Sawmill Run Overlook to Turk Gap - Appalachian Trail - Shenandoah National Park

Due to a forecast of overnight and morning storms, we planned a short afternoon jaunt of just 3.9 miles for our third day of day hiking the Appalachian National Scenic Trail (AT) in Shenandoah National Park. We began at Sawmill Run Overlook and stopped at the Wildcat Ridge parking area. Besides the 3.9 miles on the AT, we hiked 0.1 mile from the trail junction up the Wildcat Ridge trail to the parking area on Skyline Drive for a total hike of 4.0 miles.

The hike from Sawmill Run Overlook to Turk Gap is only 1.6 miles and has an average grade of about 5%. The highest point on this part of the AT is near the junction with the Turk Mountain Trail about ¼ mile from the Turk Gap end of the trail segment. There were several trees down across the trail, but only one was high enough to impede our progress in mid-April 2016.

Topographic map with GPS route

Elevation profile

View from Sawmill Run Overlook

The AT crosses Skyline Drive a few yards north of the overlook

Deceptive descent from the roadside...

...leads to the first of several ascents

First blooms we've seen other than wildflowers

One of several downed trees on this section of the trail

This one was too high to walk over and too low to walk under, so we straddled our way across

Lots of leaf litter in the dense forest of small trees

Another white blaze marks the trail

Moss covered rocks line the trail

Hand-made gravel reduces erosion on this hill

Beautiful day for a hike

This part of the forest has fewer, larger trees

More open forest

Post marks the junction with the Turk Mountain Trail to the left

A level, wide, dry dirt surface makes a great trail

Smaller trees abound as we descend to the gap

The trail climbs up to the road at Turk Gap

A Shenandoah National Park entry fee of $20 per vehicle, $15 per motorcycle or $10 per person is valid for seven consecutive days. Other fee payment options include the America the Beautiful - National Parks and Federal Recreational Lands passes including the Annual Pass ($80), Senior Pass ($10 for lifetime), Access Pass (free with documented disability) and Military Annual Pass (free for active duty personnel).

The Shenandoah National Park website is https://www.nps.gov/shen/index.htm.

The Appalachian National Scenic Trail website is https://www.nps.gov/appa/index.htm.
The Appalachian Trail Conservancy website is http://www.appalachiantrail.org/.