Skyline Drive in the North District - Shenandoah National Park

Leaving the Central District of Shenandoah National Park, we continued north on Skyline Drive through the North District on our October 2021 trip to Cape Cod National Seashore. There aren't as many overlooks nor as many eye-catching views in the North District, but the overall atmosphere of the park is still one of the best in the park system.

Thornton Hollow Overlook

Jeremy's Run Overlook

Rattlesnake Point Overlook

Range View Overlook

Hogwallow Flats Overlook

Indian Run Overlook

View from Dickey Ridge Visitor Center

An entry fee of $30 per vehicle, $25 per motorcycle, or $15 per person is valid for seven consecutive days at Shenandoah National Park. 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 National Park Annual Park Pass for $55.

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

Skyline Drive in the Central District - Shenandoah National Park

On the next morning of our October 2021 trip, Skyline Drive in Shenandoah National Park drew us back to the ridgeline as it was above the fog enveloping the valleys to the west of the park. We drove north through the Central District of the park and stopped at nearly every overlook along the route from Swift Run Gap to Thornton Gap. The fog in the valleys west of the park was mesmerizing.

Hensley Hollow Overlook

South River Overlook

Bald Face Mountain Overlook

The Oaks Overlook

The Point Overlook

Hazeltop Ridge Overlook

Naked Creek Overlook

Tanners Ridge Overlook

Big Meadows

Fishers Gap Overlook

Franklin Cliffs Overlook

Spitler Knoll Overlook

Old Rag View Overlook

Timber Hollow Overlook

Thorofare Mountain Overlook

Hemlock Springs Overlook

Pinnacles Overlook

Buck Hollow Overlook

An entry fee of $30 per vehicle, $25 per motorcycle, or $15 per person is valid for seven consecutive days at Shenandoah National Park. 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 National Park Annual Park Pass for $55.

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

Sunset along Skyline Drive in the South District - Shenandoah National Park

When we planned an October 2021 trip to Cape Cod National Seashore, we deliberately set aside time on two different days to drive through Shenandoah National Park on Skyline Drive instead of staying on the Interstate. The first evening, we arrived a bit late to see the entire Southern District in daylight but saw a beautiful sunset from various lookouts near the southern end of the park.

McCormick Gap Overlook

Sawmill Ridge Overlook

Sawmill Run Overlook

Turk Mountain Overlook

An entry fee of $30 per vehicle, $25 per motorcycle, or $15 per person is valid for seven consecutive days at Shenandoah National Park. 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 National Park Annual Park Pass for $55.

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

More of Swift Run Gap to Thornton Gap - Skyline Drive - Shenandoah National Park

We concluded our mid-October 2020 trip to Shenandoah National Park with a few random images from on or near Skyline Drive in the Central District of the park.

Between the cloud layers at Skyland Resort

Timber Hollow Overlook

Thorofare Mountain Overlook

Jewell Hollow Overlook

Sunset at Skyland Resort

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.

Pinnacles Picnic Grounds (North) to Jewell Hollow Overlook - Appalachian Trail - Shenandoah National Park

After the short jaunt between Appalachian Trail trailheads at Pinnacles Picnic Grounds, we continued our mid-October 2020 trip to Shenandoah National Park with another short hike from the north end of Pinnacles Picnic Grounds to Jewell Hollow Overlook. While the sign states the segment is 0.3 miles, my Garmin GPS receiver showed the distance to be closer to ¼ mile. The trail elevation is fairly level with a dip and climb of less than 20 feet in the first 0.2 miles before descending 50 feet in the last 100 yards.

Topographic map with GPS route

Elevation profile

The trail is somewhere in the mowed grass

Typical trail conditions

Open forest

Approaching a viewpoint atop a cliff

Fall colors and the Shenandoah Valley

The trail skirts some boulders atop the cliff

Still open forest

Starting the descent

Marker for the access trail

The AT continues on to the north

Shenandoah Valley from Jewell Hollow Overlook

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/.