Woods Hole Hostel Experience
As I’ve mentioned previously, I just can’t drive more than five hours a day. I needed one more stop in between Asheville, NC, and Washington, DC. I only needed to book one night so I discovered Woods Hole Hostel in Pearisburg, VA. This is my second hostel stay! (Read about my first hostel experience here)
Getting to the hostel is a bit of an adventure in itself. The hostel is situated wayyyy back in the woods as it is appropriately named Woods Hole. However, upon arrival, you arrive at what is seemingly an oasis beyond the sketchy drive to the property.
There were a few neat features about the hostel:
THE PROPERTY
Woods Hole is located on 100 acres of land and is a lodging place for many hikers on the Appalachian Trail (AT). There is a main house, a bunkhouse, a shower house, some glamping tents, a garden, and a little animal farm. It’s just a very quaint property all in all.
STAYING IN THE BUNKHOUSE
The bunkhouse has two levels and is sort of an open-air concept type place so you are very much connected to the outdoors. Luckily, I didn’t have any critters approach me during my sleep. It’s a very woody treehouse/clubhouse kind of vibe which was pretty cute. We were hoping to have some roommates but it was just Winnie and me for the night we were there.
The downstairs of the bunkhouse features a common area with a fridge and snacks that we make purchases through an honor system. A super neat part of the downstairs is that there is a map that travelers can pin wherever in the world they were from. In addition, as the hostel is off the Appalachian Trail, guests have sent cards and photos back to the hostel announcing their completion of the trail.
Fun Fact: The Appalachian Trail stretches across 14 states along the eastern part of the US. The 2,200-mile trail begins in Georgia and famously ends in Mount Katahdin in Maine.
FOOD
One of the neat things about the hostel is how they do meals. They do group meals and the payment for the meal is whatever you want! The meals are fresh, healthy, and actually largely sourced from the garden.
SOCIAL INTERACTIONS
As this is a hostel, there were other guests staying in the main house. I believe there were volunteers or staff that lived on-site but there were a couple of hikers as well. One of the hiker men that seemed to be in his 50s was pretty interesting to talk to. He was married but just wanted to take the AT excursion on his own. His wife would mail him care packages at every town he stopped in. I also learned that it was very common for hikers to have a trail name. This guy’s name was “Spill Beer”. I told him about that one time in college I went on my first backpacking trip on the AT and how it was the hardest thing I have ever done in my life! Literally! I mean…50 lbs on my back and 8+ miles uphill on rocky terrain was BRUTAL. Winnie didn’t think it was that bad so Spill Beer packed his backpack and made her walk up and down the long hill on the property. Needless to say, she definitely changed her perspective after that. HA!