The Remote Destination in Virginia Where the Drive Is Worth the Final View

Being in a city center is captivating, with fantastic people watching, exciting museums, and many restaurants, but I love visiting remote locations, too. Getting away from the city center on a scenic drive or hike is a great way to see the local geography. The Virginia mountains are stunning, and a great place to enjoy them is the Carter Overlook. The overlook is about 4 miles southeast of Charlottesville, Virginia.

The Carter Overlook is just off of the Thomas Jefferson Parkway, Highway 53, which runs east from Scottsville Road. The overlook provides stunning mountain views. Visitors can look down on the trees below, enjoying green leaves in the spring and summer and an array of colorful leaves in the fall. The overlook is a great place to enjoy the bright reds, greens, oranges, and yellows of the fall foliage. The overlook also provides views of Charlottesville and the Blue Ridge Mountains in the distance.

The overlook is accessible from a popular hike in the area: the Saunders-Monticello Trail. This trail is a 4.3-mile out-and-back hike that is considered easy to complete. It takes about 90 minutes to hike the trail and gains about 400 feet in elevation. Hikers can slightly detour from the trail to the overlook to enjoy the views below.

The overlook is near Monticello, the home of Thomas Jefferson, the third president of the United States. Monticello sits on top of a mountain, which Jefferson named Monalto. There are many things to do at Monticello. Visitors can hike, tour the property, walk through the gardens, eat at the cafe, visit the vineyard, and shop. Two of the tours focus on the history of women and enslaved people at Monticello: the From Slavery to Freedom Tour and the Women at Monticello Tour.

Another notable attraction on Carters Mountain is the Carter Mountain Orchard. Visitors can enjoy incredible views of the valley below from the mountaintop orchard. The orchard periodically offers fruit throughout the year. Visitors can pick their own peaches and apples, while cherries, pumpkins, and nectarines are available in the farm store. The orchard also sells several farm products, like jams, jellies, apple butter, ciders, doughnuts, ice cream, pies, and wines. The orchard hosts seasonal and holiday events for visitors, including an Easter celebration, a Fourth of July event, and food trucks in the fall.

You can read more about the Saunders-Monticello Trail on AllTrails.

Have you visited the Carter Overlook? What is your favorite scenic overlook in Virginia?

If you're interested in staying overnight in the Charlottesville area, consider booking this two-bedroom suite, which can accommodate four people. It's near Monticello and Michie Tavern.