We went on some great hikes in Shenandoah. If you aren’t familiar with Shenandoah, you may not know of its unique structure. It is a vertically oriented park: one long, two-lane road (Skyland Drive) runs for 105 miles, north to south through the entire park. The park is divided into three districts; North, Central, and South. Unfortunately we only made it to the Central and North districts during our visit. We ventured south for a bit on our first day but didn’t really get to experience the South District with our limited time.
All national parks have trails, but in Shenandoah the trails are the focus. If you’re not on Skyline Drive, you’re probably on a trail. Here are the hikes we were able to complete during our stay. We love and recommend them to anyone who is visiting Shenandoah National Park!
Bearfence Trail
The very first trail that we hiked. I specifically asked Alex if he could find us a fairly easy hike as we live in Oklahoma, so we don’t typically hike on or through mountains. He landed on Bearfence and boy was it fun! Now, I wouldn’t consider this an easy hike for everyone. In the middle of the hike there was a rock scramble (which compared to other hikes is probably considered pretty easy) we had to work together to pass. We made it through most of the rock scramble with no issue. In the end, the view is worth the rocky middle section.
What the National Park Service says on their website:
Distance: 1.4-mile round trip hike
Difficulty: Moderate
Hiking Time: 1 hour
Elevation Gain: 311 feet
Rose River Loop Trail + Dark Hollows
Still hungry for waterfalls, we selected these trails as they were easy to combine and increase the waterfall to trail ratio. This was a long hike, an all day commitment. The falls on this trail system make up for their relative shortness with quantity.
The farthest point of the Rose River Loop Trail puts you directly next to the Dark Hollows waterfall, so close that there’s no reason not to collect those falls while you’re there. The guides say that including them only adds .25 mi to your overall trek but it feels shorter. These falls are situated on the trail so that you can actually walk through them and strike a pose for your photographer. As you can imagine, this portion is muddy and slippery so exercise caution. This was the most congested trail, you might consider going earlier in the morning to beat the crowds.
What the National Park Service says on their website:
Distance: 4-mile circuit hike
Difficulty: Moderate
Hiking Time: 4 hours 30 minutes
Elevation Gain: 910 feet
Old Rag Trail
I opted to stay out of this hike as I knew that it was rated as strenuous and it was definitely past my max in terms of mileage. But Alex is always up to the challenge. -Taylor
I’ve unintentionally made a habit of summiting the tallest peak in the national parks Taylor and I visit. So far this includes Emory Peak at Big Bend and (technically) Clingmans Dome at Great Smoky Mountains. And now, Old Rag. It was the hardest, so far.
At the moment, it costs $1 for an Old Rag day-pass. Make sure to take a picture of your receipt for entering Shenandoah, they’ll ask for it at check-in. Despite the clear signage, I did not secure a copy before sending Taylor off. The ranger let me slide but that is not an endorsement to push your luck.
The Old Rag circuit also contained my first (but not last for Shenandoah) taste of genuine “trail magic.” Hikers naturally bottleneck at the beginning of the rock scramble, and mingling groups or being adopted into temporary expeditions is common. This is where met Kirk and Connie, who were invaluable as spotters throughout the rock scramble and for moral support. Be prepared to make friends, they make the hard spots easier and far more fun.
The description repeatedly states how strenuous and difficult this trail is due to the elevation gain and extensive rock scramble at the peak. The trail portions will be familiar to any hiker. Long, gradual stretches which terminate at sharp switchbacks. They weren’t a walk in the park, but in this regard, they weren’t remarkable. My trekking poles were handy on the way up and absolutely critical on the way down. I used my Gregory Nano backpack with both Taylor and I’s reservoirs, equaling about six liters of water. Maybe overkill, but you’ll rarely regret having more water on hand. My boots did fantastic, but I could see how a lower profile, approach-style shoe might make the scrambling easier, but that’s up to your personal taste.
At 5 ‘9”, I’m not extraordinarily tall but not short. Still, I see where a longer reach would have made me more secure on the rocks. If you’re of reasonable fitness and high motivation, you’ll be fine. Height might still be a factor.
When I go back to Shenandoah, I’d redo this particular hike. Unfortunately, the smoke from the Canadian wildfires had reached the region, affecting the view from the peak. The trail, the woods and the wildlife were beautiful regardless, but I long to see the summit view without a haze.
I returned to the base two hours before Taylor and I’s scheduled pickup. As of 2023/06/28, there is no reception for AT&T service at or around the check-in kiosk or parking lot. Plan accordingly. I got spotty to decent reception in certain spots along the trail.
Overall Run Falls
Next, Taylor had me choose a trail incorporating waterfalls. Again, I learned a hard lesson in how to interpret the difficulty ratings. Despite the “moderately strenuous” rating, the elevation gain is arranged to make the hike back far harder than the hike to the falls, almost all uphill, like our grandparents said about walking to school.
The trail eventually turns parallel to a gorge where the waterfalls tumble down. There are two cleared areas with big rocks and shade at which to recharge for the hike back up to the trailhead. Height-wise, these are the most dramatic falls we saw in Shenandoah.
What the National Park Service says on their website:
Distance: 5.1-mile round trip hike
Difficulty: Moderately Strenuous
Hiking Time: 4 hours
Elevation Gain: 1,291 feet
Massanutten Storybook Trail
After enjoying a few drinks at Woodstock Brewhouse, we took a walk downtown Woodstock, VA. Though we didn’t get anything from The Buttercup, the woman running the shop did tell us about the Storybook Trail when she learned we’re on vacation.
The trailhead is slightly off from the destinations to which Google Maps navigates. The well marked parking and entry are a little further than where the GPS places the endpoint.
An ADA compliant trail takes you to an excellent view of the Blue Ridge Mountains and Shenandoah Valley. Easily accessible and walkable, the Storybook Trail is an easy way to fit in a one mile round trek between activities on the way in/out of town.
This trail is also not part of the national park, but part of George Washington National Forest, not that it matters!
Stony Man Trail
This trail was a welcome relief after the elevation gain and rock scrambles on Bearfence, Rose River and Overrun Falls. It lives up to the “easiest” rating. It also gives you the opportunity to say you’ve technically hiked the Appalachian Trail, with which this trail shares a stretch. It’s up to you to decide whether you explain that technicality.
AT or not, you’re rewarded with an excellent view of the valley at the end. There are plenty of boulders situated to give you a clear line of sight, and enough space that we didn’t need to wait long to cycle through hiking groups for the prime spots. My only complaint is that some folks before us had used a depression in the rocks to throw their orange peels. It’s not the worst litter, but litter nonetheless.
We chose this as our last hike at Shenandoah, an easy but intimate send off to our time in the valley. It hits the perfect spot between effort, distance and reward to make a great finale to any visit.
What the National Park Service says on their website:
Distance: 1.6-mile round trip hike
Difficulty: Easiest
Hiking Time: 1 hours
Elevation Gain: 340 feet
Recommendations that we heard about:
These are hikes that we didn’t personally experience but we heard about them from people that we met on various trails.
A family we met while rock scrambling suggested this one as a step down from the intensity of the tougher portions of Bearfence. Limberlost is an ADA compliance trail, could be a nice cool down after you’ve done a challenging trek.
Lewis Mountain
Recommended to me by some trail friends I made at Old Rag (shout out Connie and Kirk!) as an easier trail. No rock scrambles, but be prepared to hop from rock to rock across a few streams. Incorporates Corbin Cabin, residence of a former tenant. Note that to reach this trailhead, you’ll need to leave the park and navigate back to the boundary the same way you do for the Old Rag Circuit.
Have you guys done any hikes in Shenandoah that we missed? We’d love to hear from you to begin building our list for when we return!