Skyline Drive
A Visit to Shenandoah Park
| Departure: | Front Royal, Virginia |
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| Destination: | Waynesboro, Virginia |
| Time to allow: | 2 days |
This scenic drive includes the best outlooks and activities offered along the Skyline.
Day 1
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Start: Front Royal
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Stop 1: Dickey Ridge
Directions from previous place: Head south down S Royal Ave. and turn southeast onto Skyline Drive. The visitor center is 4 miles from the entrance to Shenandoah National Park.
Distance from Previous Site: 4.9 miles / 7.8 km Travel Time from Previous Site: 10 minutes Suggested Time at This Site: 1 hour Dickey Ridge is a popular first stop for visitors driving south along Skyline Drive from the north entrance. The visitor center has a staffed information desk to answer visitor questions. There are new exhibits and a film which introduce the visitor to the many opportunities for recreation and education in the park. From the visitor center you have views to the east and west and get a preview of the drive experience. Nearby is a picnic area where visitors can enjoy a rest.
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Stop 2: White Oak Canyon
Directions from previous place: Head south from the visitor center along Skyline Drive to the White Oak Canyon parking lot.
Distance from Previous Site: 38 miles / 60.8 km Travel Time from Previous Site: 1 hour Suggested Time at This Site: 4 hours A guide to the park characterizes White Oak Canyon as a "scenic gem and a place of wild beauty - a shady place of great boulders under tall hemlocks, of cascades and pools and sheer rock walls, and a steep gorge with six waterfalls." You have to get out of your car and hike to enjoy this spectacular setting which is one of the park's most visited features.
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Stop 3: Limberlost Trail
Directions from previous place: Head south to the Limberlost Trail parking lot.
Distance from Previous Site: 0.4 miles / 0.6 km Travel Time from Previous Site: 5 minutes Suggested Time at This Site: 30 minutes The Limberlost Trail is the park's only accessible trail, with a crushed greenstone walkway, wooden boardwalk, a bridge and many benches. The trail was originally laid out to permit visitors to view beautiful stands of hemlocks. Unfortunately an invasive foreign pest, the hemlock woolly adelgid, has had devastating effects on the hemlocks. The Limberlost Trail now serves as an example of the consequences of this particular invasive species and the regeneration of a forest. June is the best time to view the impressive heights of the mountain laurel.
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Overnight Point: Skyland
Directions from previous place: From the White Oak parking lot there is a short trail that leads west to the resort.
Distance from Previous Site: 1 miles / 1.6 km Travel Time from Previous Site: 5 minutes The Skyland Resort, much older than the park, played a role in its establishment. It was developed by George Freeman Pollock a colorful character who induced a group of well-to-do city people to build vacation homes in this area, now part of the park. Pollack joined with a group of others who actively promoted the establishment of a national park in the southern Appalachian highlands. One of the original buildings, the Massanutten Lodge, was restored in 2004.
Total Distance Traveled in Day 1: 44.3 miles / 70.9 km
Day 2
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Stop 1: Big Meadows
Directions from previous place: Go south from the White Oak parking lot on Skyline Drive to the Harry F. Byrd, Sr. Visitor Center.
Distance from Previous Site: 7.37 miles / 11.8 km Travel Time from Previous Site: 13 minutes Suggested Time at This Site: 1 hour The Harry F. Byrd, Sr. Visitor Center at Big Meadows is a must stop. Explore the highly interactive exhibits at the center that relate the park's history, and enjoy a magnificent view of Big Meadows from the balcony. Stroll through the meadow and view a variety of birds and other wildlife that frequent the area.
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Stop 2: Grand Caverns
Directions from previous place: Head south on Skyline Drive and turn west on US-33. Turn south on East Side Highway/US-340. Turn west on 2nd Street then south on Caverns Boulevard. Turn west on Grand Caverns Drive and follow it to the entrance to the Grand Caverns.
Distance from Previous Site: 37.3 miles / 59.7 km Travel Time from Previous Site: 58 minutes Suggested Time at This Site: 1 hour 30 minutes While you are in the area, take a sidetrip outside Shenandoah National Park to visit the Grand Caverns. The Grand Caverns have been open continually since 1806, without even the Civil War stopping business. Visited by both Confederate and Union soldiers during the "Valley Campaign" of 1862, rumors say that even Thomas Jefferson took a peek at the majestic caverns.
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End: Waynesboro
Directions from previous place: Head east on Grand Caverns Drive. Continue south on Caverns Boulevard, then turn east onto 2nd street. Turn south at East Side Highway/US-340. Turn west at E Main Street/US-250/US-340. Turn left at S Wayne Avenue to arrive in Waynesboro.
Distance from Previous Site: 15.7 miles / 25.1 km Travel Time from Previous Site: 27 minutes Spend the afternoon in downtown Waynesboro. The pedestrian-friendly environment is home to businesses like specialty and service providers, museums, arts and cultural centers, unique restaurants and lodging opportunities. The South River runs through downtown, one of only two urban fisheries in the State.
