We continued our mid-October 2020 trip to Shenandoah National Park by hiking the segment of the Appalachian Trail from Skyland north to Stony Man Mountain Overlook, also known as Hughes River Gap. On this weekday, we found plenty of parking at the Skyland Upper Loop (North). This paved lot has spaces for around forty vehicles and is located on the northern end of Skyland Upper Loop about one hundred yards off of Skyline Drive.
According to the Appalachian Trail Thru-Hikers' Companion, this is a 2.0-mile hike. However, we followed the posted detour using the Stony Man Horse Trail that made the route a bit shorter at 1.93 miles as noted by my Garmin GPS receiver. The trail climbs 160 feet in the first 0.4 miles (7.5% grade), passing the Stony Man Summit Trail at about one-third mile. From there, the trail descends 690 feet in the remaining 1.5 miles yielding an average negative grade of 8.7%.
At approximately one mile, the trail emerges from the forest atop the cliffs of Little Stony Man and provides some of the most expansive views of the Shenandoah Valley and Skyline Drive that we have experienced. It is extremely obvious why this is one of the most suggested segments of the trail to hike in the park. It doesn't hurt that the rainwater pool atop the cliffs is featured on the 2014 Shenandoah National Park quarter-dollar.
Descending from Little Stony Man, the trail intersects with the Passamaquoddy Trail in a switchback at 1.2 miles and passes the small Little Stony Man Parking at 1.6 miles. The Stony Man Mountain Overlook / Hughes River Gap parking area is one of the largest in the park apart from those at Big Meadows and Skyland.
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| Topographic map with GPS route |
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| Elevation profile |
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| Paved sidewalk from the parking lot to the detour trail |
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| The horse trail has seen heavy use over the years |
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| Open forest and gentle grade |
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| Typical horse trail conditions |
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| Stony Man horse trail turns left |
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| End of the detour |
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Four-way trail junction
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Stony Man summit trail to the left
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Northbound AT ahead
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| Southbound AT before the detour to the right |
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| White blaze |
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| Sidehill hiking |
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| Typical trail conditions |
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| Crooked tree |
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| The trail narrows to single track |
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| Part of the USGS Amphibian Research and Monitoring Initiative |
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| Continued sidehill hiking |
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STAY ON TRAIL to protect the fragile ecosystem
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| Trail closes in... |
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| ...and then provides this view of the Shenandoah Valley |
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| End of the habitat restriction |
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| Looking back toward Stony Man summit |
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| Another view of the valley |
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| One more view of the Shenandoah Valley |
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| Rainwater pool at Little Stony Man cliffs |
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| Another view |
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| Skyline Drive |
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| Beginning the switchbacks down the mountain |
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| Continuing down the mountain |
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| Still descending |
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| Double blaze at the... |
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Passamaquoddy Trail junction
(continue downhill to stay on the AT) |
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| Lots of loose rocks on the trail |
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| Typical trail conditions |
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| Passing through a gap in the rocks |
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| Social trails abound at the Little Stony Man Parking area |
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| Wider trail |
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| Side slope requires a retaining wall |
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| Boulder field |
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| Open spaces and an organic tunnel |
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| Junction with Stony Man Overlook access trail |
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| Access trail to the parking lot |
A Shenandoah National Park entry fee of $30 per vehicle, $25 per motorcycle, or $15 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 ($80 for a lifetime), Access Pass (free with a documented disability), and Military Annual Pass (free for active-duty personnel). Also available is a Shenandoah Annual Pass for $55.
