When I was a child around 9 years old, I remember my father taking the family on an overnight hike on the Appalachian trail in the Shenandoah Mountains. There was me, my mom, and my two brothers (7 and 3). I remember liking the hike that day, even though I had to carry a small pack. I thought it was magical, including having a deer crossed the trail just ahead of me and I know this trip spurred a love of hiking that I have to this day. The only memory I have of the overnight was waking up in a tent next to my mom, hearing growls and rummaging. I asked my mom what was going on, and calmly she said, “Shhh honey, go back to sleep.” Well, it turns out a bear visited our little campsite looking for food and the next night we were off the trail and in a proper campground. As a grown-up I feel like it was a bit crazy to take three young kids and your (very reluctant city) wife trail camping, hah hah, but props to dad for trying it.
Because of these memories, I’ve wanted to visit Shenandoah for quite a while and I finally had the time to do it. There was no way my husband was going to go trail hiking and camping, so here’s my luxurious approach. We drove the Northern half of Skyline Drive and stayed at one of the resorts in Shenandoah. Very civilized. 😉
Driving Skyline Drive
We arrived at the North Entrance of Skyline Drive in the late afternoon in the Fall. It costs $30 per car for a seven day standard pass. If you buy it online, then you’ll skip to the middle empty lanes and can avoid waiting. If you plan on visiting more than one National Park this year, look into the America the Beautiful pass to see if that works out cheaper for you.
The overlooks were crowded with plenty of cars, and you can easily tell which overlooks have a better view by the number of people stopping at them. Even with the number of cars at the overlooks, you can see by these photos that it still appears like we’re alone. The visitors mostly stay behind the walls, and you can get some nice photos and enjoy the view. Pulling into and out of the overlooks can be stressful but just take your time. The speed limit is 35 miles per hour and mostly the drivers respect that.
On this trip, we drove about half of Skyline Drive, starting at the North Entrance Station and driving to Skyland Resort (mile 41), visiting several overlooks in-between. Then after our overnight stay, we continued South exiting at the Swift Run Entrance at Route 33, stopping at more overlooks. We headed out around 10:00 am and the overlooks were deserted, so if you can arrange to arrive earlier in the day it may be less crowded all around the park. But I’m not sure if the emptiness was because of the time of day or that we were already in the middle of Skyline Drive.
Here’s a link to the Shenandoah map, if you want to take a look where you may want to go before you visit, and below are my photos from various overlooks. As you can see the higher the elevation the more colors there is in the foliage.
Where to Stay on Skyline Drive, Virginia
Originally, I wanted to stay at Big Meadows Lodge, but the type of room I wanted wasn’t available. Instead, I decided to book us into the Skyland Resort, located on mile 41 of Skyland Drive, and chose a deluxe room with a mountain view. This is the view from our room and it was beautiful.
Skyland Resort is considered a 2-star hotel. The room was clean and spacious, but people walk right in-front of your window, as they are going back and forth to their room. We were booked into room 11, rooms 8-14 are located on this level. Here’s a photo to show you what I mean:
A plus is that we were conveniently located near the restaurant, tavern and gift shop. So this worked well for my husband, who doesn’t enjoy walking a lot. If that doesn’t appeal to you, then I would look into their cabins or the Massanutten Lodge, the photo shows below that it’s a lot more private. (I didn’t take photos of the cabins.)
Here’s a link to the Skyland Resort website to explore the room types and all the stay options.
Even though it was a bit colder then I expected, I took a walk around the Skyland Resort grounds. We were here mid-October and the trees were turning color at higher elevations. Skyland Resort is the highest elevation lodge you can stay at in Shenandoah. It was easy enough to feel you were the only one in the area if you walk less than 1/4 mile away from the restaurant and main lodge building.
Here’s a few pics from my walk.
I definitely plan to visit again and stay longer next time perhaps checking out Big Meadows Lodge. I may consider a little earlier in October. The day before the temperature was in the 70s, but it was closer to 50s during our stay. Which would have been fine if I packed warmer clothes. (The cold snap wasn’t on my radar.)
Helpful Links
- Explore Shenandoah
- Skyland Resort – book through Expedia
- Skyland Resort – official website
- Big Meadows Lodge – book through Expedia
- Big Meadows Lodge – official website
- Skyline Drive History
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