Despite exquisite sightings of blue-tinted mountains and thunderous waterfalls, there are many things to do in Shenandoah Park. Be it hiking trails, biking through Skyline Drive, or crossing the waterways, Shenandoah National Park offers a complete break from your day-to-day routine and lets you rejuvenate.
Shenandoah National Park includes everything you need for an adventurous outing full of festive activities. Apart from waterfalls, rocky peaks and wetlands, it is also home to many bird species and exclusive black bears, deer and squirrels. So, these panoramic views and active wildlife is just 90 miles away from Washington DC.
Let’s have a glance over the unique things about Shenandoah National Park.
Driving Skyline Drive
The Skyline Drive covers 105 miles north and south simultaneously with the peak of the Blue Ridge Mountains in Shenandoah National Park and is the only public road. The entire drive takes around three hours to travel the park’s complete length on a sunny day.
As far as possible, 35 mph is the maximum speed in most spots, so go ahead and lower down your windows, feel the breeze, and experience each curve and turn of this beautiful drive. There are various things to do on Skyline Drive as you will get almost 70 spots suitable to witness staggering panoramas on the Shenandoah Valley toward the west or move Piedmont toward the east.
Hiking on the Mountains Trail
With over 500 miles of trails to travel, you’ll track down a broad range of hiking experiences in Shenandoah National Park. For slightly manageable mountings, think about Stony Man or Blackrock Summit. Likewise, they are a straightforward way to tell your friends that you climbed (a part of) the Appalachian Trail.
On the opposite end of the range, the 9.5-mile out-and-back Whiteoak Canyon Trail and the 9.8-mile Old Rag Mountain Loop are two of the most testing hikes. Both are considered troublesome, with more than 2,000-foot height gains, yet the falling cascades and eye-catchy scenes prove them worth the attempt.
Backcountry Camping: Go Beyond the Comfort Zone
As it is known, Shenandoah National Park has 196,000+ acres of wilderness and forest and over 500 miles of tracks to explore. By its very characteristics, backcountry camping is one of the best things to do in Shenandoah park and also a wild activity that enables you to engage yourself in the beauty and hurdles of Shenandoah’s wild side. However, before you plan your trip, ensure that you have all the essential information so that you’ll be geared up to explore a brand new world beyond the road safely!
Get the Assistance of A Ranger
To experience the wilderness of Shenandoah National Park to the maximum and closely.
Rangers usually share in-depth information about the park’s antiquity, geology, and ecology during regular conversation while exploring the beautiful forest. They also guide escorted hikes and describe nature walks that improve your connectivity with the pleasing surroundings. Also, they will suggest some of the most affordable and comfortable places to stay in Shenandoah Park.
Explore In-depth Through Exhibitions
Sensing an exhibition is an excellent way to discover why Shenandoah Park is such a unique place. From the history of Park to the genetic chronicle of its ecosystem, you will get many things to discover through a range of fun, interactive, as well as informational presentations. If you can’t attend such a display in person, you can go through numerous exhibitions by online tours, which lets you put them from the comfort of home!
Witnessing Wildlife
Shenandoah is home to hundreds of black bears. Therefore, if you are a wildlife lover, the best time to visit Shenandoah Park is between late March and early November, when bears are most active. The most desirable places to witness wildlife at Shenandoah are along Skyline Drive and many parks’ tracks. With both options, animals are most usually detected early in the morning and just before nightfall.
Apart from bears, most probably,, you may witness white-tailed deer, woodchucks, squirrels, and beavers as you explore.
Biking
You can roam solely through the park to explore things a bit slowly. Road bikes, mountain bikes and e-bikes are allowed on Skyline Drive and all concrete sections in Shenandoah National Park. Biking is allowed at Fire Road, a shale road in the Big Meadows region, for nearly one mile, where a sign will show the turnaround point. On the other hand, biking is prohibited on grass fields, mountain tracks and non-concrete roads.
Fishing
The water bodies in Shenandoah National Park are coupled with regional freshwater fish in a wide range of species, the most widespread of which is the domestic brook trout. Shenandoah’s preserved wilderness makes it one of the most attractive places in the eastern part of the USA for severe back-country fishers who enjoy the calmness of nature’s solitude.
The best season for fishing in Shenandoah park is the beginning of mid-spring as the temperature increases and trout begin to awake from their winter sleep. The trout are on a feeding craze during this season as they massively crave on mayfly hatches.
Viewing Night Sky
Stargazing is probably one of the most underrated things to do in Shenandoah Park.
It’s a pleasing experience to watch the Milky Way or some of the 2500 stars noticeable to naked eyes. Discovering and recognizing planets, diverse phases of the moon and obliteration can make you wonder about this mighty universe.
However, Shenandoah National Park may not get as dark as the USA’s west or northern parks. But, Shenandoah Park’s high altitude, coupled with its remoteness from dense metropolitan areas, makes the Shenandoah an excellent spot for stargazing on cloud-free and moonless nights.
Gaze at Waterfall
Apart from Skyline Drive, the thing that attracts thousands of tourists is the spectacular waterfalls in Shenandoah National Park. You’ll find at least one running fall in each part of the national park, and all are easy to reach from parking lots and departing places along Skyline Drive.
Dark Hollow Falls Track is one of the quickest waterfall hikes. Though the walk down to the falls is comparatively easy, don’t ignore the fact that the upward trek back to your vehicle is similar to a scaling building of 40 floors.
Attend a Polo Match
Flat Greenlands at Shenandoah Park makes it a perfect place to play polo. Numerous polo clubs offer to either play the game or to enjoy watching with beer mugs and snacks. So, if you are a practised player, you can exercise your skills at this beautiful scenic ground; otherwise, it’s worth watching other riders tackling with the ball.
Extinguish Your Thirst with Shenandoah Valley Wine
Thanks to comparatively dry weather, limestone soil, and a magnificent location between the Blue Ridge Mountains and Allegheny, the Shenandoah Valley is convenient to produce the finest quality wines. There are more than 20 vineyards established in the Shenandoah Valley area; hence, there’s no lack of wines to try.
So, being an enthusiastic traveller, if you wish to spend some quality time with your buddies, partner or just need a solo trip around the USA, especially Virginia. In that case, you will get many amusing and adventurous things to do in Shenandoah Park.