The Big Meadows is where most people should go initially - sunrise, sunsets, deer, occasional bear, bathrooms, and there is LTE and 5G signal now up there. Close to Dark Hollows and a lot of overlooks. Kids can run around and play safely.
Me and my family went there and spent few days driving and hiking along Skyline Drive, beautiful and amazing views! The hike to Stony Man summit is worth it, never to miss👍
Really well made video! It was like the third or fourth result when I typed in Shenandoah National Park. I'll be there at the end of July. Thanks for your tips!
Thanks for the kind feedback, Jacob. I'm glad you liked the video! I'm sure it'll be even nicer when you're there. Everything was just starting to turn green when I went but now that it's summer, it'll be beautiful 👌
Great information and great video!! I have rented some of the PATC Cabins in the park. That is highly recommended as well. Rent a cabin, hike in, spend the night, then more hiking the next day. Good times. And most of the cabins are stocked with cooking essentials so you can cook right over the wood stoves.
Please remember to subscribe! Video Correction: This park is definitely not 300 miles wide! I meant to say 3 miles wide! (average width, since the total park area is 300 square miles)
I grew up going to skyline drive.. I loved big meadows mostly.. my first trip there I was 4 years old.. so your young, they used to have a overflow area and that’s where we camped.. so many bear.. it was super fun a a kid
Nice and creative Videos，I can see A lot of thought has been put into the content and editing of the video， This is really my favorite channel.:) .🌴🌴🌴excellent 👍👌👍👌👍 🌴🌴🌴 🌴🌴🌴 🌴🌴🌴 🌴🌴🌴 Scottsville and Gasburg Virginia 2,020
You should go man .it is so beautiful. I don't remember how much I paid it was 8 years ago . It is golden in side looks like you are in an art museum Live piano music Now I am visiting and knowing everything you can find in NC mountain
To everyone who is reading this, you’re beautiful and an amazing person. Please exercise frequently and eat more fruits/veggies. I wish you all good health, great success, and everlasting happiness!!!!!!!
Nice documentary. Thank you for making a video about this state park in Va. Everyone feels relaxed when they walk through nature, as nature has the perfect law of vibration.
My first time going to Shenandoah was about 40 years ago. My girlfriend and I booked a cabin at Big Meadows Lodge and what an experience. A foggy mist shrouded the lodge and parking area and as we pulled in we surrounded by these old Rolls-Royce sedans from the 20's to the 40's. We saw Silver Ghosts sedans with lanterns on the sides of them. Unbeknownst to us we had booked our stay while a Rolls-Royce convention of old timers were there. We checked into our rustic cabin and lit a fire in the fireplace to warm up. The cabin was built in the 30'S during the great depression and was part of the "Civilian Conversation Corp" to keep young unemployed men working. It was what cabin should be like, simple but cozy. We dined in the lodge which is made of beautiful old American chestnut wood that was destroyed by a blight. In the dining room were elegantly dressed older couples of the Rolls-Royce group. The men were wearing blue blazer jackets with crests on them. They all looked like Alfred the butler from the old batman series. It was surreal. After dinner we went to the tap room and had some white lighting whiskey in mason jars and listened to some old country music. I miss those old times of being able to get away. No cell phone, no phone or T.V. in the cabin. You could just enjoy your surroundings and the person you were with. Doing day hikes ( Old Rag Mountain) and seeing the beautiful mountains and valley's below and then relaxing by a fire. I'm glad for the memories that I had visiting Shenandoah National Park, an American treasure.
We go to Shenandoah National Park every year in the fall and have done for over 25 years. We prefer Loft Mountain for camping has it is less of a parking lot feel. You should try it next time.
Loved the video Mike and Ellen. You're easy to listen to and I look forward to more from you. I live about 45 min from Shenandoah and am there often. I have two young kids so it's hard to do the trails on your list but I Rag Mountain is on our list. Another short, but beautiful hike is Black Rock Summit. About a mile up and it's as easy as it gets in the park with a spectacular pay off. A side note is that on the South end where Skyline drive ends and the Blue Ridge parkway begins there is another fantastic trail called Humpback Rock with a historic little farm at the base. one of my absolute faves for younger families. Thanks again. I subscribed! =)
I've been going to shenandoah national park every year since I was 3 months old. I volunteer every time I go there. Alot of the rangers have seen me grow up.
Hello there, I’m planning a trip to Luray Caverns this month. What path should I take??? Also how long takes? Thank you for your video! Please Keep posting more videos of Virginia.
Make sure to check out some of the other caves. Luray is good, but way commercial Compared to the other caves in the area. Endless Caverns on the other side of the mountain was used as a speak easy during Prohibition. Hope your enjoyed the valley.
I am doing a road trip through virginia, and I want to go along the skyline drive, but I feel like doing the full 105 miles (I believe at 35mph is the speed limit, someone correct me if I'm wrong) is a long way to drive that slow, does anyone have any suggestions on what portion of the skyline drive is the best?
No way! I stopped at that cemetery! It was an amazing hike, and I didn't know there was a cemetery there beforehand, but it really makes you realize that people did live there once upon a time. So does that mean any of your ancestors were forced to leave their homes in the park?
Sadly yes, my family was forced to leave their life in the mountains behind and were forced to move down off the mountain into The Valley. Even though they were forced to leave I am still happy to share those same mountains my family was raised on.
@@derrickwood9749 beatiful story thank you :) blue ridge cabin home one of my favorite songs im out in the kittitiny mountains of nj but would love to visit shanadoah one day
I’ve done Hawksbill like 5 times now at various times of the year.. never gets any easier lol not even going back down because it’s just straight downhill switchbacks very rocky/rooty really easy to lose your footing & fall. But that view is priceless!
Don’t forget to mention it’s $30 for one car one week pass to get on the Skyline Drive. If your into wild edible foods, you can look for morel mushrooms that time of the year you filmed the video. As long as the black locust tree hasn’t bloomed, once it does it’s too late.
That's a good point. I bought the annual national parks pass. Also, I didn't think to look for morels! I grew up in Pennsylvania and we used to look for those every spring!
Mary's Rock, Stoney Man, Bearfence. And not in the park, but west across the valley (through Luray) and up to the top of that ridge is a trailhead that leads up to a peak, maybe 3 to 4 hours round trip.
Lots of very useful information in your nice video. I am considering visiting Shenandoah in the second week of October 2019 and staying in the region for 8/10 days, hoping to find some nice Fall colors and atmosphere. My intention is to be based in Waynesboro VA and from there do day trips to the park. Any recommendations/suggestions? On an average when is the peak of Fall foliage over there? Thnx!
Thanks for the positive feedback! I'm glad you liked this video :) I'm sure you will enjoy the park and now that it's summer, it will be even more beautiful than it was in the video!
Old Rag Summit can be reached from Skyline Drive via Limber Lost Trail. The best way to do Old Rag is up and back down the rock scramble. Why wouldn't you drive the whole Skyline Drive? It's like 3 hours. The restaurants there are great. Turkey Dinner is the best. You should go in summer, cause there is one of the best natural water slides. Luray Caverns is a cool side trip.
Have you seen Black Bears in the Park. when we you use to camp in several of the camp and picnic areas we would see black bears frequently. My parents and I also saw a mountain Lion kitten along one of the Overlooks. there are also three different skunk species we saw in the Park, the Spotted skunk, the Striped skunk and the Hognosed skunk. there are lots of deer, and other wildlife in the Park.
Old Rag Mountain hike - definitely strenuous! You don't have to leave the park to get there. From the Limberlost parking lot on Skyline Drive, hike down the Old Rag Fire Road (5 miles), then climb Old Rag from the western side. Of course, after climbing Old Rag, you'll have to hike up Old Rag Fire Road to return to your car (5 miles on an incline). A couple other notes: 1. Big Meadows campground is crowded and noisy. 2. I prefer Loft Mountain campground - beautiful sunsets from the first-come-first-serve sites and nearby Appalachian Trail. 3. FYI, I arrived at Mathews Arm campground on a Friday evening (May 14, 2021) and grabbed one of the few open sites. By the next morning every camp site in the entire park was taken. So arrive early if you do not have a reservation. Enjoy!
I just saw this video on youtube on my TV and decided to leave a comment here. Great video and well covered! We (family of four) visited this park from Mississauga, Canada in 2008. It definitely sent us back to the Memory Lane. We visited in July and the temperatures were as high as in 90s and on one particular day, it reached 100F. We remember a hike on a trail leading to three waterfalls one after the other.
I hiked Old Rag... This one is the BEST! Intense but super rewarding once you reach the top... videos do not do justice for this challenging beauty. You will definitively be in lots of tight situations. LOVE IT!
I hear there is a restaurant somewhere with one wall size window, where you can enjoy the view while you eat. Can you talk about that in one of your videos? I want to go there, but don't know exactly where that is.
I did old rag this past weekend. It was fun and I did an out and back instead of the loop. Lots of people coming up while I was coming down. I went chasing the sunrise.
Hey man I live in va beach and I'm planning to go here for the first time next month. I'm in really good shape I work out often but have never hiked seriously. Do you or anyone in the comments have tips on things to bring? Thanks!
very nice video. good overview. Hoover Camp on the Rapidan is another good point of interest. Several trails to Old Rag.perhaps easier is one from Berry hollow out of Syria
absolutely you must do Mary’s rock in Shanndoha national park near Thornton gap entrance station lot for real because it’s the longer and steeper hike of the 2 Mary’s rock trails!!!!!
This park can be exhausting, be prepared. Some trails have little ball bearings(rocks) that make it difficult. Beautiful park, old rag and cedar creek canyon are awesome. Cedar creek has a great water slide. I wouldn't suggest doing all these trails in a weekend.
I didn't notice any, but I imagine there are. I'm from Pennsylvania (just 3 hours north) and we have lots of ticks. Some years are better than others though. This is a good year. 2018 was bad and I would worry about ticks every time I went in the woods
Exelente lugar para ir un fin de semana! Fuimos esta pasado fin de smena con mi familia y amigos, hicimos el circuito completo de Old rag. Recomendado 100% !!
My favorite trail in the park is Brown's Gap just south of Loft Mountain. Any hike with three waterfalls is amazing. I found it a little taxing, but you would enjoy it if you actually enjoyed Old Rag.
Wanting to visit but I have never been, my first name is shenandoah also my son. Named after the shenandoah valley. Is there any info. Me and my wife will be coming for our 25 yr anniversary! All help appreciated on lodging and activities.. Thanks from Mississippi
there are 3 campgrounds, and one group camp site...they all have first come options, and they all have reservation options open at various times of the year. During winter the camps are closed, and skyline is closed pretty often as well but is weather dependent.
@ 13:45, what a knight in shining armor. :)) I rewound several times, but never found deer #1, though #2 was quite easy to spot. Maybe I'm blind in 1 eye, and can't see out of the other.
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