Shenandoah Hiking

by Thomas Wallace 9:17PM April 9, 2007   1 Comment »

Shenandoah Hiking

A whopping 112 trails crisscross more than 500 miles of footpaths in Shenandoah. The park’s most famous trail is the Appalachian Trail, and day-hiking a few miles of the Maine-to-Georgia corridor’s 2,174 miles is a quick, easy thrill, thanks to Skyline Drive’s proximity, which runs the length of the park. Try the Stony Man and Big Meadows trails for particularly choice terrain. Backcountry fans along the trail also can crash at one of the Potomac Appalachian Trail Club’s PATC cabins, set up across the park.

Many of Shenandoah’s hikes are moderately easy, but the park has a good chunk of challenging routes, too. Plenty of short spur trails lead from the roadside pullouts, though popular trailheads crowd with cars early on the weekend. Traces (easy, 1.7 miles, mm 22.2) loops along the remnants of an old rural settlement before entering an old red oak forest; the trail circles the Matthews Arm Campground.

Stony Man Nature Trail (easy, 1.5 miles, mm 41.7), a self-guided nature trail, follows an Appalachian Trail segment to the second highest peak in the park. White Oak Canyon (moderate-difficult, 7.3 miles, mm 42.6) draws raves for its steep descent into a spectacular gorge filled with big boulders, swimming holes, and a series of six waterfalls ranging from 35 to 85 feet. The hike down is exhilarating; the return can be exhausting.

Nearby, Hawksbill Summit (moderate, 1.7 miles, mm 45.6) rises 1,500 vertical feet to the park’s highest point, at 4,049 feet, where you’ll get 360-degree views of the valley perfect for boosting your spirits and blowing your mind. Watch your footing on the slippery Dark Hollow Falls (moderate, 1.5 miles, mm 50.7) trail, which pays off with spectacular views of a 70-foot waterfall.