The Priest (DePriest) is a

mountain A mountain is an elevated portion of the Earth's crust, generally with steep sides that show significant exposed bedrock. Although definitions vary, a mountain may differ from a plateau in having a limited Summit (topography), summit area, and ...

in Nelson County,

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

. The peak of the mountain is the highest point in the county. The mountain is on a spur off the main

Blue Ridge Mountains The Blue Ridge Mountains are a physiographic province of the larger Appalachian Mountains range. The mountain range is located in the Eastern United States, and extends 550 miles southwest from southern Pennsylvania through Maryland, West Virgin ...

, about 3.5 miles (5.5 km) east of Maintop Mountain, located in the Priest Wilderness of the George Washington National Forest. The Priest stands within the

watershed Watershed is a hydrological term, which has been adopted in other fields in a more or less figurative sense. It may refer to: Hydrology * Drainage divide, the line that separates neighbouring drainage basins * Drainage basin, called a "watershe ...

of the Tye River, which drains into the

James River The James River is a river in the U.S. state of Virginia that begins in the Appalachian Mountains and flows U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map , accessed April 1, 2011 to Chesapea ...

. The north side of The Priest drains into Coxs Creek, thence into the Tye River. The south side of The Priest drains into Rocky Run, thence into the Tye. The west side of The Priest drains into Shoe Creek, thence into the Piney River and the Tye River. The Appalachian Trail, a 2,193-mile (3,529.29-km) National Scenic Trail from Georgia to

Maine Maine () is a state in the New England and Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and north ...

, runs across the summit of The Priest. The summit is reachable via the Appalachian Trail from a trail head along Virginia State Route 56. The hike gains 3000 vertical feet from base to summit.

Crabtree Falls Crabtree Falls is one of the tallest sets of waterfalls in the United States east of the Mississippi River. It is located in the George Washington National Forest in Nelson County, Virginia, off of Virginia State Route 56. The name of the falls ...

flows down the Priest's northwest slope. The Crabtree Falls trail and Forest Development Road 826 can be used for access to the Appalachian Trail and the Priest's summit.Potomac Appalachian Trail Club Map #12, Edition 10, revised May 2006.

References

External links

*
PeakBagger.com: The Priest

Mountains of Virginia Mountains of Nelson County, Virginia Mountains on the Appalachian Trail Blue Ridge Mountains {{NelsonCountyVA-geo-stub