Shenandoah National Park Appalachian Trail Section Hike
Shenandoah National Park in Virginia contains over 100 miles of the Appalachian Trail. In this series we cover each Appalachian Trail Section Hike we have done. In this article we cover the area of the AT inside of and slightly South and North of Shenandoah National Park in Virginia.
A foggy morning crossing Skyline Drive on the Appalachian Trail in Shenandoah National Park!
In 2023 we section hiked 1,225 miles of the Appalachian Trail, the longest footpath in the world, and spent 13 weeks day hiking, working, and van camping on the Appalachian Trail as we moved up the trail slowly from Georgia to Maine.
If heading NOBO (Northbound) on the Appalachian Trail VA664 Gap is marked as mile 845.3 of the 2023 AT Distance and the us522 Front Royal Gap is marked at 972.1. this 126.9 mile stretch is what we covered in eight days and you will gain 25k in ascent and about 27k in descent!
Shenandoah National Park Appalachian Trail Section Hike Need to Know’s:
As you can see above you could encounter anything from copperhead snakes and bears to salamanders and caterpillars. You WILL see TONS of deer. Be animal aware!
Shenandoah National Parks requires you to sign in and register but it is free to backpack the Appalachian Trail in this National Park. If you want to stay at one of their campgrounds there is a fee.
We stayed at Loft Mountain, Big Meadows, and Matthews Arm Campgrounds and we could hike to the Appalachian Trail from all of these spots. The towns of Waynesboro and Front Royal are at either end of the park and offer trail town amenities. We especially loved the food in Waynesboro!
There are a bounty of Blue Blaze options on the AT in this park, particularly to gushing waterfalls in the spring and summer. Be curious and open to the blue blazes!
Shenandoah gets a reputation for being “easy”. There is ascents and descents but the trail is so well maintained that if you are hiking other parts of it you will feel that it is much easier. I was doing 15-20 miles a day here with no rest days, however it doesn’t mean you don’t need to train for this if you aren’t hiking daily!
The waysides that are open seasonally can provide excellent resupply points to backpack but be aware that power outages can shut them down. (While rare this happened when we were there and many backpackers were counting on a resupply and had to stay put for a day until the power came back on.)
What else happened that was memorable during this Appalachian Trail Section Hike?
It was the largest straight section of the AT that we hiked during our 2023 section hike!
We ran into hikers every single day that kept having CLOSE encounters with copperhead snakes.
Moving slowly through this National Park really gave us a different viewpoint and idea of the beauty and splendor located inside of Shenandoah.
Cotopaxi became a Bark Ranger, which came with a bandana!
There were more section hikers doing just the Shenandoah section of the AT than any other stretch we saw on the AT until we came to the 100 Mile Wilderness in Maine!
We stayed at Loft Mountain for three nights, Big Meadows for three nights, and Matthews Arm for two nights. We found this combo gave us access to hike all 100 plus miles of the AT in the park. We also stayed in Waynesboro for two nights before entering the park.
What gear did I use and like the most on my AT Section Hike?
Hoka One Kaha’s were my trusted shoes for this day (and for the whole summer on the trail.)
I used my REI 40 Liter Backpack. This worked great since I was coming on and off the trail every day but most thru-hikers or multi-day section hikers were looking at bigger packs than mine.
Darn Tough Vermont and Merino Wool Socks from REI and SmartWool were my go to’s.
Osprey Water Bladder and Lifestraw Collapsible Filter for hydration.
I wore New Balance running shorts mainly and much preferred that to more typical hiking shorts.
Gaiters were a must as was coating our clothes in Permethrin to avoid ticks. (We did not get any ticks remarkably while hiking the AT in 2023.)
The AT Guide by AWOL and AT Conservancy are AMAZING resources for a hike on the AT!
We encountered wet days, foggy days, thunderstorms, blue skies, no humidity, and HOT days. It’s all part of the Appalachian Trail experience I believe, especially when you are walking slowly like we did through Shenandoah National Park.
The time here gave us an entirely different view of this park and we emerged from it as bigger fans of the park than when we entered it. It also gave us an appreciation of what extra money can do in the parks departments for trail maintenance. I felt like I was walking on metro park trails in Shenandoah compared to the National Forest trails further south. We were flying along in miles it seemed because of the smoothness of the AT!
It was also refreshing to find more diversity of races, languages, genders, and backgrounds here in this park (likely due to the close proximity to places like Washington DC.) There’s a large amount of inequity and lack of diversity in the national parks in the US compared to the total population, but Shenandoah gave us hope that this can shift and continue to massively improve based on who was there and was able to enjoy the park.
Shenandoah is one of two US National Parks the Appalachian Trail spends time in. While we skipped Great Smoky Mountains NP we got to experience 100% of this one!
Our friends Amy and Chelsi came to see us while here and as always it was fun to get to have “trail visitors!” We spent over three weeks in Virginia and eight nights of it were camping inside of Shenandoah. I find it hard to imagine we could have found a better experience inside this park than walking along slowly and deliberately along the longest footpath in the world!
Thanks for reading and happy trails to you! Whether you are planning a thru, section, or day hike…or are a trail town local, trail angel, or just someone wanting to learn more about the longest footpath in the world…I hope the Appalachian Trail gives you what you need! Don’t forget to Leave No Trace and pack your 10 Essentials!
Comment below with questions or your experience on this section.
Our Shenandoah/Harpers Ferry National Parks Podcast Episode can be found HERE or on your podcasts app.
Because Adventure Feeds the Soul,
Mike R
A beautiful day across the Shenandoah Valley in Virginia!