Big Schloss is a peak in the Great North Mountain

Great North Mountain

Great North Mountain is a long mountain range within the Ridge-and-valley Appalachians in the U.S. states of Virginia and West Virginia. The range is located west of the Shenandoah Valley and Massanutten Mountain in Virginia, and east of the Allegheny Mountains and Cacapon River in West...

 range of the Ridge and Valley Appalachians, with an elevation of 2964 feet (903.4 m). The peak is located in George Washington National Forest on the border of Virginia

Virginia

The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...

 and West Virginia

West Virginia

West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian and Southeastern regions of the United States, bordered by Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Ohio to the northwest, Pennsylvania to the northeast and Maryland to the east...

, though according to Topozone

TopoZone

TopoZone was a website operated by Demand Media from 1999 to 2008 that offered free online topographic maps.It was founded in November 1999 by Ed McNierney whose company Maps a la carte, Inc. operated out of North Chelmsford, Massachusetts...

, the actual summit is in Virginia. The trail is part of the Lee Ranger District. It features a rocky outcropping of white sandstone with expansive views into Trout Run Valley in West Virginia and Little Schloss Mountain in Virginia.

German settlers

German American

German Americans are citizens of the United States of German ancestry and comprise about 51 million people, or 17% of the U.S. population, the country's largest self-reported ancestral group...

 gave Big Schloss its name. Schloss means castle in German

German language

German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....

, and it is reference to the rocky outcrop. German was the common language in the area for several years.

A number of hiking

Hiking

Hiking is an outdoor activity which consists of walking in natural environments, often in mountainous or other scenic terrain. People often hike on hiking trails. It is such a popular activity that there are numerous hiking organizations worldwide. The health benefits of different types of hiking...

 trails lead to Big Schloss. Hikers may ascend from Wolf Gap via the Mill Mountain trail, or a circuit hike coming from FDR Rt. 92. The Potomac Appalachian Trail Club maintains the trails leading up to Big Schloss. A bridge provides access to the Big Schloss rock outcropping. In the Fall of 2010, the bridge was replaced with new stairs, 20' of new handrails, and two new concrete abutment

Abutment

An abutment is, generally, the point where two structures or objects meet. This word comes from the verb abut, which means adjoin or having common boundary. An abutment is an engineering term that describes a structure located at the ends of a bridge, where the bridge slab adjoins the approaching...

s.

A race named The Big Schloss has been held in the fall annually since 2002. This approximately 55 km (34mile) long-distance trail running

Trail running

Trail running is a variant on running that differs markedly from road running and track running. Trail running generally takes place on hiking trails, most commonly single track trails, although fire roads are not uncommon. A distinguishing characteristic of the trails is that they are often...

event includes traveling to the peak of Big Schloss.