Shenandoah National Park attracts nearly 2 million visitors a year, encompasses nearly 200,000 acres of Virginia’s Blue Ridge Mountains, and is home to the impressively scenic, 105-mile Skyline Drive.
It’s a marvelous place with amazing overlooks of the surrounding wilderness. Some of the exposed rocks in Shenandoah National Park date back a billion years.
Looming large over the Shenandoah Valley, this area was the vacation home of President Herbert Hoover and a hotspot for early 20th-century vacationers.
The park has stunning waterfalls, picturesque mountain summits, and hiking trails galore. Birders will love the Virgina mountain lakes, while campers can find gorgeous spots for pitching tents or parking campers.
My wife Emma and I recently returned from a fantastic trip to see Fall colors in Virginia. The leaves were just starting to change, and the colors were spectacular despite the region’s often foggy weather.
Check out our guide to all the best things to do in Shenandoah National Park, including all the best lodges, overlooks, trails, visitor centers, and more!
READ MORE: The 10 Best Rental Cabins in Shenandoah Valley VA
Top Shenandoah Valley Hotels
- Hotel Laurance (boutique historic 5-star Luray hotel w/apartment rooms)
- Piney Hill B&B w/Cottages (charming Luray accommodations w/ breakfast & views)
- The Village Inn (pet-friendly Harrisonburg inn near the Blue Ridge Parkway)
- Friendly City Inn B&B (quiet Harrisonburg inn w/delicious breakfast & garden)
- Steeles Tavern Manor (B&B & cabins located between Lexington & Natural Bridge)
Best Things to Do in Shenandoah National Park Guide
(in alphabetical order)
- Big Meadows
- Hawksbill Summit
- Hiking Trails
- Lodges
- Old Rag Mountain
- Rapidan Camp
- Overlooks
- Skyline Drive
- Visitor Centers
- Waterfalls
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1. Big Meadows
On our latest trip to visit Shenandoah National Park, we camped at the Big Meadows campground.
It’s located right around the midpoint of Skyline Drive, and serves as the perfect base for exploring everything the beloved Virginia national park has to offer.
In addition to being one of the best campgrounds in Virginia, Big Meadows has the Harry F. Byrd Visitor Center (Mile 51) which overlooks the meadow, a filling station/shop, and Big Meadow Lodge.
Big Meadows features a paved walking path from the accommodations to the Visitor Center (roughly a mile), cut swaths through the meadow, and easy access to Dark Hollow Falls.
READ MORE: The 10 Best Things to Do in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia
2. Hawksbill Loop
While I’ll get into some other hiking options soon, Hawksbill Loop gets top billing because it is both a good trail and offers the chance to reach the highest point (4,050 feet) in Shenandoah National Park.
This trail is a 2.9-mile circuit that takes a couple of hours to complete, with an elevation gain of 860 feet and a moderate rating on the difficulty scale.
The Hawksbill Loop is accessed via the Hawksbill Gap Parking Area (Mile 45.5), where hikers can take a connector route to the Appalachian Trail in VA.
There’s also an observation platform at the top with a fantastic 360-degree view of the surrounding summits.
READ MORE: The 15 Best Things to Do in Luray VA (Gateway to Shenandoah)
3. Shenandoah National Park Hiking trails
Hikers visiting Shenandoah National Park have a gluttony of trail options, including treks to mountain summits as well as beautiful waterfalls. We’ll touch on many of those in other sections of this guide.
For now, here are some of the less-traveled hiking trails that deserve more attention.
The Dickey Ridge Loop (a.k.a. Snead Farm Loop) is under 3 miles and includes some old agricultural buildings. It begins across Skyline Drive from the Dickey Ridge Visitor Center (Mile 1.7).
Mary’s Rock (via the Pinnacle) is an awesome route to one of the park’s many summits, which offers inspiring westward views of the Shenandoah Valley and Massanutten Mountain.
Stony Man Loop is a short (1.6-mile round-trip) and easy summit hike in the Skyland area of the park. Bearfence Rock Scramble is another short summit hike, but this one requires a little more than just walking.
READ MORE: Fall in Shenandoah National Park: 10 Places to See Fall Foliage
4. The Shenandoah Lodges
Shenandoah National Park has some really cool places to stay, including options that are much more amenity-rich than the standard campground.
Skyland (Mile 41.7) has premium rooms, detached cabins, and pet-friendly rooms. It also has a gift shop, restaurant, taproom, and lots of nearby hikes.
Big Meadows Lodge (Mile 51) has rooms in the main lodge and detached cabins, as well as suites and pet-friendly options. Again, there’s a restaurant, taproom, gift shop, and more.
The Lewis Mountain Cabins (Mile 57.5) are comfortable, rustic cabins with furniture, private baths, and outdoor grills. They are better for those seeking a bit more wilderness in their stay.
READ MORE: The 10 Best Things to Do in Waynesboro VA (Augusta County)
5. Old Rag Mountain
Widely considered the best and most popular hike in the park, Old Rag Mountain truly deserves its own heading.
Though well-trodden, it is a long (9.8 miles), challenging (rated strenuous) route. The National Park Service rightly cautions that this trail isn’t for everyone.
For those interested in 5-7 hours on Old Rag Mountain, hikers don’t generally access it from Skyline Drive. Instead, it is best approached from Shenandoah National Park’s eastern boundary.
There are two trailheads from which to begin your exploration, the Old Rag parking lot and Berry Hollow parking lot,
Note that the Shenandoah National Park entrance fee is still charged to those visiting Old Rag Mountain.
READ MORE: Fall in Shenandoah Valley, Virginia: 10 Places to See Fall Foliage
6. Rapidan Camp
Because Shenandoah National Park is located just 70 miles from Washington DC. So it’s no wonder that US Presidents have used the park as a getaway from all the madness of running the nation.
Herbert Hoover loved the area so much that he and First Lady Lou Henry Hoover built a private retreat there. It served as the setting for many important meetings during the Great Depression.
In 1988, Rapidan Camp was designated a National Historical Landmark.
The road to Rapidan Camp is not open to the public, but the historic site can be visited via Ranger-led tours, a 4-mile hike departing from the Milam Gap Parking Area, or on horseback.
READ MORE: The 10 Best Things to Do in Harrisonburg VA & Rockingham County
7. Overlooks
As with all the best places in the Blue Ridge Mountains, one of the park’s most beloved pastimes is to simply find a good view and soak it in. There are loads of overlooks throughout Shenandoah National Park, but here are some consensus favorites:
Jewel Hollow Overlook faces northwest at 3,320 ft of elevation, providing views of Morning Star Lake, Leading Ridge, and Jewel Hollow.
The Point Overlook also looks northwest from 3,235 ft, offering great views of Powell Mountain, Green Mountain, and Grindstone Mountain.
Spitler Knoll Overlook is another westward-facing viewpoint. The former location of Spitler Ranch, its view includes Dovel Mountain, Roundhead Ridge, and Stanley.
Hazel Mountain Overlook provides a southeastern look, with granodiorite rock formations at an elevation of 2,770 feet.
Rockytop Overlook gives a glimpse of the southern district of Shenandoah NP, where the landscape is a bit more rugged.
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8. Skyline Drive
The Blue Ridge Parkway is a 469-mile scenic byway that connects Great Smoky Mountains National Park to Shenandoah National Park.
When the BRP hits its northern terminus near Waynesboro VA, the byway extends another 105 miles through Shenandoah National Park as Skyline Drive.
Like the Blue Ridge Parkway, Skyline Drive offers beautiful views from numerous overlooks, provides access to wonderful hiking trails, waterfalls, and features several historic buildings and sites along the way.
Despite a series of foggy days, we managed to catch some ridiculous views, and the slow-moving (35 mph) cruise is perfect for soaking in the beauty of the surrounding wilderness!
READ MORE: How to Plan an Amazing Blue Ridge Parkway Road Trip
9. Shenandoah National Park Visitor Centers
Visitors Centers in Virginia’s National Parks are always a great place to stop, not just for maps and leg-stretching, but also for the different displays and park info they provide.
Shenandoah’s great visitor centers include the Dickey Ridge Visitor Center, near the northern entrance to the park in Front Royal VA. It has a small museum, gift shop, helpful rangers at the ready, wonderful views, and nearby hiking trails.
The Harry F. Byrd Visitor Center is near the midway point of Skyline Drive, offering amazing views of the Big Meadow, a museum, ranger talks, a gift shop, all the maps and brochures a visitor could want, and a gas station.
Shenandoah NP also has a Mobile Visitor Center, in which rangers move throughout the park so they can answer questions and showcase special exhibits.
READ MORE: Hiking the Crozet Blue Ridge Tunnel Trail Near Waynesboro VA
10. Shenandoah National Park Waterfalls
Waterfalls in Shenandoah National Park abound, and many rank among the best waterfalls in Virginia for hiking. Here are some of the most popular waterfalls in the park:
Whiteoak Canyon Falls is near Skyland, and there are two hikes to reach it. There’s an easy, 2-mile round-trip hike to the base of the falls, and a more challenging 4.6-mile route to the upper falls.
Browns Gap Waterfall Loop is in the southern section of Shenandoah, and the 7-hour hike includes Upper Doyles River Falls, Lower Doyles River Falls, and Jones Run Falls.
Dark Hollow Falls is easily accessed from Big Meadows, either via a short hike or a drive to its parking area. The trail is short, but note that it is steep and rocky.
Rose River Falls is a 67-foot waterfall in one of the park’s designated wilderness areas. The trail to the waterfall is also stunning, but it takes 4-5 hours. -by Jonathon Engels; lead image by Bret Love & Mary Gabbett
