Back in 2020 when the world had been shut down for a while, we found ourselves going stir crazy and looking for something to do to get away from home for a few days. We love being outside so we were happy to look for some time outdoors within driving distance. Fortunately, we live only a few hours drive from Shenandoah National Park in Virginia, and we were thrilled to find available lodging in the park at the last minute.

We absolutely fell in love with Shenandoah! Maybe part of it was that we were just so excited to be away from home on a vacation during a crazy time, but really there’s so much to love here. Shenandoah is a smaller park, so you could easily “see” the whole park in one day, but if you have a day or two, there are some gorgeous hiking trails to explore. The vibe is very relaxed and peaceful, and there are stunning views that anyone can see even if you aren’t able to do any hiking at all.

When we visited Shenandoah, our kids were 11 and 13. We went in October when our kids had a break from school, and the weather was perfect for a long hike. One note about Shenandoah is that it is dog friendly (not all parks are). We opted not to bring our beloved pup with us though since we knew we were going to do a long and strenuous hike (her max is about 5 miles).

General Info

Shenandoah basically has one long road, Skyline Drive, that runs north to south through the park. If you didn’t want to hike, you could drive this road the entire length to view the park. There are pullout overlook spots every few miles on Skyline Drive, and there is a visitor center near both the north and the south entrances to the park. Unless you have a National Park Pass, you will need to pay an entrance fee in order to drive on Skyline Drive.

Since we were within driving distance, we drove our car from home and brought a cooler with food and snacks for most of our trip. There are several cities nearby, so it would be simple to fly into an airport and rent a car if you are visiting from further away. (For example, the drive time from Washington, DC is about 1 hour and 20 minutes.)

Itinerary

Day One

• We left home to drove to Shenandoah. On our way, we stopped at Natural Bridge State Park in Virginia. Admission was $30 for our family. We did the hike that goes under the Natural Bridge to a waterfall (easy, family friendly hike). We looked around in the visitor center, and then we ate a picnic lunch in the parking lot with the food we packed in our cooler. All together, our visit here was from about 11:30am-2:00pm.
• From here, it was an hour drive to the southern park entrance of Shenandoah National Park (Rockfish Gap entrance).
• We entered the park and drove along Skyline Drive to our lodge which was roughly about halfway through the park. This part of the drive took another hour.
• Note: There are a couple of lodges as well as cabins and camping areas available. During our trip, we stayed at Skyland Lodge. There is a gift shop, common area, and restaurant here. Due to covid restrictions during our visit, the restaurant was serving carry out only food which we were able to take back to our room to eat.
• We wanted to get in a quick hike before it got too dark, so we hiked Dark Hollow Falls which was about 2 miles out and back and close by to the Skyland Lodge area. This is a beautiful hike with a waterfall. There is some elevation change, but I would consider this a family friendly hike if you are looking for a shorter hike.
• After our hike, we checked into our cabin at Skyland and got some carry out dinner to eat in our room.

Day Two

• We loaded up our backpacks with food and water for the day. (See my tips about our favorite bags for the kids here.) Everyone made fun of me for packing so much food, but at the end of the day I think we had eaten pretty much everything in our bag since our hike ended up being a good bit longer than planned. Hot tip: Always be prepared and trust your gut on how many snacks you will need for a long hike with kids and teens!
• We drove and parked at the Hawksbill Gap parking area about 9am and walked to the trail head for the Cedar Run Whiteoak Canyon Circuit. We decided to do the hike counterclockwise which was downhill into the canyon and the uphill for the second part.
• It was supposed to be about an 8 mile loop but ended up being closer to 10 miles because one of the connector links was damaged and had a detour. Our kids handled the extra challenge well (thanks to extra snacks in the bag!). The last couple of miles out were uninteresting so that part got a little long. Had we known, we probably would have hiked this in reverse.
• Note that this hike is very challenging, but also very rewarding. There were about 7 waterfalls including 2 really big ones. The trail is rated as ‘very strenuous’ with about 2700 feet in elevation change. We climbed over many rocky areas and crossed the river 3 times without a bridge (so fun!). 
• We ate a packed lunch along the trail, and we finished the hike about 3:45pm. After that, we went to the Big Meadows park station and gift shop to pick up souvenirs and some ice cream.
• Note: I would definitely recommend good waterproof hiking shoes or boots for this hike since you are covering a lot of rocky and wet terrain. I would also recommend a hiking pole like this one which can really help you keep your balance over uneven terrain, especially when your legs are getting tired.

Day Three

• We packed and checked out of the lodge about 9am.
• We spent about an hour on hike to Miller’s Head Observation Point which was a 1.6 mile total out and back with a scenic overlook view. 
• We drive the rest of the way along Skyline Drive to the north entrance and ate lunch at the visitor center picnic tables before leaving the park.

General Notes

• One of the most popular hikes to do at Shenandoah is the Old Rag Circuit which is very strenuous and takes 7-8 hours to complete. We weren’t sure that our kids were up for this challenge yet at the time of our visit, but now that they are older it is definitely on our bucket list for our next Shenandoah visit!
• While some activities were not open during our visit, there are many other things to do in Shenandoah such as horseback riding and rock climbing as well.
• We have family that lives in Virginia, so we opted to stop and visit them on our drive back home. However, there are many other beautiful places and historical sites to visit nearby if you are making this part of a larger vacation.

Happy Hiking, friends! Check out my favorite tips for visiting National Parks here!

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