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Shenandoah National Park

Shenandoah National Park, in Virginia’s scenic Blue Ridge Mountains is a mere 75 miles from Washington, D.C. and is a beautiful escape from the hustle and bustle of city life.

Virginia

2014

About The Park

Take a scenic drive along the crest of the Blue Ridge Mountains on an engineering marvel of a road called Skyline Drive.

Skyline Drive is the park’s main and only road. The park is a long narrow strip of land in Virginia’s Blue Ridge Mountains that is rarely more than 5 miles wide at its widest point. Skyline drive runs 105 miles from the Front Royal entrance station in the North to the Rockfish Gap entrance station in the South where it connects with the famous and scenic Blue Ridge Parkway. There are essentially only two additional roads that cross the park and there are entrance stations at each of those.

Altogether the park covers about 311 square miles with almost half of it designated as wilderness. As one drives along Skyline Drive you are looking out over dense forests of Oak, Hickory, Maple and American Chestnut trees. Chestnut trees once predominated but chestnut blight in the 1930’s virtually wiped them out.

The park is open all year round but Skyline Drive, a two-lane, winding mountaintop road, may be closed due to the weather. So if you’re planning on a visit to the park, especially in the fall and winter, check to make sure that Skyline Drive is open.

The Front Royal entrance station, at the northern end of the park, is only 60 miles due west of Washington, DC on Interstate Highway 66. So you can see that visiting the northern section of the park is a relatively easy hour’s drive from downtown Washington, DC. The proximity to this metropolitan area has Shenandoah National Park as the 18th most visited national park, as of 2017, with about 1.5 million visitors.

If you’re just passing through the park, the park service estimates it will take about three hours to drive the entire 105 mile Skyline Drive. With a 35 mile an hour speed limit, and one lane in each direction this winding mountain road, that sounds like it doesn’t leave much time for stopping and enjoying the views much less taking a stroll for a bit.

Skyline Drive traveling at or near the crest of the mountain range is dotted with 75 overlooks. Too many to stop at all of them but just about any one that you pick to stop at will be worth a look.

The two main visitor centers, at Dickey Ridge and the Byrd Visitor center at Big Meadows, will provide you with all that you need to get the most out of your trip. They’ve got plenty of information and hiking maps for trails in the park and, as they usually do, can suggest what might be appropriate for you and your party.

If you’d like to hike a piece of the Appalachian Trail there’s plenty of opportunities for that since the trail runs 101 miles through the park and frequently crosses or shares parts of Shenandoah’s trails. In addition to the Appalachian Trail, there’s also 400 more miles of hiking trails for all abilities and preferences.

Another popular feature of the park are the waterfalls. There’s nine of them that range from 42 to 93 feet high. Some are relatively short hikes and easily accessible from parking areas right along the main road. Others require more of a commitment of time and effort.

Wildlife

Among the wildlife that can be viewed in the park are black bears, coyotes, skunks, raccoons, beaver, river otters, opossum, woodchuck, Eastern cottontail rabbits, foxes and white-tailed deer. There have even been some reported sightings of cougar in the more remote areas of the park. There’s also 200 species of birds including wild turkey, peregrine falcons, red-tailed hawks and the Pileated Woodpecker. This may be the largest non-extinct species of woodpecker and can stand more than a foot tall.

Lodging

Skyland

This is the largest and most modern facility in the park. There are rustic cabins, multi-unit lodges and even suites available. I stayed in one of the multi-unit lodges and the room was really nice and modern. It had a balcony with a beautiful view looking out over the valley below. There were some nice hiking trails just a short walk from our room.

Big Meadows

This has more of the feel of the famous national park lodges out west because of the guest rooms in the main lodge. It also has the same kind of rustic cabins and multi-unit buildings that Skyland has. Unlike many of the western lodges, in their more remote locations, you have wireless internet access here.

Lewis Mountain

You can find several rustic cabins at Lewis Mountain.

As with any lodging in a national park you are advised to book as early as you can. Most of them have liberal cancellation policies. If you are unable to obtain lodging in the park there are some options in nearby towns. Luray, Virginia and Elkton, Virginia are both just outside the park on roads near an entrance station.

Hiking

Hiking to the parks waterfalls is popular and likely to have the most traffic since everyone likes a waterfall. There’s hundreds of miles of hikes and these following are ones that I took and can comment on.

Dark Hollow Falls

This is the closest waterfall to Skyline Drive and at 1.4 miles round-trip is easy enough to be a very popular and likely crowded trail. The 70 foot high waterfall is impressive and a nice reward for not having to work too hard. The Park Service considers this a ‘moderate hike’ with some ‘steep sections’.

Lewis Falls

I found this to be another relatively short easy hike and only 2 miles round-trip. The falls are 81 feet high and being only about a mile down the road from the Dark Hollow Falls parking area you can get to two nice waterfalls without having to drive very far. The Park Service considers this a ‘moderate hike’ with some ‘steep sections’.

Bearfence Rock Scramble

This was a fun trail but, while the Park Service considers it moderate, it could be difficult for those unable to pull themselves up the scramble using upper body strength. If you have a fear of heights this is not for you. At the top there is a 360 degree panoramic view. Once you have gone up the rock scramble you can take the Appalachian Trail back to the parking area making this a loop hike. At only 1.4 miles round-trip this can be done in an hour-and-a-half or so. The photo gallery has a couple of pictures of the scramble.

Bearfence Viewpoint

This an easy 1.1 mile out and back hike to a viewpoint. It avoids the Bearfence Rock Scramble above by taking the Appalachian Trail out to a 180 degree viewpoint, which is also part of the Scramble hike, and loops back to the Appalachian Trail.

Passamaquoddy Trail

This was a nice trail along a high ridge with excellent vistas. It is rated moderate to difficult (depending on whose description you read) with some steep sections along the edge of some cliffs. It is in the Skyland area so, if you are staying there, it is walking distance to the trail head. One description said 0.8 miles; another 2.5 miles. My recollection was on the longer side. Its proximity to Skyland contributes to it being fairly well trafficked.

Other Points of Interest

Luray Caverns

These caverns are well known to travelers on the north-south route because of their ubiquitous billboards along the highways. The caverns were designated a national historic landmark in 1974 and get about 500,000 visitors each year. The caverns have many magnificent formations and are well worth a visit. The town of Luray has other attractions and, if you are spending a few days visiting Shenandoah National Park, or are staying in Luray, a visit to the caverns is a nice way to spend an afternoon. The temperature in the caverns is 54 degrees so it might be a cool respite on a hot summer afternoon.

Blue Ridge Parkway

The famous Blue Ridge Parkway runs 469 miles from the Afton, Virginia, at the south end of Shenandoah National Park, to the east entrance to Great Smoky Mountains National Park at Cherokee, North Carolina. If you are planning to visit both of these parks, as I did, then taking the Blue Ridge Parkway for its entire length is a terrific drive. You won’t see this kind of scenery on the interstate! The drive is interesting and follows, in many places, the spine of the Blue Ridge which is part of the Appalachian Mountains.

You can do this drive in two days. If you choose to go between these parks in one day, using the interstate for 200+ of the 354 miles, it will still one long day of driving so if you can spare an extra day take the parkway. There are many cities and towns along the way so lodging is not a problem. If you are an AAA member their guide book for North Carolina can be a great help to book a room for a night on the fly so you can decide how far you want to drive based on how you feel.

Shendanoah National Park Photo Gallery

Picture of the Blue Ridge Mountains from Skyline Drive in Shenandoah National Park

Other National Parks Within a Day’s Drive

New River Gorge National Park Where you can see a steep gorge and a graceful steel arch bridge that rises 876 feet above the river. It is 230 miles to the west and about a 4 hour drive.

Congaree National Park Contains the largest intact expanse of old growth bottomland hardwood forest remaining in the southeastern United States. It is 425 miles to the southeast and about a 7 hour drive.

Great Smoky Mountains National Park America’s most visited National Park is 425 miles to the south and about a 7 hour drive.
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Updated 02/11/23 7:04 PM

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