Frazier Discovery Trail to Ivy Creek Overlook - Appalachian Trail - Shenandoah National Park

On our sixth day of day hiking the Appalachian Trail (AT) in Shenandoah National Park, we hiked from the Doyles River Trailhead across Skyline Drive from Big Run Overlook to the Ivy Creek Overlook. We split the 6.3 mile hike into two shorter hikes with a 0.7 mile hike down the northern leg of the Frazier Discovery Trail to the Mountain Loft Wayside and another 0.7 mile hike back up to the AT.

The afternoon hike began at the Loft Mountain Wayside on Skyline Drive. After crossing to the east side of the road, we retraced our steps for 0.7 miles up Loft Mountain to reach the AT. We then continued north on the AT for 3.0 miles to the Ivy Creek Overlook on Skyline Drive. This provided us with a 3.7 mile afternoon hike. Our daily total was 6.3 miles on the AT and another 1.4 miles on the Frazier Discovery Trail for a total of 7.7 miles.

Except for crossing Skyline Drive to visit the Loft Mountain Wayside, the entire day's hike was east of Skyline Drive. We hiked in mid-April 2016, just days before the second largest wildfire in Shenandoah National Park history burned over 10,000 acres. The fire caused the closure of part of the AT and Skyline Drive including the segment covered in this post. Most of the fire was west of Skyline Drive.

Topographic map with GPS route

Elevation profile

Off the sidewalk and on the trail

Rocks and roots

More rocks

The Frazier Discovery Trail skirts a large outcrop

Male Eastern Towhee

Approaching the summit

View west from Loft Mountain

Butterfly resting on AT sign post

Back on the AT with numerous vines

View east from the trail

The trail continues along the ridge

Signpost for Ivy Spring to the left

Descending Loft Mountain in open forest

Bracket fungi

Closer to water, the trail enters a mountain laurel thicket

Ivy Creek

Trees blown down across the trail

Crossing Ivy Creek

Looking back at the Ivy Creek crossing

The trail begins to climb immediately after crossing the creek

A small cascade on Ivy Creek

The stone wall along Skyline Drive

Snags can fall at any time

Continuing to climb

Still climbing

Approaching the summit

The 3080 foot summit marks the border of Albemarle, Greene, and Rockingham Counties

View of Trayfoot Mountain from the summit

Large rock cairn

Non-native wild mustard

Shadows lengthen in the late afternoon sun

The trail used to cross Skyline Drive at this location, but now it veers sharply to the right

The trail has been reinforced with rocks on this side hill

Descending a short switchback

Climbing over a rock outcrop

Trail approaching Ivy Creek Overlook

View east from the overlook

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/.