Hungry Mother State Park is one of the original six Virginia State Parks opened in 1936. It's known for beautiful woodlands and a placid 108-acre lake in the heart of the mountains.
To complete the FKT you’ll park at the spillway and run the course counter-clockwise. The course starts at the bridge and follow the Lake Loop (moderate) to Molly’s Knob Trail (hard) to Mollys Knob Vista (hard) and then continues back down Mollys Knob trail to complete the remainder of the Lake Loop, ultimately returning you to the bridge at the spillway.
NOTES: In the last two miles, the Lake Trail will eventually push you out onto the road to cross a bridge. You should only be on the road for this portion. Make a left into the parking lot where you can pick up the path again and continue back to the spillway.
TURN AROUND NOTES: There’s a large rock between two benches at the top of Mollys Knob Vista, that’s the turnaround.
The Legend of Hungry Mother
The Legend of Hungry Mother takes many forms, and all have whispers of the truth. The one widely accepted by the people of Southwest Virginia goes like this…
Legend has it that a pioneer named Molly Marley and her small child were captured by a Native American tribe and taken to their mountain camp. Molly and her little one eventually escaped and wandered through the woods foraging for food and searching for shelter. One day Molly collapsed from exhaustion, and the youngster continued along the creek until help was found. The only words the child could utter were “Hungry Mother.” A search party later found Molly dead at the foot of the mountain near the creek.
The mountain went on to be called Molly’s Knob and the stream Hungry Mother Creek.
