Shenandoah National Park, Virginia

There are over 500 miles of trails in Shenandoah National Park. Below are just a few hikes we did or wanted to do during our weekend trip!
Hawksbill - highest peak in the park at 4,015 feet of elevation. It’s rated moderate on all trails, most likely due to the rising incline, but the trail is well marked and maintained so it was pretty easy. We parked at Upper Hawksbill parking lot, which had lots of spots mid-day. From here the trail was 2.16 miles and took just under an hour. This is a very popular, heavily trafficked hike. Dogs are welcome on a leash.
Stony Man - 1.5 mile loop rated moderate on all trails, took about 46 minutes. This trailhead has a big parking lot and wasn’t too crowded late afternoon on a Friday. It’s a short, easy hike with really beautiful views. Unfortunately, this trail is not dog friendly.
Bearfence Mountain - 1 mile hike rated moderate on all trails, but rock scrambling almost the entire trail. I felt bad for my mom at times because we were climbing up and over large jagged rocks for a big portion of the hike. This trail has 360 degree views at the top. We went mid-day on a Saturday and it wasn’t too crowded. We didn’t have an issue parking, but the lot was small. I highly recommend doing the loop trail rather than in and out so you don’t have to scale down the large rock scrambles. The way down was a walk in the park compared to the way up. Dogs aren’t allowed on this trail, for good reason.
Dark Hollows Falls - 1.77 miles out and back, rated moderate, took about an hour. This trail was easy but it’s a steep decline and incline. It was heavily trafficked and although there is a large parking lot we had to drive around for a little while before finding a spot late Saturday afternoon. This trail is not dog friendly.
Kennedy Peak - Massanutten Mountain trail to Kennedy Peak is a 5.1 mile trail that takes about 2.5 hours to complete and is rated moderate. The Kennedy Peak Loop Trail is about 9.3 miles and takes about 4.5 hours to complete. We attempted this hike from Massanutten, but the parking lot only allowed for 5 cars and the reviews on all trails said your car will get towed if you park illegally, so we waited awhile and then left. The views just from the parking ledge alone were beautiful.
Blackrock Summit - 1.1 mile loop rated easy. We didn’t end up doing this hike due to it being located so far south in the park. Dogs are allowed on this trail on a leash.
Old Rag - This 9.3 mile hike is rated hard on AllTrails and takes about 6 hours to complete (dogs not permitted). The park recently implemented a $1 permit per hiker for this trail that can only be purchased 30 days in advance. If you are thinking about doing this hike, set a reminder on your phone to buy the permit. I purchased permits, but decided that this hike would be too much for my mom so we opted for a bunch of shorter, more moderate hikes so she could rest in between. I definitely want to go back and do this trail!
Miller’s Head - 1.5 miles out and back, rated moderate on all trails and takes just under an hour to complete. The viewpoint is a former fire tower. Dogs are welcome on a leash!
Mary’s Rock - 2.7 miles out and back, rated moderate but was pretty easy and took about 1.5 hours to complete. We parked at Meadow Spring parking lot, which has limited parking. This trail was crowded around 12:30pm on a Sunday. The views at the top were beautiful but it was such a windy day we didn’t enjoy them for long. Dogs are welcome on a leash, but honestly check the wind first because it was brutal for smaller dogs.
Massanutten Storybook Overlook - 10 minute flat walk out to stunning views overlooking Luray. This was a popular spot for families with small children and strollers, along with leashed dogs.
List of NOT dog friendly trails:
Fox Hollow Trail (mile 4.6), Stony Man Trail (mile 41.7), Limberlost Trail (mile 43), Old Rag, Dark Hollows Trail (mile 50.7), Story of the Forest Trail (mile 51), Bearfence Mountain Trail (mile 56.4), and Frazier Discovery Trail (mile 79.5) This is less than 20 miles out of 500 miles total!
Our Airbnb: David & Becky’s Place - We opted for our Airbnb because I didn’t want to make my mom camp. This 3 bed, 1.5 bath was perfect for our cozy hiking weekend. It was located in a quiet neighborhood, less than 20 minutes from the town of Luray and 25-30 minutes to the Thornton Gap entrance of Shenandoah National Park. I would definitely stay here again!
Mathews Arm Campground - Located at mile 22.1 this is the closest campsite to the north Front Royal entrance. Elkwallow Wayside is 2 miles away offering food, supplies, and gas. All campsites are nonelectric with groups sites allowing 7-15 people for $75 and standard campsites maximum of 6 people for $30. Reservations are recommended, but first come first serve basis is welcome too!
Big Meadows Campground - Located at mile 51.2 (centrally located). Tent or RV sites with group campsite options for 7-15 people for a $75 fee or standard campsite for $30, both nonelectric and do require reservations.
Lewis Mountain Campground - Smaller campground located at mile 57.5 just 7 miles from Big Meadows. Nonelectric allowing tents or RV, maximum of 6 people per site for $30 fee. No reservations - first come, first serve basis.
Loft Mountain Campground - Located at mile 79.5 in the southern part of the park. This campsite uses a combo of reservations and first come, first serve with a $30 fee and maximum of 6 people per site.
Dundo Campground - Located at mile 83.7 in the southern part of the park offering group campsites only of 7-20 people for $75. Reservations are highly recommended.
Skyland Lodge - Located at mile 41.7 inside Shenandoah National Park at the highest elevation of 3,680 feet offering traditional rooms, suites, and detached cabins.
Big Meadows Lodge - Located at mile 51 on Skyland Drive in the park also offering a variety of rooms and cabins.
Lewis Mountain Cabins - Rustic cabins located at mile 57 on Skyland Drive.
Luray RV Resort & Campground - my coworker recommended this campground to me. It offers camping, cottages, tent and RV sites. Amenities include an on-site water park, lots of activities for kids and families, and golf cart rentals.
Spottswood Dining Room at Big Meadows Lodge- Offering breakfast, lunch, and dinner (closing in between each) on a first come, first serve basis.
Pollock Dining Room & Mountain Tap Room in Skyland Lodge - located in Shenandoah National Park. We stopped into the Mountain Taproom to grab an appetizer and visit the lodge gift shop. The Pollock dining room offers breakfast, lunch, and dinner, although they take a few hours break in between each meal and do not accept reservations.
Elkwallow Wayside - groceries and camping supplies located at mile 24.1.
Big Meadows Wayside - located at mile 51 on Skyland Drive offering grab and go food, camping and hiking supplies, and gas.
Loft Mountain Wayside - located at mile 79 providing groceries, camping and hiking supplies, along with gasoline.
Mamma Mia - Italian located in Shenandoah, just outside of the Park. This restaurant offers gluten free options along with 10% off for a variety of service jobs. Limited hours on Sundays and closed on Mondays.
Off the Grid - Located on the Thornton River just outside of Shenandoah National Park offering farm fresh breakfast and lunch. Open Friday through Monday.
Speakeasy Bar & Restaurant - located inside of Mimslyn Inn. We ate at the bar here twice and enjoyed it. It’s very casual and the staff is friendly.
West Main Market Beer and Wine Garden - offering speciality meats, cheeses, sandwiches, and soups. Full service beer garden with wine too!
Chop House Bistro - newer farm to table steak house. Highly recommend making a reservation far in advance! Closed on Sundays.
Broad Porch Coffee Co. - very cute and very packed coffee shop on Main Street in Luray.
Watch & Warrant - inspired by the roaring 20s this eclectically decorated restaurant is located in downtown Luray on Main Street. Reservations are recommended, although we walked in as 2 and had no issue getting a table on a Saturday night.
Gathering Grounds Patisserie & Cafe - coffee shop offering traditional breakfast and lunch. Closed on Sundays.
Valley Cork Winery - new wine bar and eatery on Main Street in Luray. Reservations are accepted on a first come first serve basis, but parties over 7 must make a reservation in advance.
Triple Crown BBQ - highly rated, family owned, seasonal bbq stand only open on weekends.
Luray Caverns
Self-guided tour through the largest caverns in the eastern US. This landmark is the most visited caverns in the country and can become very crowded. We went at 10AM on a rainy morning and just beat the crowd. It takes about an hour to walk through the 1.25 miles of caves.
The caverns were discovered in 1878 when Andrew Campbell and Benton Stebbins felt cool air coming out of a quarter sized hole and decided to dig a hole large enough to fit a candle in. They looked beneath the ground surface and discovered a series of caverns and rock formations. This was a really cool experience to walk through and see!
General admission ticket - $34, seniors $32, kids ages 6-12 $17, kids under 6 are free. Reservations aren’t required.
The Car and Carriage Caravan Museum, Toy Town Junction, and Shenandoah Heritage Village are attractions that are also included in the general admission ticket costs.

Shenandoah National Park is located in Virginia just 75 miles outside of Washington D.C. It took my mom and I just under 5 hours when we visited from South Jersey in early October 2023. The park offers over 500 miles of trails, waterfalls, woods, and stunning views.

Skyline Drive, the only public road, stretches 105 miles through the park from the most north entrance to the most south with tons of scenic overlooks along the way. It takes about 3 hours to drive the entire length of Skyline Drive.

The park has 4 entrances: Front Royal (north entrance), Thornton Gap (east of Luray), Swift Run Gap (east of Elkton), and Rockfish Gap (south entrance). There is a $30 entrance fee to get into the park. I recommend purchasing this pass ahead of time because you can get into a separate line. Lines can be pretty long to enter the park.

Once inside the park there is no cell service. I looked up what hikes I wanted to do ahead of time and used a map provided at the park entrance to navigate the park. I used the AllTrails App to navigate the trails we hiked, although they were all clearly marked for the most part. I found that if I pre-saved hikes in the app I was able to use it without cell service.

Shenandoah is one of few national parks that allows leashed pets on most trails. I included a list of trails that are not pet friendly under the hiking tab!

Restaurants, grocery stores, and gas stations are not a dime and dozen in this area. I recommend bringing food with you. If you are camping food storage lockers are provided by campsites.

The weather can vary greatly in the park. On our first day we were hiking in shorts and zip ups, but the next day we were in layers, wool socks, and coats. The temperature is always about 10 degrees cooler inside the park due to the elevation. The summit of many hikes we did were much colder and extremely windy.

My only goal for this weekend was to spend it in nature with my mom hiking all day for three days straight, which Shenandoah National Park was perfect for. There is really not much else to do in the area and everything is a good distance drive away, but the park provides so many amazing hikes and views within one area.

If you aren’t a big hiker, even just driving down Skyline Drive is beautiful and worth it!