Hi all,

I am visiting Shenandoah national park from Oct 20th to 22nd. I am visiting with my parents who are old and won't be able to go on trails.

I wanted to know about spots such as Luray Caverns, that are tourist attractions and are around the park. Any nearby towns, well known farmers markets, etc, that I must visit.

Also, spots in the park where I don't need to go on a very long trail to reach a certain point, any sunrise or sunset points that you would recommend.

Thanks in advance!

Heading there early or mid October. What are the best spots to camp in the park and why (proximity/view/etc.)? What should I expect re: temp/weather? Will have dogs with.

TIA

A few weeks ago, I decided to hike from Bootens Gap to Bear Church Rock based on the description I saw in the 50 Must-Do Hikes for Everyone book. It was billed as "the easiest 9 mountain miles you could ask for." I come out to the park a lot, and enjoy flipping through these books to discover new routes. Stats were supposed to be 9.3 mi round trip and 800ft of gain. Sounded pretty good after a couple days of hard hiking. A good one to do before I drove home.

Well, friends, it was not the easiest 9 miles I've done in the park. In fact, I didn't make it to Bear Church Rock and turned back early because it was clearly longer than advertised. All told, my Garmin says I went about 11 miles and did 2,300 ft of gain. And that's without finishing the hike.

Has anyone else done this hike? What the hell? I looked this guide book up later expecting to see others complaining about inaccurate information, but no. Great reviews from what I can see.

I have the lifetime pass and will be heading up there this weekend with a group of 6.

I know I can bring a vehicle full of people as long as it is less that 15 passenger, non commercial, on and on.

But only 3 additional people if the place charges by the person.

With Old Rag can I get my entire group in with me since we are carpooling? Or do we need to pay for two people?

We already have the day passes for the hike 🙌

Thanks!

Looking at possibly hiking and doing an overnight on this trail in the next couple of weeks. Wondering how the water situation looks right now. I've seen it high, and I've seen it really low. Is there anything going on now, end of summer?? Thanks!

I live near the southern end of the park, and have done loads of day hikes but no overnights. Friends will be visiting in late September (or, possibly, late October), and we're hoping to do a three day/two night backpacking trip in the park. Okay to travel up north for something good, and we can come with two cars so a trip involving a shuttle is fine.

Total distance in the 20-25 mileage range is probably about right; having options to add something "extra" to a core route on the shorter end would be nice in the case my friends are feeling good. And it would be nice, of course, to do something with great campsites including, of course, accessible water.

Last thing: likely to do the trip midweek, so hopefully routes/sites that might be popular on the weekend will be less crowded when we're there.

Much appreciated!

https://preview.redd.it/573boaoo5ikd1.jpg?width=384&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=2bff09361c2f609a5b7ce7bda4c00cfd69b05274

My friend and I were walking at Miller's Head last month at dusk when all of sudden, he jumped and screamed. A footstep away was a venomous Crotalis horridus. It did not rattle; it merely turned into the brush and slowly slithered away.

Can anyone recommend a good waterfall hike in the Afton or Staunton area? We'll be hiking with a dog who is new to hiking in the mountains and a couple of kids.

Looking to go camping at big meadows in late September/ early October. The people I’d be going with are still fairly new to camping so I’m a bit nervous with how they’ll do in cold nights. (They’ve done summer camping in the past) Anyone familiar with what the temperatures would be like that time of year or have any advice?

Anywhere I'll be able to pick blueberries this weekend? Open to any trails

I am coming from Maryland to Shenandoah on Saturday and was wondering if there are any good antique stores/ flea markets to go to while i am around the park?

Looking for an area to swim with my toddler and kindergartner. Is there a good place?

I wanted to share a recent experience that reminded me of how good people can be. I went hiking in Shenandoah National Park, and like any other trip, we parked our car. While getting out, I accidentally hit the car next to us with my door. I was sitting in the passenger seat and was too excited about the hike to notice.

After a great day on the trails, we returned to find a note on our car. It had the other driver’s contact details and a request to call them. Once I got home the next day, I called and apologized, explaining that I am a student who isn’t earning yet.

To my surprise, the person on the other end was incredibly understanding. He said all he wanted was for me to acknowledge what happened and to apologize. He emphasized that people are more important than money and advised me to always own up to my actions rather than running away. His kindness and understanding truly blew me away.

This experience has restored my faith in humanity. I’m curious, what would you do if someone accidentally hit your car? Have you had similar encounters? Feel free to share your stories!

We will be staying in Harrisonburg due to my hotel rewards card, no issue driving out an hour or so to hike. We won't be camping, unfortunately.

We're definitely doing the Old Rag Mountain Loop, but not sure what else to do during our limited time. We are experienced hikers who enjoy being out there, what else is a must at Shenandoah?

We're also interested in other attractions - is it worth going north to the National Forest or should we stick to Shenandoah with our limited time? We see wineries and caves as well around, what are your favorites? Any magical small towns worth visiting? Interesting and/or delicious restaurants in the area?

Getting in Thursday morning and will be there Friday all day as well, was planning on Old Rag but looks like rain :/ . Any good ideas for a plan b? Was thinking caves for one of the days but idk about the other

How early should I plan to get to old rag mountain in October time so that I can reliably get a parking spot? Trying to decide if I need to camp or can drive in the morning of

Hey everyone,

over the summer me and some of my buddies have been frequently driving over to some of the popular shenandoah spots for the stars/sunrise/sunset. we’ve been to a bunch of outlooks on skyline drive and done the hawksbill mountain trail and the stony man trail

for our next trip we’re trying to find a short-hike trail (<45 mins) that, from the top, we face the sunrise in the east. all the other spots we’ve been to (listed above) face the west. any recs?

Hi everyone! Do the campgrounds have firewood and how much are bundles? Or should I stock up in one of the towns before entering the park?

Hi! I want to book a weekend at big meadows but I'm not really sure how it works. It says that 2 weeks prior more spots become available.. does anyone know what day/time the spots are released?

I want to book sat-mon in October. Would I go on two Saturdays before and book? Or are they all released on a specific day?

Thanks!!

Driving up from FL and have reservations for a week at Loft. Tent camping. Trying to determine if it’s worth driving the extra hour to see if there are any sites available at Lewis before heading back to our reserved site at Loft. Loft seems to have better views but Lewis is closer to all the day hikes we intend to take. Given the choice would you prefer camping at Loft or Lewis mountain campgrounds?

I’m interested in buying a cabin in the Shenandoah Valley to use as a vacation home while also renting it out on Airbnb some of the year. I live in the DC area so would only be a few hours away.

I’ve read a lot about short-term rentals generally, but was wondering if anyone could share experience specific to this area of Virginia. How saturated is the market? Is there a good network of support to help with cleaning/turnovers? Thanks!

Last night I was hiking with my two dogs around the area of Trayfoot Mountain around 830/9pm ish. Suddenly my dogs were aware that some animals were around us on the trails, but didn’t think anything of it as they barked into the woods. Then, I heard very distinct chirping, like a mountain lion, off to the sides of us. They dogs started growling and the chirping followed us a half a mile to the parking lot.

Mountain lions have not been native to the region for years supposedly. It didn’t sound like a bobcat chirp though, and it was very recognizable to both me and the person I was with, who have spent a lot of time in regions where they are heavily present. Just wanted to know others thoughts on this, on whether they are still present in the region or not.

Hey all, going to be staying at Pocosin Cabin for a few days with family and to minimize wasted time, probably going to head straight to the airport from the cabin at the end of the trip.

Looking for recommendations on potential shower options between the park and the airport. I didn't see any truck stops on 64 and both Loft Mountain and Big Meadows are off the path directly between the two. Any recommendations for where to grab a shower?

Is this fire road open to be driven by tourists?

Hello! I know that the parking for Whiteoak Canyon fills up pretty early, and that there is overflow parking. However, I’m assuming this is talking about the main parking area. Does anyone know what the situation is like at the boundary parking area, where the hike to Whiteoak Canyon Lower Falls is around 2 miles instead? How early does it fill up, and is there overflow parking there?

Hi guys. Just wondering whereabouts is a great place to stay when visiting the park? Is it better to stay at Front Royal drive through the park and come back? What alternatives can be there?

Thank you!

Planning to take my 8 year old out for a trip in Shenandoah. A lot of the trails that I think she'd love are in the Big Meadows area (blackrock summit, rose river, dark hollow). I am hoping I can give her more of a backcountry trip rather than camping at Big Meadows. Does anyone know of solid backcountry campsites around that area that we could camp at? Or recommendations for a backcountry trip to do with an 8 year old in the central or southern Shenandoah area? I think 4 -5 mile per day with a very light pack is attainable for her. Thanks for your suggestions.

Hey everyone!! Making a trip to shenandoah in a few weeks and have been reading up a lot on Old Rag. Very aware that this is a super strenuous hike and that it will be very ambitious for me to do as a completely beginner hiker. I’m relatively active but based on reading some reviews and experience maybe definitely not in shape to do the hike.

I really would love to do it and was wondering if anyone did any training or prep beforehand. If not, what are some key things. Do I need to work on upper body strength or incline walks?

Is it doable with a few weeks of prep? Thanks for your help!