County – Rural Historic Villages Comprehensive Plan Amendment. Ride counts from our own Strava and Ride with GPS logs, 2009–2026.
