Shenandoah National Park

Shenandoah National Park was the first stop on my journey to the east coast. It was about a 7 hour drive from home to the southern end of the park. The park only has one road that goes through it and it is known as Skyline Drive. Skyline Drive is a famous winding road that stretches 105 miles through Shenandoah from one end to the other. I began at the southern end and worked my way north. Along the way there are overlooks too many to be counted. I began stopping and looking at the landscape of each. I decided that I was early enough to hike a short trail along my route. I hiked a trail known as Jone's Run. It was a 3 1/2 mile hike round trip to a 40 foot waterfall. The trail wound downhill very quickly and after about an hour or so, I reached the waterfall. I have seen much more impressive. There was not a lot of water flowing over the falls due to it being the peak of the summer. After a few minutes and a few pictures, I began the arduous journey back to the car. After about 1.75 hours, I reached my end, very out of breath. Come to find out, the climb back out is approximately 1000 ft within about 1.5 miles. That's steep. I reached my campground at Big Meadows campground around 6-7 p.m. and quickly set up tent and the rest of my camp, seeing deer very nearby in the woods. I met my tent neighbor, later known as Lisa and her 5 year old son Josh. They were very nice. I then went to the lodge bar and listened to some local music (not very good). I went back to camp to find Lisa by herself in front of a campfire, and went over and joined her. We sat by the fire and drank a couple Yuengling's in the course of two hours till midnight. Went to bed, and began the rest of my journey out of the park the next morning, continuing to stop at each overlook along the way. I did no more hiking as I was in somewhat of a hurry to get to my next destination. I found my way out of the park by early noon.

Thoughts on Shenandoah: I believe Shenandoah was a very nice park, especially for those that go there to hike. If you don't have a lot of time to hike, it doesn't seem to be as nice as it could be. It was not crowded when I was there (weekdays) as opposed to what I have heard about the crowds there. The views were nice from the overlooks, but I believe it is a hikers place. If you don't plan to do a lot of hiking, there are other parks I would suggest first. Most trails require several miles to see anything resembling a worthwhile feature. Be prepared for this. But a pretty park nonetheless.