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Tuesday, February 2, 2021

Skyland Upper Loop (North) to Stony Man Mountain Overlook - Appalachian Trail - Shenandoah National Park

 
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.

Topographic map with GPS route

Elevation profile

Paved sidewalk from the parking lot to the detour trail

The horse trail has seen heavy use over the years

Open forest and gentle grade

Typical horse trail conditions

Stony Man horse trail turns left

End of the detour

Four-way trail junction

Stony Man summit trail to the left

Northbound AT ahead

Southbound AT before the detour to the right

White blaze

Sidehill hiking

Typical trail conditions

Crooked tree

The trail narrows to single track

Part of the USGS Amphibian Research and Monitoring Initiative

Continued sidehill hiking

STAY ON TRAIL to protect the fragile ecosystem

Trail closes in...

...and then provides this view of the Shenandoah Valley

End of the habitat restriction

Looking back toward Stony Man summit

Another view of the valley

One more view of the Shenandoah Valley

Rainwater pool at Little Stony Man cliffs

Another view

Skyline Drive

Beginning the switchbacks down the mountain

Continuing down the mountain

Still descending

Double blaze at the...

Passamaquoddy Trail junction
(continue downhill to stay on the AT)

Lots of loose rocks on the trail

Typical trail conditions

Passing through a gap in the rocks

Social trails abound at the Little Stony Man Parking area

Wider trail

Side slope requires a retaining wall

Boulder field

Open spaces and an organic tunnel

Junction with Stony Man Overlook access trail

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. 

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 https://www.appalachiantrail.org/.

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