Appalachian Trail by County: The Woods Hole Hostel

Originally published by WDBJ7 on Monday, October 24, 2016

PEARISBURG, Va. (WDBJ7) Go deep into Giles County. Keep going. Not there yet. Trust me it’s really tucked in the woods, you’ll find it. Up a dirt road, you’ll start to hear the snorting, clucking, bleating, and quacking soon enough. The Woods Hole Hostel is a different way of life — a way of giving and living off the land.

“I like to say we use common sense,” hostel Co-Owner Neville Harris said.

The hostel originally opened in 1986 but it almost never came to be.

“My grandmother said absolutely not, I do not want to invite those smelly hikers in to my home,” Neville said.

But Neville’s grandparents, Roy and Tillie, eventually opened for business and the hiking community embraced them as family. Now Neville and her husband Michael run the cabin. The Woods Hole Hostel is a two-way street operation based on giving and receiving near a two way trail through the Appalachians.

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You can find more at their Facebook page.