Last weekend, Patrick and I visited another national park on the east coast, Shenandoah! We had a weekend to explore the park and made the most out of our time there. We really enjoyed soaking in views along the Skyline drive, hiking to view the stunning Shenandoah mountain range, and much more. Here’s a quick weekend guide to Shenandoah national park and things I’d recommend you do too if you’re planning a visit.

Things to Know About Shenandoah National Park

• Shenandoah requires a park entrance fee of $30 per vehicle which can be purchased when you arrive or in advance here.
• There are a few lodging and overnight options within the park. If you like to camp, there are five campgrounds located within the park:
  • Mathews Arm
  • Big Meadows (this is the campground we stayed at during our visit, and really enjoyed it!)
  • Lewis Mountain
  • Loft Mountain
  • Dundo group

• If you’d prefer other lodging options within the park, Shenandoah offers a few cabin and hotel like experiences:
  • Skyland lodge
  • Big Meadows lodge
  • Lewis Mountain cabins

• The skyline drive goes through the park and has several marked pull off areas that offer stunning views of the park.

Things to Do in Shenandoah

Stop at the overlooks along the skyline drive. I’d recommend pulling off whenever you can! My favorite overlooks were:

• Range view overlook
• Hog back overlook
• Mary’s rock tunnel
• Buck hollow
• Hazel mountain
• Thorofare mountain (highlight overlook on the skyline drive)
• Crescent rock
• The point
• Brown mountain overlook

Go for a hike! Shenandoah offers some incredible hikes. Since our time was limited while visiting, we didn’t get to explore many hikes but the ones we did that I’d recommend:

• Little Stony Man trail (1.5mi). This trail was pretty easy and gives you stunning views on the shenandoah mountain range!
• Hawksbill mountain trail (1.6mi). This trail was steep and challenging at the beginning but the views at the top make it worth it!
• Bearfence viewpoint trail (1.4mi). Another great smaller trail that gives stunning views at the top!

Some hikes we also considered that look amazing:

• Mary’s rock summit (3.1mi)
• Compton peak trail (2.3mi)
• Rose river falls (3.8mi)
• Dark hollow falls (1.4mi)

Stop by Skyland lodge. Even if you aren’t planning to stay at Skyland, I’d recommend stopping to check out the views, souvenirs shops, and grab some food at the cafe. There’s also a Starbucks located inside if you need a good cup of coffee!

Stop by a nearby town. Shenandoah is nestled between some quaint Virginian towns that are worth exploring! On our way home, we had fun stopping in Sperryville, VA for some coffee and window shopping.