October 19, 2012 ---- Nathan and I had thought about going to Shenandoah National Park long before we moved to the east coast. Later I found that the best time of the year to visit the park was in the fall for colorful foliage. It was a little less than 3 hours driving to the park from our home, so we decided to spend a night at a hotel close to the park.
The Hotel Strasburg
The Hotel Strasburg is located in a small, charming town in the Shenandoah Valley. I found a good deal on a double room for about $50/night. This boutique hotel was built in 1902 as a private hospital and then converted to a hotel in 1915. Each room was decorated with antique furniture and a modern bathroom. Nathan and I were so pleased with our cozy double room. The hotel also had a fine dining restaurant and a pub with live music on the first floor. Continental breakfast was included with the room, but the hot breakfast was provided with an extra charge.There are a few interesting things to do in the town of Strasburg, such as a historical walk, a museum, and a river walk. Nathan and I went to the river walk and found it pretty peaceful...
Skyline Drive
The Skyline Drive is a 105-mile scenic road on the crest of the Blue Ridge mountains. It also joins the Blue Ridge Parkway at the park's southern end and stretches over 400 miles all the way to Great Smoky Mountains. Most people visit Shenandoah National Park and drive on the Skyline Drive during the fall for the colorful foliage.
The Skyline Drive is a small two-lane road all the way through Shenandoah National Park. The speed limit is 35 miles/hour, but you will find people go around 45-55 miles/hour instead and get a speeding ticket from the park rangers. There is no bike lane on Skyline Drive, and a lot of bikers have to be extra careful to share the road with other cars.
Nathan and I started our journey at the park's north entrance in Front Royal. It was kind of foggy that morning, and we were hoping that the sun would burn out the fog by noon. However, there was no luck that morning when we couldn't see most of the views in the first quarter of the driveway, so we decided to leave the park at the Thornton Gap entrance and got on the I-81 to drive straight to the south entrance of the park and do our waterfall-hike early.
It was nice and sunny at the southern part of the park. As we passed through Rockfish Gap (South) Entrance, our journey was getting more cheerful when we could see the bright colors of all the trees and falling leaves along the road.
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| Front Royal (North) Entrance Station |
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| Rockfish Gap (South) Entrance Station |
Scenic Overlooks
There are 75 scenic overlooks along Skyline Drive. You wouldn't need to stop at every single one because they all give similar views of mountain ranges on the west side and hilly forests on the east side of the park. Nathan and I pulled over at some overlooks and took a little walk in the forest. In the evening, we watched the gorgeous sun setting behind the Blue Ridge mountains on the west side of the park. The blue wave of mountains after dusk was beautiful.
Hiking on Doyles River Trail
There are a ton of hiking trails throughout Shenandoah National Park, and you can access the trailheads from Skyline Drive. Nathan and I decided to hike to Doyles River Falls located at the southern part of the park. It was about 3 miles round-trip and an 850 ft elevation gain. Walking downhill to the falls was easy, but walking back up to the parking lot could be challenging. The trail was very well maintained and there were clear blue/gray signs on the trees along the trail. In autumn when leaves change colors and the weather gets cooler, hiking is very pleasant, but the waterfalls are mostly dry. I was a little disappointed when we reached the falls because it was smaller than I expected and did not have much water left.
Dickey Ridge Visitor Center and Big Meadows
There are two visitor centers in the entire park, Dickey Ridge and Big Meadows. In the morning, Nathan and I visited Dickey Ridge Visitor Center and watched an introduction film about the park. There was a very small exhibit and a gift shop here. It was so foggy in the morning that we couldn't see anything beyond 5 feet from us, so we didn't get to walk around the visitor center.
In the evening, Nathan and I stopped at Big Meadows Visitor Center, but it was closed already, so we didn't get to do or see anything. However, the meadows seemed like a nice place to walk through in the spring when the grass is green...
Overall, we had a great time at Shenandoah National Park. I loved the foliage there and Nathan loved the sunset and the views of the Blue Ridge mountains. We hope to come back here in spring for camping and hiking to waterfalls. :-)