Charlottesville, Virginia

Starting at the Upper Crabtree Falls Parking area, continue up the "road" on Shoe Creek Trail for half a mile until you come to the intersection of the Appalachian Trail. That will be the steepest part of the hike. Look for two rocks on either side of the trail with white blazes on them. Take a l...

The trailhead has a small parking area at mile marker 46.7 on Skyline Drive, just past the Old Rag overlook (on the opposite side of the road) if you're driving south. The hike is a 2-mile out-and-back that takes you right to the summit. The first ~2/3 of it is relatively flat and very easy walk...

There are two sections that you can fish on the Robinson River. The first section is about 15 minutes away from the trailhead of White Oak Canyon. The river is on the right side of the road and you can see where it has bee stocked from the white diamonds on the trees on the side of the road. This...

The Spitler Knoll is one of 72 overlooks for people to enjoy as they travel through Shenandoah National Park along Skyline Drive.  Skyline Drive is the road that winds through the heart of Shenandoah National Park, starting at Front Royal in the north and ending at Rockfish Gap in the south. This...

Cedar Run Falls is located in the central district of Shenandoah National Park.  This is a pretty waterfall that flows into a deep swimming hole.  There are two ways to get to the Cedar Run Waterfall: from the top of the mountain off of Skyline Drive and from the bottom of the mountain off of Wea...

This route combines Cedar Run Falls and White Oak Canyon Trail (one of the more popular hikes in SNP, with separate adventures detailing those hikes). Parking is easy, but gets very crowded due to the popularity of White Oak Canyon (WOC). When starting from the parking area/Shenandoah ranger stat...

The hike is part of the George Washington National Forest, and can easily be combined with nearby Crabtree Falls (300ft cascading waterfall with a hike to the top). The entire trip is 5.7 miles, and there are nice campsites at the base of the summit (no water source) if you want to add on this pr...

As stated, the campsites are free. They do not require reservations or permits and are on a first come, first served basis. Regardless of which direction you're coming from, you will be traveling on Crabtree Falls Highway until reaching Meadows Lane. This is a gravel access road that requires 4WD...

Saint Mary's Wilderness is an out-and-back trail that takes you by a waterfall located near Vesuvius, Virginia.

Saint Mary's Wilderness is one of Virginia's largest designated wilderness areas and is an old iron ore mining area. There are two ways to get to Saint Mary's Falls and this Blue Ridge adventure will start you off at the parking area off Saint Mary's Road.  Once on Saint Mary's Road, you will dr...

A hike to the summit of Hawksbill Mountain will not only put you at the highest point in Shenandoah National Park (4050'), but you'll have a 270 degree view perfect for a sunset. This moderate hike is located at MP 45.6 on the Skyline Drive in Shenandoah National Park, so you'll have to pay a $2...

This is one of 2 trails that will take you to the summit of Hawksbill Mountain. The other is the Upper Hawksbill Trail (which I also wrote an adventure about!). This trail is a combination of the Lower Hawksbill Trail, the AT, and the Salamander Trail. The parking are area for this hike is at mi...

Robertson Mountain is often overshadowed by the nearby Old Rag Mountain, but standing 5 feet taller than Old Rag, this hike offers seclusion and gorgeous views to the south.  Starting from the Limberlost Trailhead parking lot at MP 43 on the Skyline Drive, take the chained off Old Rag Fire Road. ...

The Limberlost Trail is a loop trail within Shenandoah National Park. It is classified as 'accessible' as the trail is flat and has features that would help those in a wheelchair or with other needs access the trail (boardwalk, bridge, benches).  There is little-to-no elevation change and the pat...

Between mile 42 and 43 of Skyline Drive in Shenandoah National Park is the trailhead for WhiteOak Canyon. Begin at the trailhead from the parking lot and cross the Limberlost Trail in .3 miles. Continue on and you will cross your first footbridge shortly. After another mile you will cross the s...

The round trip is a total of 6.7 miles (10.8 km) from the Skyline Drive parking lot to the Whiteoak Canyon Trailhead parking lot (mile 42.6) to the final waterfall of the lower three. The elevation is moderate with a 900-foot drop to the upper falls, but an additional 1,100 feet to the lower fall...