Planning a Trip

Access Points & Orientation

The park and its Skyline Drive have four entrances. Northernmost is at Front Royal on U.S. 340 near the junction of I-81 and I-66, about 1 mile south of Front Royal and 75 miles west of Washington, D.C. The entrances to the Central District are at Thornton Gap, 33 miles south of Front Royal on U.S. 211 between Sperryville and Luray, and at Swift Run Gap, 68 miles south of Front Royal on U.S. 33 between Standardsville and Elkton. The southern gate is at Rockfish Gap, 105 miles south of Front Royal at I-64 and U.S. 250, some 21 miles west of Charlottesville and 18 miles east of Staunton.

The Skyline Drive is marked with mile posts, starting at zero at the Front Royal entrance and increasing as you go south, with Rockfish Gap on the southern end at Mile 105.

Districts

The access roads divide the park into three areas: Northern District, between Front Royal and U.S. 211 at Thornton Gap (Mile 0 to Mile 31.5); Central District, between Thornton Gap and U.S. 33 at Swift Run Gap (Mile 31.5 to Mile 65.7); and Southern District, between Swift Run Gap and I-64 at Rockfish Gap (Mile 65.7 to Mile 105).

Information

For free information, call or write to Superintendent, Shenandoah National Park, 3655 U.S. Hwy., 211 East, Luray, VA 22835 (tel. 540/999-3500; www.nps.gov/shen). The headquarters is 4 miles west of Thornton Gap and 5 miles east of Luray on U.S. 211.

Aramark Virginia Sky-Line Co., the park's major concessionaire (tel. 888/896-3833; www.visitshenandoah.com), maintains an informative website on which you can book accommodations at the park's lodges and cabins.

American Park Network (www.americanparknetwork.com) publishes a helpful advertiser-supported guide to the park, and it has bountiful information on its website.

The Shenandoah National Park Association (tel. 540/999-3582; www.snpbooks.org), is the best source of maps, guidebooks, and other publications about the park's cultural and natural history. It has a bookstore at park headquarters, and many of its publications are available at the visitor centers.

For guidebooks and detailed topographic maps of the park's three districts, write or call the Potomac Appalachian Trail Club (PATC), 118 Park St., Vienna, VA 22180 (tel. 703/242-0315, or 703/242-0965 for a recording of the club's activities; www.patc.net). The PATC helps build and maintain the park's portion of the Appalachian Trail, including trail cabins. The PATC is part of the Appalachian Trail Conservancy, P.O. Box 807, Harpers Ferry, WV 25425-0807 (tel. 304/535-6331; www.appalachiantrail.org), which covers the entire trail from Maine to Georgia.

The National Geographic (www.nationalgeographic.com) publishes a terrific topographic map of the park's hiking trails, showing them all on one weatherproof sheet (map no. 228). One of the best trail guidebooks is the third edition of Hiking Shenandoah National Park by Bert and Jane Gildart (Globe Pequot, 2006).

Your Indispensable Guide -- In addition to the magnificent map brochure the ranger will hand you, be sure to get a copy of Shenandoah Overlook when you enter the park or stop by a visitor center. This tabloid newspaper will be your bible during your visit since it tells you about ranger programs and everything else that's going on during your visit.

Emergencies

In case of emergencies, call the park headquarters (tel. 540/999-3500).

Fees, Regulations & Backcountry Permits

Entrance permits good for 7 consecutive days are $15 per car, $10 per motorcycle, $8 for each pedestrian or bicyclist from March through November. These fees are $10, $10, and $5, respectively, from December through February. An annual pass ($30) is good for 1 year. Park entrance is free to holders of America the Beautiful -- National Parks and Federal Recreational Lands Passes and the National Park Service's Golden Eagle, Golden Access, and Golden Age passports.

The speed limit on the Skyline Drive is 35 mph, although given the number of camper vans and rubberneckers creeping along this winding, two-lane road, you'll be lucky to go that fast. This is no place to have a fit of road rage.

Plants and animals are protected; so all hunting is prohibited. Pets must be kept on a leash at all times and are not allowed on some trails. Wood fires are permitted only in fireplaces in developed areas. The Skyline Drive is a great bike route, but neither bicycles nor motor vehicles of any sort are allowed on the hiking trails.

Most of the park is open to backcountry camping. Permits, which are free, are required; get them at the entrance gates, visitor centers, or by mail from park headquarters. Campers are required to leave no trace of their presence. No permits are necessary for backcountry hiking, but the same "no-trace" rule applies.

Visitor Centers

There are two park visitor centers, Dickey Ridge Visitor Center, at Mile 4.6 in the Northern District, and Byrd Visitor Center, in the Central District at Mile 51 in Big Meadows. Both are open daily 8:30am to 5pm from mid-April through October (to 6pm on weekends from July through Labor Day) and on an intermittent schedule through Thanksgiving weekend in late November. Both provide information, maps of nearby hiking trails, interpretive exhibits, films, slide shows, and nature walks.

Operated by the town of Waynesboro, the Rockfish Gap Information Center, on U.S. 211 (at Exit 99 off I-64) at the park's southern gate (tel. 540/943-5187) has a terrific room-size topographical map of the region (and a life-size statue of Robert E. Lee). Daily hours are 9am to 5pm (closed Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year's Day).

Seasons

The park's high season is from mid- to late October, when the fall foliage peaks, and weekend traffic on the Skyline Drive can be bumper-to-bumper. Days also tend to be more clear in fall than in summer, when lingering haze can obscure the views. In spring, the green of leafing trees moves up the ridge at the rate of about 100 feet a day. Wildflowers begin to bloom in April, and by late May, the azaleas are brilliant and the dogwood is putting on a show. Nesting birds abound, and the normally modest waterfalls are at their highest during spring, when warm rains melt the highland snows. You'll find the clearest views across the distant mountains during winter, but many facilities are closed then, and snow and ice can shut down the Skyline Drive. Also, parts of the drive are closed at night during Virginia's hunting season from mid-November to early January.

Avoiding the Crowds

With its proximity to the Washington and Baltimore metropolitan areas, the park is at its busiest on summer and fall weekends and holidays. The fall-foliage season in October is the busiest time, and reservations for October accommodations in or near the park should be made as much as a year in advance. The best time to visit is during the spring and on weekdays from June through October.

Ranger Programs

The park offers a wide variety of ranger-led activities -- nature walks, interpretive programs, cultural and history lectures, and campfire talks. Most are held at or near Dickey Ridge Visitor Center in the north; Byrd Visitor Center and the Big Meadows and Skyland lodges and campground in the center; and Loft Mountain campground in the south. Schedules are published seasonally in the Shenandoah Overlook, available at the entrance gates, visitor centers, and from park headquarters.