I myself skipped over it for years even though I drove right by it all the time on Interstate What a mistake! Shenandoah is a beautiful park with some of the best sunset overlooks I have ever been to in a national park.
There are far more hiking options than I thought there would be in Shenandoah, plenty of different types of places to stay multiple campgrounds as well as park lodges. Nearby Harrisonburg 30 min from the park has even more options for lodging and food. You can find so many gorgeous vistas on Skyline Drive that I felt like I stopped the car every 5 minutes for yet another stunning view.
We had a wonderful time on our 24 hours in Shenandoah and I will make it a point to stop if I can every time I drive up I81 from now on. Heads Up: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning we may get a commission if you make a purchase through our links, at no additional cost to you.
We only link to things we like and use personally. Read more about our philosophy. It has the most amount of amazing views for the least amount of effort of any national park I have been to. Get out of the car and 30 minutes later, boom, magical mountaintop views. Skyline Drive is like a drive-thru-window of mountain vistas that delivers straight to your car without you having to even get out. The name Shenandoah is of Native American origin but no one is completely sure of the specifics.
Wikipedia has an interesting read on the possibilities though. Shenandoah National Park was officially dedicated by FDR in July, but was the result of years of effort by business people in the area to create a park to attract tourists. Skyland Resort was actually created in the late s as a vacation destination for city folk and then incorporated into the park when it was established. There was some controversy in establishing the park as there were several hundred mountain people that lived here and many did not want to move away.
