Shenandoah National Park is long and skinny, but still takes up over 300 square miles. There’s a lot of hiking you can do in this park, but for those on limited time, you need to be ready to pick and choose.
During an East Coast Road Trip, my mom and I had originally planned to have a full day at Shenandoah National Park. Plus, if we got in early enough, we’d spend a little more time the day before exploring Shenandoah. However, the weather didn’t really agree with us (thanks to the remnants of a hurricane that was pushing through the area), so we limited our time and only spent a few hours here. Even with this short time, it’s still possible to have a great visit to Shenandoah National Park.
Skyline Drive – The Backbone of Shenandoah
On a short visit, one thing that will catch your eye is the scenic drive. In most national parks, the scenic drive is a great way to see some great views of the park. Often this scenic drive is just part of your visit, but Shenandoah is different. The scenic drive here, named Skyline Drive, spans the entire length of the park. If you want to drive the entire road, it will take you three hours (one way) if you make minimal stops.
While it can be tempting to try to do as much of Skyline Drive as you can, it gets repetitive pretty quickly. Use Skyline Drive to connect your points, but don’t stress about trying to see all of it. On a short visit to Shenandoah National Park, this is just not a good use of your time.
We entered Shenandoah on Highway 211, drove south along Skyline Drive, stopped at a few stops along the way, and exited on Highway 33. This was only about 35 miles of the scenic drive, but it still took an hour to drive this. If you’re short on time, I recommend this section of Skyline Drive, because there’s plenty to do off this section of road.
Take a Hike
If you’re short on time, there’s two hikes that I recommend you look at. Both of these are moderate hikes. There is a little elevation, but neither is a particularly long or challenging hike. Both of these hikes can be reached easily the section of Skyline Drive I described above.
Stony Man
If you’re traveling from north to south, the first hike that I recommend you look at is Stony Man. When I hiked this, I logged 1.6 miles and 322 feet of elevation gain and it took us just under an hour to complete. This includes time to stop and take photos (although there was so much fog at the end that photos were useless), as well as accounts for the fact that I was still moving a little slow. It had been less than a month since I dislocated my knee hiking at Rocky Mountain National Park.
This hike wasn’t my favorite, but I’m sure the less than stellar views (thanks fog!), took it down a notch. I’m definitely willing to give this hike another chance if I’m in the area again.
Dark Hollow Falls
The next hike is Dark Hollow Falls. Now something weird happened here and I’m not sure what. The trail is marked as 1.4 miles and 567 feet of elevation change. My phone logged 2.4 miles and 597 feet. I’m not sure if my phone glitches or if we went further than we needed to, but I wanted to point that out because it was a little frustrating to be expecting a 1.4 mile hike and then doing an extra mile. It wasn’t a big deal, but my expectations weren’t set appropriately since I was expecting something a lot quicker than what we got.
Aside from the confusion about the length of the trail, I really enjoyed this hike and it leads you to a very pretty waterfall. It’s a moderately, easy hike and one that most people will be able to handle.
As a note, I used hiking poles for the very first time on at this park and while I didn’t really feel I needed them on the Stony Man trail, they were nice to have on the Dark Hollow Falls trail. The Dark Hollow Falls trail seemed like it had a lot more uneven surfaces and more rocks that you needed to climb over, so I really appreciated having something to keep my balance.
Stop at a Viewpoint
There are numerous viewpoints all along the Skyline Drive. We didn’t stop at all of them, partially because of the weather. We were racing the rain to get our hikes in. With five minutes to go on the Dark Hollow Falls hike, it started raining, so we didn’t stop at many of the viewpoints south of Dark Hollow Falls. But, I do recommend stopping at a few viewpoints, just to take in some nice views.
What Does a Short Itinerary Look Like
I’m using the times based on when we entered, but here’s how our half day looked. We started in the north and headed south, but you could easily reverse this itinerary if you’re heading in the opposite direction.
12:00 – Enter Shenandoah National Park at Highway 11, Start Skyline Drive, stopping at viewpoints that look interesting
12:45 – Stony Man Trail
1:45 – Continue on Skyline Drive toward Dark Hollow Falls Trail
2:00 – Start Dark Hollow Falls Trail
3:30 – Continue Skyline Drive
4:00 – Exit Shenandoah at Highway 33
With More Time
Let’s say you actually have a full day to explore. I recommend using the itinerary above as a base, but then expanding on it. There are numerous viewpoints you can stop at along Skyline Drive. Additionally, there’s several more hikes you can do within the 35 mile section of Skyline Drive between Highway 11 and Highway 33. We also looked at the following hikes:
Mary’s Rock – 2.6 miles, 750 feet of elevation, Out & Back
Hawksbill Gap – 2.8 miles, 750 feet of elevation, Loop
Where to Stay
Following this itinerary, the best place to stay in Harrisonburg, VA. Once you exit Shenandoah on Highway 33, it’s only a 30 minute drive to Harrisonburg. This is where we intended to stay, but since our trip got flipped around pretty last minute (thanks, Hurricane Ian), everywhere in Harrisonburg was sold out. We ended up Staunton, VA which is 30 minutes south of Harrisonburg (so one hour from the Swift Run Gap Entrance at Highway 33).
If you’re staying in Staunton and aren’t sick of Skyline Drive, you could easily continue Skyline Drive past Highway 33. From the southern entrance of Shenandoah it’s only a 25 minute drive to Staunton. However, it’ll take you about an hour to drive the last portion of Skyline Drive, giving you a grand total of 90 minutes to get from Highway 33 to Staunton via Skyline Drive (as compared to 60 minutes if you exit at Highway 33).
Entrance Fees
Shenandoah requires an entry fee. It is $30 per vehicle and is good for seven days. The America the Beautiful Pass, which costs $80 and is valid at all US National Parks for one year, is also accepted.
Final Thoughts
While I’m glad I visited Shenandoah National Park, I don’t feel I was able to explore it properly. With the rain and fog, the weather just wasn’t ideal. So, one day I’ll have to get back and explore more, but I wanted to still put this short itinerary together. Whether you’re dealing with bad weather or just limited time, there’s still some good options for exploring Shenandoah National Park in one day.
Continue Your Adventure
Virginia: If you’re looking for some history, or you got rained out of Shenandoah National Park, consider visiting Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello.
West Virginia: For one of my favorite national parks, consider a visit to New River Gorge.
Itineraries: Shenandoah National Park was just one stop on my road trip from Washington DC to Savannah, GA.