Shenandoah National Park
South District

Mile 65.7 Swift Run Gap serves as a major entrance point to the park, for here U.S. 33 crosses the Blue Ridge. Park rangers at the entrance station can answer your questions and give other assistance.

Mile 67.2 Swift Run Overlook provides an information bulletin board for traveler on park programs, services, and facilities.

Mile 69.3 Bacon Hollow Overlook offers a view of the Piedmont to the east and Flattop to the south.

Mile 73.2 Simmons Gap Ranger Station personnel are responsible for the southern portion of the park. Stop if you need assistance from the rangers.

South District: Rockytop to Rockfish Gap

Mile 78.2 Rockytop Overlook provides a good view of the wild canyon country of the Big Run watershed.

Mile 79.5 Loft Mountain campground has both tent and trailer sites, a trailer sewage disposal station, service station, wayside facility with a camp store, gift shop, picnic ground, showers, laundry, ice, firewood, a self- guiding nature trail, and conducted hikes and campfire programs in the summer.

Mile 81.1 Doyles River Trail takes you to the upper falls, 2.7 miles round trip.

Mile 83.7 Dundo Group Camp, the site of a former CCC camp, is restricted to organized groups on a reservation basis.

Mile 84.1 Jones Run is a good place to park for a rewarding hike of 3.6 miles, round trip, to the 42-foot Jones Run Falls. The reward: mosses and flowering plants growing on the water-sprayed cliff.

Mile 84.8 Blackrock Parking is the start of a 1-mile round trip hike to Blackrock and outstanding views.

Mile 94.1 Turk Mountain, a very easy, very short hike just off the road. Enjoy amazing views from the summit of Turk Mountain, Shenandoah's southernmost peak.

Mile 98.9 Calf Mountain Overlook provides a spectacular 300-degree view.

Mile 104.6 Rockfish (South) Entrance Station is staffed by the Park Service.

Mile 105.4 Rockfish Gap starts or ends Skyline Drive, depending on which way you are heading. The Drive runs south directly into Blue Ridge Parkway, also administered by the National Park Service. The Humpback Rocks Visitor Center is 5 miles south. Two major east-west highways, U.S. 250 and I-64, cross the mountains here. Travel facilities are numerous in the Waynesboro and Charlottesville areas.

Five Best Overlooks from Skyline Drive

Skyline Drive extends for 105 miles through Shenandoah Park. It is the northerly extension of the Blue Ridge Parkway, which connects the Shenandoah to Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Nonstop drivers can cruise the whole of Skyline Drive in three hours, but they won't get anything but a glance from their cars. The are many overlooks, picnic areas and waysides, so stop, look and listen. Skyline Drive is marked by posts giving the exact mileage of where you are. Use these posts to find overlooks, which are also signed. Picking the five best overlooks along the parkway is challenging and sure to spark spirited discussions of each person's favorites. Here are the five I believe to be the best. Take Skyline Drive for yourself and see if you agree.

Range View Overlook

This overlook, at mile 17.1, offers a view down the length of the Blue Ridge to Stony Man Mountain. Looking south from 2,810 feet, the viewpoint stretches from Jenkins Mountains to Gimlet Ridge, Massanutten Mountain and the Alleghenies beyond.

Hogback Overlook

I like this overlook because it is the longest in the park. You can't take it all in without getting out of your car or driving a bit to the other end of the vista. From here, at milepost 20.8, you can see the Shenandoah River below, the two ridges of Massanutten Mountain and the Alleghenies. In the foreground is the valley of Overall Run, Mathews Arm and Gimlet Ridge.

Spitler Knoll Overlook

Here, Skyline Drive curves, and the overlook, at milepost 48.1, curves along with it. Page Valley and the Shenandoah River lie below. The small town in the Page Valley is Stanley. Blackrock Mountain is near to the left. Massanutten is the long, nearly level ridge across Page Valley.

Big Run Overlook

The valley of Big Run is one of the park's most scenic. From here, at milepost 81.2, the vista opens into the depths of the park's largest stream. On one side of Big Run is Rockytop Ridge and the other side stands Rocky Mountain and Brown Mountain. On a clear day the quartz outcrops on Rocky Mountain are visible. Brown Mountain Overlook is visible in the foreground.

Crimora Lake Overlook

Crimora Lake forms the centerpiece of this expansive view. It is framed by Turk Mountain to the left and Rocks Mountain to the right. From 2,985 feet, here at milepost 92.6, you can see the strewn rock slopes of Rocks Mountain. Also in the picture is Wildcat Mountain. Crimora Lake is on the eastern edge of the Shenandoah Valley. The lake is a mining relic. This area had more manganese extracted from it than any other mine in America.

Day and Overnight Hikes in Shenandoah National Park is among the 13 hiking, camping and paddling books written by Johnny Molloy. Among them are The Mount Rogers National Recreation Area Handbook and A Paddler's Guide to Everglades National Park.

Hiking and Backpacking in The Shenandoah Valley

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