Shenandoah National Park
Shenandoah National Park
The park is located in the Blue Ridge Mountains near Luray, VA
Shenandoah National Park, with its 101 miles of the Appalachian Trail, offers boundless outdoor adventure for your next family vacation. With over 500 miles of backpacking and hiking trails, you will find plenty of outstanding opportunities for solitude. Scenic drives take you to spectacular mountain views and allow you to travel through tree tunnels. The Blue Ridge Mountains are truly a place of beauty and wonder. Continue reading for further great Shenandoah National Park information.
Uniqueness
Shenandoah National Park lies astride a beautiful section of the Blue Ridge Mountains, which form the eastern rampart of the Appalachian Mountains between Pennsylvania and Georgia. The Shenandoah River flows through the valley to the west, with Massanutten Mountain, 40 miles long, standing between the river’s north and south forks. The rolling Piedmont country lies to the east of the park. Skyline Drive, a 105-mile road that winds along the crest of the mountains through the length of the park, provides vistas of the spectacular landscape to east and west. Drivers will pass rock cliffs, and vistas, and probably deer and other wildlife; they will drive through tunnels of trees, past wildflowers and ferns, and (in late spring) by banks of mountain laurel in bloom. 75 overlooks offer a place to stop and absorb the view and the peace. The 35-miles-per-hour speed limit allows drivers the opportunity to truly enjoy the ride and helps to ensure the safety of wildlife along the road.
The park’s wilderness areas offer outstanding opportunities for solitude and recreation. Shenandoah National Park has over 500 miles of trails, including 101 miles of the Appalachian Trail. Many trails are accessed from Skyline Drive. Some short trails lead to a waterfall or viewpoint; longer and more difficult trails penetrate deep into the forest and wilderness giving visitors the opportunity to explore and enjoy this unique resource. Camp, hike, fish, bird watch, horse back ride the 150 miles of horse trails or take photographs of nature’s wonders.
Most of Shenandoah’s landscape is forested. In the process of photosynthesis, converting light, water, and minerals into foods, green plants give off water. From a distance this air-born water creates a faint haze giving the Blue Ridge its name. Many animals, including deer, black bears, and wild turkeys, flourish among the rich growth of an oak-hickory forest. In season, bushes and wildflowers bloom along the Drive and trails and fill the open spaces. Apple trees, stone foundations, and cemeteries are reminders of the families who once called this place home.
Authorized May 22, 1926 and fully established December 26, 1935, the park’s total acreage is 197,411.60, including 79,579 acres of congressionally designated Wilderness. In 1964, the Congress of the United States passed a law known as the Wilderness Act, which created a National Wilderness Preservation System to provide an “enduring resource of wilderness” for future generations. Wilderness, according to the Wilderness Act, “…in contrast with those areas where man and his own works dominate the landscape, is hereby recognized as an area where the earth and its community of life are untrammeled by man, where man himself is a visitor who does not remain.” The Wilderness Act goes on to describe wilderness as a place “retaining its primeval character and influence” where there are “outstanding opportunities for solitude”. When the Wilderness Act established the National Wilderness Preservation System, most of the wilderness areas created under the Act were located in the west. Areas in the east, such as Shenandoah National Park, did not meet the definition of wilderness. In 1975, Congress passed the Eastern Wilderness Areas Act which aimed to include eastern wild areas, which showed signs of human use, but were now returning to a natural state, in the National Wilderness Preservation System. The Eastern Wilderness Areas Act set the stage for wilderness designation in Shenandoah National Park. At the park’s establishment, the land showed signs of human use. As time went on, nature began to reclaim the park and a wilder Shenandoah emerged.
Shenandoah National Park includes 300 square miles of the Blue Ridge Mountains in the southern Appalachians. The park rises above the Virginia Piedmont to its east and the Shenandoah Valley to its west. Two peaks exceed 4,000 feet. The range of elevation, slopes and aspects, rocks and soils, precipitation, and latitude create a mix of habitats.
Shenandoah serves as a refuge for many species of animals. There are over 200 resident and transient bird species, over 50 species of mammals, 51 reptile and amphibian species, and 30 fish species found in the park.
Those who explored the Shenandoah Valley and Blue Ridge Mountains in the early 1700s reported an abundance and variety of animals. As European settlers cleared the land, introduced domestic animals, and hunted native animals, the abundance and variety in species diminished. An unknown number of native species disappeared from the area, while populations of many other species dwindled. American bison were eliminated around 1798 and elk followed in 1855. Beaver and river otter disappeared in the late 1800s. Other species, including the eastern timber wolf, the eastern cougar, the white-tailed deer, turkey, black bear, and bobcats were either extirpated or declined drastically. Fortunately, most of these species have now returned to park either through re-introduction on lands elsewhere in Virginia or through natural population recovery. Today, Shenandoah National Park is a great place to observe wildlife. Countless visitors spend hours watching deer snip and tear plants. Other people look for tracks and scat of bobcats, listen for the rustling of raccoons in the brush, and occasionally smell striped skunks. The opossum, groundhog, gray fox, and eastern cottontail are more commonly seen mammals in the park.
Shenandoah is home to ten species of toads and frogs and fourteen species of salamanders or newts. The Shenandoah Salamander is the only federally endangered animal species found in the park. It is endemic to high elevation talus slopes located in three scattered areas of the central section of the park. This salamander is closely related to the ubiquitous red-backed salamander. There are twenty-seven species of reptiles found at Shenandoah including eighteen snakes, five turtles, three skinks, and one lizard. The park is currently supporting a number of reptile-related research efforts that are attempting to describe species associations, habitat preferences, distributions, and relative abundance of these animals.
Hardwood forests dominate the park. The forests are the result of many disturbances, some measured in geologic time, others in minutes. Remnants of boreal forests remind us that continental glaciers came near. Strands of barbed wire embedded in trunks mark the edges of former pastures. Uprooted trees show the path Tropical Storm Fran made in 1996. The park’s 70 mile length and 3500 foot elevation range create numerous habitats able to support a variety of forest cover types. Chestnut and red oak forest are common in the park, but other forest types such tulip poplar, cove hardwood, and even small areas of spruce-fir forest, may also be found when exploring the park’s peaks, steep hillsides, and sheltered stream valleys. The forests would be incomplete without the seemingly countless herb, fern, and shrub species found beneath the trees. Trillium, jack-in-the-pulpit, interrupted fern, blueberries, azaleas, and lady slipper orchids are just a few examples of the numerous smaller species that enrich the under story. Explorations into the forests of Shenandoah National Park provide tremendous opportunities for discovery to both the casual and serious botanical enthusiast.
Shenandoah National Park supports over 400 species of fungi. Edible mushrooms constitute only a small fraction of the fungus species within the park. Morels (Morchella spp.) are a popular spring edible in Shenandoah. Mushroom hunters look for them when the oak leaves are “the size of a mouse’s ear”. However, even these relatively easy to identify species need to be carefully differentiated from false morels (Gyromitria spp.) which are harmful if eaten. One of the largest of all fungi, the giant puffball (Calvatia maxima), is also found in the park. This edible fungus can grow up to 50 centimeters (20 inches) in diameter.
The mountains in Shenandoah National Park are usually 10 degrees cooler than the valley below. Winters can be severe with snow and ice, and summer showers may be sudden. Layered clothing is always suggested.
The park itself is always open, but some portions of the Skyline Drive, the only road through Shenandoah National Park, are closed from dusk to early morning during hunting season. This road also closes in inclement weather for safety reasons. Visitor facilities and services begin operating between early April and Memorial Day and close down by late November.
For camping you’ll need all the usual: tents, sleeping bags, camp stove, lantern, compass, hiking boots, rain gear, and food supplies.
Do not feed or interfere with the animals. They may seem even tame at times, but even a deer will defend their young and their hooves are sharp.
Entrance fees:
March through November: $8.00/ 7 days per person 16 years of age or older when entering by means other than a private, non-commercial vehicle. $15.00/ 7 days per vehicle, to $30.00 for the annual pass that covers a vehicle and family.
Camping fees run from free for backcountry camping to $16-19/ single campsites and $32/ group campsites.
There are five campgrounds that include one group campground. They are Mathews Arm Campground, Big Meadows Campground, Lewis Mountain Campground, Loft Mountain Campground, and Dundo Group Campground. Most are open spring through October, with Big Meadows open until November. Reservations are required at Bib Meadows and the Dundo Group Campgrounds.
Mathews Arm (mile 22.1) is the nearest campground for those entering the park from the north. It is next to a nature trail and the trail to Overall Run Falls, the tallest waterfall in the park. Elkwallow Wayside, with camping supplies and food service, is two miles away. Big Meadows (mile 51.2), though secluded, is near many of the major facilities and popular hiking trails in the park. Three waterfalls are within walking distance; the Meadow, with its abundant plant growth and wildlife, lies directly across the Drive. Lewis Mountain (mile 57.5), the smallest campground in the park, appeals to those who want a little more privacy without venturing deep into the backcountry. Yet it is within seven miles of the popular Big Meadows area. Loft Mountain (mile 79.5), the largest campground in the park, sits atop Big Flat Mountain with outstanding views to east and west. Two waterfalls and the trails into the Big Run Wilderness area are nearby. Dundo is a primitive campground open to groups with a minimum of 8 campers and maximum of 20. Facilities include seven large group sites, pit toilets, and water. One site has a wheelchair accessible picnic table and a raised fire grate.
Backcountry camping requires a free permit. Permits are available by mail from Park Headquarters. Write: Superintendent, Attn: Backcountry Camping Permit, US Highway 211 East, Luray, VA, 22835. Or call, (540) 999-3500, Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. EST. Permits are also available in the park at visitor centers, entrance stations, and headquarters. Prepare well. Bring a backcountry stove or no-cook food. Campfires are not permitted except at a limited number of pre-constructed fireplaces at backcountry huts and day-use shelters. Bring enough rope to hang food, toothpaste, soap, and other items that smell, at least ten feet up and four feet out from the trunk of a tree. Maximum group size is ten people. Plan to camp out of sight of the trail, other camping parties, and day-use shelters. Pets are permitted, but must be leashed at all times. Shenandoah National Park is home to large populations of black bears and other animals that can be attracted by poor camping habits. Use the “Leave no Trace” rule.
Note: Shenandoah anticipates closing the Dundo Campground sometime in July and spreading out the group campsites between Mathews Arm, Big Meadows and Loft Mountain Campground.
The closest airports are in Washington, DC, Weyers Cave, VA, and Charlottesville, VA. The four entrances to the park are at I-66 and Route 340 to the north entrance at Front Royal, Route 211 to the central entrance at Thornton Gap, Route 33 to Swift Run Gap, and I-64 to the Rockfish Gap entrance at the southern end of the park and the northern end of the Blue Ridge Parkway. Speed limit for the Skyline Drive is 35mph. Bicycles are permitted in the park on paved roads only.
Approximate Mileage from the following major cities to Shenandoah National Park:
By Car:
Harrisonburg, VA – 65.73 miles
Charlottesville, VA – 74.75 miles
Washington, VA – 18.20 miles
Morgantown, OH – 266.56 miles
Baltimore Corner, VA – 174.32 miles
Pittsburg Junction, OH – 271.17 miles
By Plane
Washington Dulles International Airport – 55.98 miles
Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport – 70.68 miles
Shenandoah Valley Regional Airport – 79.62 miles
Charlottesville-Albemarle Airport – 66.42 miles
Shenandoah National Park, 3655 U.S. Highway 211 East, Luray, VA 22835-9036
Visitor Information: 540-999-3500
