Planning Your First Trip to Shenandoah National Park: What You Need to Know

Looking to plan a trip to Virginia’s Shenandoah National Park? Want the inside scoop? I just solo road tripped there last weekend! It was my first time in the park, and I’d love to share my experience! I was super excited to visit since everyone on the Internet will tell you fall in SNP is the best time to visit. I was originally planning on doing an overnight and backcountry camping but the weather ended up not working out so maybe I’ll have some tips to share on that next time. As it was, I was thrilled this trip worked out at all. My biggest hurdle of late is figuring out how to balance wanting to travel with a full time job. It often feels like I’m sacrificing my only free time when I do something big on the weekend, but I always love it once I’m in the thick of it. It’s still a work in progress, like most things.

 SNP is about a 3 ½ hour drive from where I live. I woke up, got coffee, turned on my playlist and hit the road around 9! I am a big fan of road trips. I tend to get car sick but it’s not as much of an issue when I’m the one driving, which is why I like road trips. I like the time to think and reflect and jam out to my music. For someone with a horrible sense of direction, Shenandoah was pretty easy to find and navigate. Skyline Drive runs 105 miles, north and south, through the entire length of the park, so even if you’re not a huge fan of hiking, it’s definitely still worth checking out.

I went on a Sunday in the fall so I was a little worried about the crowd levels, given how the foliage is raved about online, but the crowds were very manageable. Parking was a little difficult on the more popular trails, but on Skyline Drive I rarely had anyone driving behind me and by 3:30pm the park seemed to be clearing out. Make sure you buy a park pass online beforehand. I saved mine to my wallet app and just showed it at the gate. Also, make sure you have routes, trails, and directions planned beforehand since there is no Wi-Fi in the park. Your phone basically becomes a useless brick.

ENTERING THE PARK
There are four entrances to the park: Fort Royal, Thornton Gap, Swift Run Gap and Rockfish Gap. I would plan which hikes you want to hit during your trip and check their mile markers (make sure you keep track of them since there’s no service in the park). Then check which entrance along Skyline Drive is closest to your hikes. The park is broken up into three sections, north, central, and south, so it makes sense to try and hit a bunch of hikes in the same area. The visitor center is located at mile marker 51 if you have any questions.

HIKES
Little Stony Man Cliffs – This was the first hike I did. It’s an easy one to start with, a little under 1 mile round trip with a nice outlook at the end. This trip ends at the summit, and then you just retrace your steps to the parking lot. The parking lot is pretty small, so be prepared for that. I got really lucky with a spot that was actually on the pavement and not the side of the road. The trail is located on the west side of Skyline Drive, so if you’re coming from the Thornton Gap entrance turn right. If you’re looking for a longer hike, you can continue on to the Stony Man Summit, which is a circuit and includes sections on the Passamaquoddy Trail and Furnace Spring Trail. Unless you’ve hiked these trails before, always take a picture of the trails at the trailhead!

Upper White Oak Falls –  This trail is a little bit past the Little Stony Man Cliffs, at mile marker 46.2. It has a shorter and longer option. I opted for the 4.5 mile round trip option since I started this one a little later in the day and was worried about the sunset. This hike crisscrosses with a bunch of other trails and horse trails so make sure you take a picture of the path at the trailhead (which you really always should be doing). It’s an easy hike downhill, but what goes down has to come back up. Also heads-up on this one – the hike only takes you to the upper falls. To see the other five (more impressive) waterfalls involves another 2.7 miles of hiking.

While I love being spontaneous and did wing this trip a little bit, I would recommend planning at least a little since your phone will be useless and you need to buy a pass for admission (valid for 7 days). This is actually only my second national park. My first was Acadia National Park in Maine. After this I’m going to have to start traveling pretty far to get to my next national park – I think the next closest is either the Great Smoky Mountains in North Carolina or New River Gorge in West Virginia. Let me know below if you’ve ever been to either and what hikes are a must for a first trip!