Shortly after passing Hawksbill, a spur trail leads. The trail skirts around the western side of Hawksbill Mountain – Shenandoah’s tallest. Below: The view of the valley from the front porch of the Rock Spring Cabin We checked out the journal in the hut and found entries from the thru-hikers we met a couple weeks ago Although we didn’t see any fawns on the hike, we saw a few on the ride back to pick up our second car.
We took the short spur trail off the Appalachian Trail that leads to the Rock Spring Hut and the Rock Spring Cabin. The best of Shenandoah is off the road, and so many people miss that. I always wonder how many people visit the park and never leave the scenic byway. Most of them never even notice us hiking below. Uphill from the trail, you can see families taking in park scenery from the comfort of their cars. Occasionally, the trail passes beneath a scenic overlook on Skyline Drive. The vegetation along the trail is beautiful – alternating between lush expanses of fern, thick stands of mountain laurel and majestic groves of trees. Some sections are smooth dirt, others are jagged and rocky. The terrain along the Appalachian Trail is varied and diverse. The trail passes the Skyland Stables and descends into the woods. No such luck.Īfter about a half-mile, we crossed the road at the south entrance of Skyland (you could also park here and cut a small amount of distance off the hike). Recently, we’ve been seeing a bear with three new cubs along the road running parallel to this patch, so we were hoping we would come across the family.
#Skyline drive mile marker map Patch#
The trail initially cuts through the patch of forest between Skyline Drive and the lodge. We left one car parked at the Big Meadows amphitheater and proceeded to the Stony Man parking area at the north entrance of Skyland to set out on our hike. But, we woke up hungry and ended up having bagels and fruit before we left the house in the morning. Our original plan was to eat breakfast at Skyland, do our hike, and then eat lunch at the Big Meadows Wayside. 2 mile spur trail to visit the Rock Spring Cabin and Hut. It’s a 7.9 mile section, with an optional. On Saturday, we decided to do a “lodge-to-lodge” section hike – taking the Appalachian Trail from Skyland to Big Meadows. Many hikes on our blog include segments along the AT, but we’ve never posted a hike exclusively along the trail. The AT is usually relegated to being used as a connector trail or the return arm of a loop hike. Most popular hikes in Shenandoah National Park lead away from the Appalachian Trail – down into the hollows or up to Shenandoah’s taller peaks.
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