The 11 Best Hikes In Shenandoah National Park

Shenandoah National Park is located just 75 miles west of Washington, DC. This park is a real gem filled with stunning mountain views, waterfalls, the Appalachian Trail, and trees that turn brilliant colors in the fall. One of the main highlights of this national park is the Skyline Drive that is filled with many stops to take beautiful pictures of the views. But, my absolute favorite part was parking and hiking these wonderful trails. I spent a weekend with my friend that lives in Virginia, exploring this national park. It was a magical time filled with so many extraordinary views. So I have decided to make this list of the best hikes in Shenandoah National Park. I hope you enjoy it!

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How To Get To Shenandoah National Park

Shenandoah National Park is located about two hours west of Washington DC. The best way to get there is by car. P.S. if you are looking for some other cool trails near D.C., check out this post!

Shenandoah National Park Trail Map

Above I have highlighted in Google all the trailheads of the hikes, visitor center, as well as the hotels. If you want an official map, click here. What is great about Shenandoah is that the NPS has created many pdfs of the popular trails to help you navigate. When you get to Shenandoah, you can ask the park ranger for the area maps.

Best Time To Hike Shenandoah National Park

• Spring: Spring starts a little late in the mountains. The grass and trees look brown, but the waterfalls are flowing.
• Summer: This is the wildflower season, and when the trees start to turn green. this a great time to visit.
• Fall: The Fall is the most popular time to visit when the fall leaves start to turn bright colors, but this season has the most crowds.
• Winter: This is the least popular time to visit. The park can be blanketed with snow. Staff in the park is limited, so as a winter visitor you must be ready to depend on your own resources. Read more on what to do in Shenandoah in the Winter here.

Shenandoah National Park Hotels

• Shenandoah National Park Lodging: There are only two hotels within Shenandoah National Park, and they are Skyland and Big Meadows Lodge. There are also some Shenandoah National Park cabins. I recommend trying to get a room at one of these places as all other lodging is at least an hour’s drive away. Book early. Unfortunately, when I booked, all the hotels were full. >Check Out The Three Hotels Here
• Hotels Near Shenandoah National Park: The Inn at Meander Plantation is a very charming home that features a cute garden. This hotel makes you feel at home! >Check Out The Prices Here

Read More: Where to Stay in Shenandoah National Park – Hotels & Lodging

Shenandoah National Park Camping

There are five campgrounds in Shenandoah National Park. The campgrounds start to open in the early spring and are only reservable on a first-come, first-serve basis. You can begin to reserve the campsites online in May. Please note that October is the busiest time of year. >Here Is More Information on The Campgrounds>You Can Reserve Here

Check Out this post 26 Phenomenal National Park Gifts for Park Lovers

What To Pack For Shenandoah National Park Hiking

Day Hiking In Shenandoah

1. Sunscreen: One of the ten hiking essentials so make sure to pack this for safety. >Buy Sunscreen
2. Hiking Boots/Shoes: If you use tennis shoes you can easily hurt your toes hitting a rock by accident (Trust me I have done it so many times before). >Check Out My Hiking Shoes
3. Hiking socks: Having the correct socks helps you prevent getting blisters. Smart Wool is probably my favorite brand out there. I also love how they now have pink socks too 🙂 >Buy Hiking Socks
4. Water Reservoir: Water reservoirs help prevent me from getting dehydrated while hiking. The Great thing about this reservoir is that it doesn’t have the plastic taste. >Here Is My Water Reservoir
5. Water: Stay nice and hydrated.
6. Sunglasses: It can get sunny so make sure to pack some sunglasses. >Check Out These Sunglasses
7. Snacks: The best snacks are jerky, nuts, energy bars. Cliff Bars are great for hiking.
8. Camera: It was one of the first cameras I started traveling with. The Sony A6000 is an excellent camera for people that want to start improving at travel photography.  >Buy Sony Camera Here
9. First Aid Kit: This is one of the first things I bought when I first started going on adventures. It is super portable. >Buy This Awesome First Aid Kit Here
10. Day Pack to carry all your things: The REI bag I have linked, we have had for seven years now, and it is still going strong! >Buy This Great Quality Backpack
11. Headlamp: A headlamp is an absolute must in case you get stranded in the dark! It is a lot more portable and easier to use than a flashlight. >Buy A Headlamp Now
12. Leggings or Hiking Pants: Here are the leggings I used in Shenandoah. They are warm and comfortable. They are perfect for fall. >Click For My Fall Favorite Hiking Leggings
13. Breathable sweat-wicking shirts
14. Sweater: I wore this in the fall when the hikes were very easy and it was a little chilly. >Check Out My Sweater Here
15. Sports Bra: For women.
16. Jacket: In case you get chilly at night. This is also a good idea in the Spring and Fall. We saw someone get hypothermia on the trail. >Buy My Favorite Jacket
17. Tripod: This is an optional item, but it is excellent for getting the ideal sunset pictures. >Check out this tripod
18. Knife: I always carry a knife in my backpack just in case. >Check Out My Knife Here

Best Hikes In Shenandoah National Park

Old Rag Loop Trail

• Distance: 9.4 miles
• Elevation Gain: 2,582 feet
• Difficulty: Very Strenuous
• Trail Guide: Link

One of my favorite Shenandoah National Park hikes is the Old Rag. This hike is the hardest trail on this list. It is also the most popular one on this list. Be prepared to set aside a whole day for Old Rag.

I also recommend getting here extremely early for parking. We got there around 10 am and the parking lot was full. We decided to try the next day, around 8 am, and there were plenty of spots. Please note that my friend and I noticed that they were constructing more parking spaces for the future.

When you get to the trailhead, make sure to take a left so that you can experience the crazy scramble up the mountain. If you are looking at the map it is called the ridge trail. The first few miles of the ridge trail is relatively easy. It is a steady incline with surrounding trees and not many views. It is long, though.

Three-quarters of the way up is when the trail becomes interesting. You have to scramble up some rocks carefully. This is the area that can get pretty congested. We had to wait in line to get through the rock scramble, which added more time to the trail. I loved doing the rock scramble, and I felt like it was the best part of the trail. I didn’t like how crowded it was, but that can be fixed if you visit on a weekday instead of a weekend.

After the rock scramble is the mountain peak, and you can relax here and take in all the views. When we hiked back down, we decided to go the same route we came up (ridge trail/saddle trail). This is because it is less mileage than the fire road. The fire road is longer but a steady decline. Most people took the fire road down, but we decided we wanted to get home a bit faster.

Black Rock Summit Hike

• Distance: 1.1 mile
• Elevation Gain: 180 feet
• Difficulty: Easy
• Trail Guide: Link

Another great, easy trail for you and the family. This trail is located on the south side of the national park, so it is a long drive to get there. But, the summit has sweeping views of the mountains and the Shenandoah Valley. You can check out the map here.

Whiteoak Canyon Trail

• Distance: 9.5 miles round trip
• Elevation Gain: 2,408 feet
• Difficulty: Moderate
• Trail Guide: Link

If you are chasing waterfalls, then this trail is perfect for you. I will say that Fall is probably not the best time to visit, though. The waterfalls were pretty small, as you can see from the picture above. Spring is the best time to visit per my friend that is from the area.

We decided to do the Skyline Drive to Upper Whiteoak Falls trail. Please note that if you do this trail, you will be going down an incline. Going down is a lot easier than going up. A lot of people underestimate this and have a hard time hiking back up. You can view the map here.

Mary’s Rock

• Marys Rock Summit Hike
• Distance: 3.4 miles
• Elevation Gain: 1,210 feet
• Difficulty: Moderate
• Trail Guide: Link

Mary’s Rock is one of the best hikes in northern Shenandoah National Park. If you want a more moderate hike with the views of the valley, then check out this hike. The trail rises through the forest and ends at a rocky viewpoint. There are two routes for you to get to the viewpoint. The first trail is from the Panorama parking area, and it is the longer route. The second trail is from the Meadow Spring Parking lot. You can check out the trail map here.

The trail is located near the Thorton Gap entrance station, so it is an excellent hike for you to start when entering the park.

Stony Man/ Little Stony Man

• Distance: 1.5 miles
• Elevation Gain: 318 feet
• Difficulty: Easy
• Trail Guide: Link

This is a perfect spot for a family hike! It is an effortless trail and has tremendous views. The Stony Man Trail is located around the Skyland area, and there are two ways to get to this viewpoint. You can either park at Stony Man Parking Lot or Little Stony Man Parking Lot. You can check out the map here. We decided to do Stony Man as it was less mileage. It was an extremely easy hike with beautiful views.

Sugarloaf Loop

• Distance: 5.0 miles
• Elevation Gain: 980 feet
• Difficulty: Easy
• Trail Guide: Link

This easy, fun, and well-maintained trail is excellent for the whole family. It features beautiful wildflowers in the Spring and has great overlooks. If you want to avoid hiking all of the 4.5 miles, you can always hike to Little Hogback Overlook to get the best views on the trail.

Bearfence Mountain Trail

• Bearfence Rock Scramble Hike
• Distance: 1.4 miles
• Elevation Gain: 311 feet
• Difficulty: Moderate

• Bearfence Viewpoint Hike
• Distance: 1.1 miles
• Elevation Gain: 305 feet
• Difficulty: Easiest

This is technically two trails. One is a rock scramble, and the other is an easy regular hike. This is an excellent spot for sunrise and sunset as you get 360 degree views of the whole park. The Bearfence rock scramble trail does not allow pets, but the regular hike does. You can view the map here.

We ended up only hiking the scramble trail and I loved it! As someone that loves to scramble, I feel like it was pretty easy and short. But I did see children struggling on this trail.

This is a great alternative to Old Rag as it is a lot shorter and has scrambles.

Lewis Falls

• Distance: 1.7 miles round trip
• Elevation Gain: 638 feet
• Difficulty: Moderate
• Trail Guide: Link

This is a great waterfall but not the best for small children. You only get a partial view of the waterfall unless you want to climb down to the better viewpoint. Bring good hiking boots/shoes because the trail is very rocky.

Hawksbill Mountain

• Distance: 2.7 miles round trip
• Elevation Gain: 748 feet
• Difficulty: Easy

This hike was probably my favorite. The reason for this is that we got here in the late afternoon, and the lighting was perfect. This is a great trail for sunset. The mileage isn’t too long, which is great when hiking back in the dark. Just bring a headlamp.

I do want to note that this viewpoint has two trails. One is Lower Hawksbill Trail, and the second is the Upper Hawksbill Trail. You can find a map here. We ended up doing Lower Hawksbill Trail, and it is shorter, but the elevation gain was intense. I saw many people struggling on the trail. If you want an easy incline, then I would consider Upper Hawksbill Trail.

Rose River Falls Hike

• Distance: 2.4 miles round trip
• Elevation Gain: 656 feet
• Difficulty: Moderate
• Trail Guide: Link

The foliage during the Fall is outstanding, and the waterfall is stunning. You can either make this an out and back trail or a loop trail and add in Dark Hollow Falls. Check Out The Map Here. I love that you can get up and close to the waterfalls and that the trail is close to the river in some sections. This is a fun trail! The trail goes downhill to the waterfall, so the way back to the trailhead can be strenuous.

Dark Hollow Falls Trail

• Distance: 1.6 miles round trip
• Elevation Gain: 583 feet
• Difficulty: Moderate
• Trail Guide: Link

This is another excellent easy trail for you and the whole family. The trail descends at a moderately steep grade from the parking lot and to the Dark Hollow Waterfall. Please note that the way back up is a lot harder than the way down. We saw many people struggling on the way up, but the waterfall is so worth it! It was my favorite waterfall in the national park. >Check out the map here.

Final Thoughts On Best Shenandoah Hikes

Well, I hope this helped you pick out some great Shenandoah National Park trails. Make sure to check out some of my other popular national park posts:

• Things To Do in Acadia National Park
• The 12 Best National Parks on the East Coast
• Best Hikes In Big Bend National Park
• Best Hikes In Smoky Mountains National Park
• Best National Parks To Visit In The Spring

Pin For Later: Best Hikes Shenandoah National Park