Do you have a geographic preference within Virginia? I section-hiked the entire state and can offer recommendations for convenient starting and stopping points.

My first hike in VA was 5 days from Big Stony Creek Road (VA 635) NOBO to US 220 at Daleville (71.2 miles). This is a great section and includes the so-called VA Triple Crown (Dragon's Tooth, McAfee Knob, and Tinker Cliffs). However it turned put to be a bit too ambitious as my knee gave out on day 3, exacerbated no doubt by a pack that was too heavy. I was at least able to make it over Dragon's Tooth and stopped at 4 Pines Hostel (be sure to have an "open mind" before stopping), had my shuttle driver pick me up for a rest day, and then did McAfee Knob from the VA 311 trailhead without the too-heavy pack as out-and-back day hike (never made it to Tinker Cliffs). But the point of your first hike is to make mistakes and learn from them, so it that regard, mine was 100% successful.

This section of the trail goes from the ridge on the VA-WV state line over to the Blue Ridge. As such it involves a quite a bit of ridge crossing. For a 5 day starter hike, a better option would have been to start at Sinking Creek Valley (VA 42) and hike to Daleville (a more reasonable 53 miles). It turns out the section from Big Stony Creek to Sinking Creek wasn't all that interesting, so in this version you still get most of the good parts: Keffer Oak, Sinking Creek Mountain (my favorite), the Audie Murphy Monument, and the three Triple Crown sights. Transportation logistics are not bad in Roanoke (I got there by Amtrak). US 220 is a major road with full services. There are shuttle drivers there to get you to the trail head.

I also did a shorter section in Shenandoah NP (39 miles from Compton Gap to Big Meadows). SNP is considered a relatively easy section to do as you are following the same ridge for 100 miles. That's all I've done of VA. I know southern VA has some great sections I will want to get to. Others here know much more than I and will advise.


When you get to a rocky outcropping on the ridges, you get great views.


But the trail is sometimes called "The Long Green Tunnel" as it often looks like this.


This was the morning view from my tent on the summit of Sinking Creek Mountain.


The valleys between the ridges are very pretty.


Dragon's Tooth. The climb down going NOBO is quite a scramble.

PS - Welcome to the AT Cafe fulkyfam. I suggest you find our Welcome to the Cafe thread and introduce yourself. This is a small, self-moderated, on-line community of outdoor enthusiasts where thread drift is encouraged.

Virginia is over 500 miles long so you'll have plenty of solid choices to hike. This is what comes readily to mind:

The VA Triple Cown is a 30+ mile loop that takes you past Tinkers Cliffs, Dragons Tooth, and McAfee Knob. McAfee Knob is probably the most photographed site on the entire AT. I hiked this years ago with my wife before someone dubbed it the "Triple Crown". Note that the parking area near McAfee is closed until later this year. Google can tell you parking options.

Damascus is probably the most iconic town on the AT, and you can do about a 50 ish mile hike to Grayson Highlands State Park where you will see wild ponies. Hiking at Grayson was one of my kids favorite hikes becasue of the ponies and we we always followed that up with a downhill mountain bike ride (rentals available) on the Creeper Trail into Damascus. I don't remember much about the AT between Damascus and Grayson Highlands except that a lot of people take the easy way out and skip part of the AT for the Creeper Trail.

SNP is about 100 miles long and is generally an easy hike. It is usually close to a road which makes for easy shuttling and gives you a lot of starting and ending options. You'll have the opportunity to enjoy a blackberry shake during the hike.

The right time of the year SNP is an excellent choice. I would make sure the waysides are open. Between those meals and resupplying at the camp stores you can really reduce your pack weight. Even getting a 100+ mile hike down to a week (or 10 days) depending on how fast you hike.