A View from Skyline Drive
During the last few years, Barbara and I have been trying to visit as many of the U.S. National Parks as we can. This past spring, a trip out west took us to Bryce, Joshua Tree, the Grand Canyon, Death Valley, and more.
But we have a treasure practically in our backyard. Shenandoah National Park, just about an hour from the DC area. It’s an often-neglected gem. I’ve visited it more than any other park, more than a dozen times, but still that’s not very often considering how close I have lived to it my entire life.
Earlier this month, we spend several days in Shenandoah camping and hiking, and I was reminded how beautiful this place is.
The entrance to the north end of the park is near Front Royal, Virginia. Front Royal has grown quite a bit since I was a kid but still has a reasonable amount of charm. Worth a stop is the famous Luray Caverns nearby. Shortly after leaving town, you turn onto the famous Skyline Drive and stop at the park entrance to pay the entrance fee ($30 per car) or if you happen to have a Golden Age Lifetime Pass (as my wife does and as I will in just about 60 days) you wave it at the ranger, he or she gives you a map, and you are on your way.
Upon entering the park, you immediately begin ascending. The park, established by Franklin Roosevelt in 1935, hugs the Shenandoah mountains (part of the Appalachian Range) and Skyline Drive soars along the ridge affording lovely views in all directions. The maximum speed on Skyline Drive is 35 mph and you really don’t want to go much faster as you navigate the many hairpin turns. Every few miles there are turnouts to gawk at the views as the Drive goes from nearly sea level to more than 1,000 meters (3,000 feet) above. As you ascend, the temperature begins to drop.
On the day we arrived, DC was experiencing its usual summer heat. Actually, they say it’s the worst summer in 150,000 years but I don’t know that first hand. I can tell you it was more than 90 F as we left the highway. Within an hour of driving into the park, the temperatures had dropped into the high 70s. Still warm but nowhere near as oppressive.
There are three drive up campgrounds in the park. We stayed at Big Meadows, which is the only one that has showers. With two days of long hikes ahead, a shower would be a necessity. We found our campsite and set up the van for our two-day stay.
The Appalachian Trail runs straight through the park and this would be the trail for our hikes. On the first day we hiked north 6 miles and then back and the second day we hiked 4 miles south and back.
Both of our hikes started at the nearby, rustic Big Meadows Lodge. I made a mental note that we had to return and stay in one of the cozy cabins. The lodge includes a restaurant, a café, a large sitting room and an outdoor patio where you can sit among the trees and scroll social media using the lodge’s wifi as most of the guests seemed to be doing. We had no time for this, but we did stop to download maps in case we didn’t have service on the trail (we didn’t) and to text a family member where we were going, just in case.
Most of the time, we were hiking through what is known as the “green tunnel” but occasional the trail would emerge into a clearing offering spectacular views of the valleys below. We often came upon deer grazing right next to the trail. They seemed completely unfazed by our presence barely bothering to look up as we went by. The woods were filled with the sounds of birds and other creatures but being mid-week, we saw just a few others of our species. Although the heat wasn’t too bad, it was still very humid and we were grateful for the showers at the end of the day. The showers are $5 for 10 minutes and are coin operated (quarters only) so that is forty quarters for the two of us! Fortunately, there was a change machine (ones and fives only) and we actually had a enough actual bills on hand.
At night the temperature dropped further and was perfect for sleeping in the van, which can get stuffy when it is too warm outside. Our fellow campers were quiet and considerate (mostly) and thankfully, we had been able to secure a spot in the ‘generator free loop.”
Shenandoah gets a lot of visitors, 1.4 million annual. But it didn’t feel at all crowded mid-week in July. Certainly, the parking lots fill up at the most popular hikes and the campgrounds are at capacity on the weekends, but with more than 197,000 acres of wilderness, there is room to spread-out.
Every time, I visit this park, I think, why don’t I come here more often? This trip was no different. Shenandoah is a cool, green mountain escape from the heat of the DC summer. If you are nearby, maybe it’s time to plan your getaway.