National Park: Shenandoah National Park

So we decided to visit Northern Virginia and Charlottesville, VA over the Labor Day Weekend of 2011. It was a wonderful trip which involved seeing lots of family and friends. In addition to that, we took a visit to three of our National Parks that weekend: The Blue Ridge Parkway, Shenandoah National Park and Manassas Battlefield.

The Shenandoah National Park is a skinny park in western (not West by God) Virginia. It encompasses part of the Appalachian or Blue Ridge Mountains. The Skyline Drive is the most pronounced aspect of the park. This road is very popular during the fall for views of the beautiful autumn foliage. This being labor day, the park was very green and misty. 

Big Meadows in Shenandoah National Park

The drive through the park from the North (in Front Royal) to the South (in Waynesboro) is about 100 miles and takes about 3 hours of straight driving. However, you will want to stop numerous times as we did. There have got to 40 or so overlooks with beautiful vistas of the valley and the surrounding landscape. We also had an opportunity to have lunch at Harry F. Byrd Visitor Center at the Big Meadows area which is a visitor center roughly halfway through the drive. The restaurant near Big Meadows which had some great fried chicken.

The AT

Another popular feature of the park is the Appalachian Trail which runs from Georgia to Maine. There are other hiking trails in the park, but the AT is the most famous. One of my favorite trails in Shenandoah National Park is Old Rag Mountain. There are a few technical spots to the Old Rag hike, but nothing that even a novice hiker couldn't handle. There are also some stunning waterfalls in the Shenandoah National Park and plenty of wildlife. We also had to stop about a half dozen times for white tail deer the road. 

The great thing about Shenandoah National Park is that it is close to Charlottesville, VA which is "Grammy's" hometown. We made a point of meeting up at King Family Vineyards on our way back into town to take in the view and a couple glasses of wine. 

Enjoying a game of "tag" at King Family Vineyards

National Park: The Blue Ridge Parkway

So we decided to visit Northern Virginia and Charlottesville, VA over the Labor Day Weekend of 2011. It was a wonderful trip which involved seeing lots of family and friends. In addition to that, we took a visit to three of our National Parks that weekend: The Blue Ridge Parkway, Shenandoah National Park and Manassas Battlefield.

The Blue Ridge Parkway is probably the one National Park that I have been to most frequently due to its proximity to where I went to college and where I used to work. While I was a field sales representative, and if the timing was right, I would get on the parkway in Central Virginia and drive back to Waynesboro on a Friday evening, it helped bring me back down to earth after a busy work week. This route may not have been the most direct route home at the end of the week, but it provided nice scenery, lacked traffic lights and traffic. Prior to that, there was also an annual pilgrimage for me and my UVa pals to Humpback Rock at the beginning of the year, and then the odd occasion throughout the year. By going to Humpback Rock, however, visitors are only “dipping their toe” into the Blue Ridge Parkway.

The park starts in Waynesboro, VA at the northern end and goes through Virginia’s Appalachian Mountains and well into North Carolina. I think it is the only US National Park that is specifically a road. The views are stunning, especially in the fall when the trees are a bright orange, yellow and red. The Appalachian Mountains (older than their Rocky Mountain brothers and sisters) have a mystical look about them in the morning when the fog is laying low over them.

View from Humpback Rock near the Blue Ridge Parkway

On this occasion, I only dipped by proverbial foot in and hiked Humpback Rock. It is an easy 20-30 minute hike and it very accessible from the I-64, so it can get crowded. The Visitor’s Center doesn't open until 9AM so folks start rolling in then, but the parkway and the trails themselves are open a lot earlier. There were a few early bird hikers and photographers out there that morning, but I had enough to find my little slice of solace that Labor Day Saturday.

After the quick hike it was back to Charlottesville for a fall football game at Scott Stadium. That evening, UVa Cavaliers trounced the William and Mary Tribe.