24 Hours in Shenandoah National Park
Work sent me to D.C. so I took the weekend after my work trip to explore and since there was a national park within a few hours you know where I took off to: Shenandoah National Park!
Now this national park has a different history than a lot of the parks I have visited. On July 3, 1936, the 22nd national park came to be as President Franklin Roosevelt dedicated Shenandoah National Park. Shenandoah’s was the first national park to host the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC)! There were around 10,000 CCC members who lived and worked in Shenandoah National Park from 1933 – 1942 building the visitor centers, picnic areas, trails and so much of the infrastructure that is still relied on inside the park. [1] This park has a history of displacement after displacement of inhabitants and is definitely one to read more about!
Thursday afternoon I rented a car and took the 1.25 Hour Car Ride from DC to Shenandoah National Park. I was able to Get there about 1800 and before the Rain from Tropical Depression Debbie hit the area.
For those who don’t know, Shenandoah NP runs 105 miles north to south along a road called skyline and there are only four entrances. I started my journey at the north entrance, after getting a burger from Spelunker's in Front Royal.
My path was a bit interesting due to trees eventually blocking the drive. I turned back and left the park at the Luray Park Exit and drove the Interstate to my stay for the night, Grey Pine Lodge, at the south tip of the Park.
I made it to my base for the night at Grey Pine Lodge, right off the Appalachian trail and a hop skip and a jump from the south entrance of the park. I was thankful to be out of the weather as the tropical storm was dropping a good bit of water. Unfortunately, the storms were really strong and the power went out at Grey Pine Lodge over the night due to Debbie but the hostess made sure we had iced coffee and let us know where in town had power! I got to enjoy good coffee at HAPP while charging my phone. Did they know I was visiting?!?! Good coffee and a scrumptious goat cheese stuffed blueberry french toast! Then I headed into the south entrance to the park where I got to watch the heavens open up into a gorgeous sunny day!
I got about 25 miles into the forest and came across trees that the NPS would need to have their crew come to remove from the road so I left the park and entered at the Elkton Entrance (Managed to get all the park entrances this trip!) The Rangers stations were without power and many of the hikes were closed due to down trees and fast running water. But still a stunning drive with amazing vista's!
I made it back to DC before the 7 pm sunset and was greeted by some of the best sunset views! I mean it is hard to take a bad photo of the reflection pool but this one is a gem for me! I will write up more of my DC adventures later!
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