Dream Rock Silo: Exploring the Virginia Appalachians

Location: Dream Rock Silo, Independence, Virginia

Looking out over a wide green valley and layered ridgelines from a mountain overlook in Grayson County, Virginia

Grayson County, Virginia is my favorite corner of the whole country, and Dream Rock Silo is my favorite place in it. In March 2017 my wife and I headed up there with a group of friends, a couple of ATVs and the Tundra, and spent the day doing what you do in those mountains: wandering around until you find a view.

The video is mostly music and dash cam, so the pictures do a lot of the talking here. This was the same trip where we rode the Virginia Creeper Trail from Whitetop down to Damascus.

What Dream Rock Silo actually is

Dream Rock Silo is a bed and breakfast in Independence, Virginia, built out of a 1950s dairy barn and silo. Karen and Bill Simpson started renovating it in 2013. The silo is four stories tall, and the bedroom sits right at the top with windows all the way around, so you wake up to a 360-degree view of the Blue Ridge.

I’ve been going back ever since. I still haven’t figured out how to talk them into signing it over to me.

Pastures, gates and ATVs

March in the Appalachians is winter’s leftovers. The trees are bare, the sky can’t decide between gray and blue, and the grass is just starting to turn green. Our friends took off across the fields on ATVs and I followed in the Tundra with a GoPro on the dash, stopping for gates along the way.

A rider in a red jacket on an ATV climbing a grassy hill under bare spring trees in Virginia

Here’s the thing about these mountains. From the bottom they look like rolling green hills. Then you start climbing and the valley keeps dropping away behind you, and you realize they’re old, worn-down mountains made of solid rock.

Friends with ATVs at a farm gate below the mountains near Independence, Virginia

Let’s go hike

Near the top we parked the machines and walked the rest of the way up to an overlook. The dogs came too, and they were having a better day than any of us. Up top the whole valley lays out below you, farms and fields and ridgelines stacked one behind the other all the way to the horizon.

A German shepherd lying in the dirt at a mountain overlook with the valley behind

A husky standing on the brushy hilltop at the overlook

I wanted a shot of the truck with the view behind it, so the Tundra ended up parked on the side of the hill like it was posing for a magazine. Totally worth the extra few minutes!

A black Toyota Tundra parked on a grassy hillside overlook with Appalachian ridges behind it

Sunset over the valley

We hung around until the sun started to drop. The clouds broke up just enough to light the valley orange, and we took the obligatory selfie that proves we were actually there.

Danan and his wife smiling for a selfie at a Blue Ridge overlook in Grayson County, Virginia

Points of Interest

Worth the Detour Around Independence

Grayson County is small, but there’s a lot packed into it. Here’s what I’d build a trip around.

Grayson Highlands State Park OutdoorsOn US 58 between Independence and Damascus. Wild ponies were brought in back in 1974 to keep the high balds open, and you’ll likely run into them on the trails. Enjoy them from a distance, because they bite and kick.
Mount Rogers OutdoorsVirginia’s highest peak at 5,729 feet. The Appalachian Trail runs through Grayson Highlands and gets you up there.
Virginia Creeper Trail NearbyWe rode the top 17 miles that same week. That section is being rebuilt after Hurricane Helene and is scheduled to reopen March 31, 2027. Damascus to Abingdon is open now.
Comers Rock NearbyOn top of Iron Mountain at 3,800 feet, with a 360-degree overlook and a log picnic shelter the Civilian Conservation Corps built. I came back that August to hike it.

If You Go

Planning Your Own Grayson County Trip

Where to stay: Dream Rock Silo is at 664 Saddle Creek Road in Independence. It has three suites (the Silo, the Creekside Bungalow and the Rustic Rooster Room), and each books separately on Airbnb. The Silo has one king bed, so it’s a couples’ spot.
Getting there: Independence is in far southwest Virginia, right up against the North Carolina line. US 58 runs west from town past Grayson Highlands toward Damascus, and it’s a gorgeous drive on its own.
Best time to go: We went in March. The trees were bare, which means long views you don’t get once the leaves come in, but it was cool and gray most of the day. Pack layers.
Ponies and wildlife: If you head to Grayson Highlands, don’t approach or feed the wild ponies. The park is clear that they bite and kick when they feel threatened.

Details checked October 2026. Things change, so confirm with Grayson County tourism and Grayson Highlands State Park before you go.

CONCLUSION

You don’t need a famous trail to have a great day in the Appalachians. Some open pasture, a couple of ATVs, a hill with a view and a good dog will do it. If you’re headed to southwest Virginia, base yourself somewhere like Dream Rock Silo and spend a day just driving toward whatever hilltop looks good. Watch the video above for the ride, then read about biking the Creeper Trail from the same trip.

The full roll

Exploring the Appalachian Mountains at Dream Rock Silo