Skyline Drive is the finale this trip deserves. You've driven deserts and mountains and coasts and prairies, and now the Blue Ridge folds away from you in every direction, green or gold or silver depending on the season, and home is close. There are elk in the meadows and black bears in the woods and 75 places to pull off and let the Appalachians remind you where you come from.
Skyline Drive runs 105 miles along the crest of the Blue Ridge Mountains through Shenandoah National Park. Every one of its 75 overlooks gives a different view of the valley below and the mountains beyond. Dark Hollow Falls — a 70-foot waterfall reachable in 1.5 miles — is a perfect last hike. The Appalachians here are old and rounded and blue in the distance and they look like home even when they're not.
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The moment
Pulling off at one of the 75 overlooks at the golden hour and watching the blue haze settle into the valley below while the mountains fold away in every direction. You've crossed the whole country. You're almost home. This view earns everything.
The classic mistake
Entering at the north end (Front Royal) and exiting at the south end (Waynesboro) without stopping at Mather Point equivalent here: Big Meadows. It's a vast open mountain meadow at 3,500 feet where elk graze at dusk. In summer and fall they are reliably present from the meadow edge.
The photograph
Big Meadows overlook at dusk — the meadow in the foreground, the mountains layered blue and purple behind it, and if timing is right, elk silhouetted against the fading light.
Skip it if
Skyline Drive is closed due to ice (uncommon but possible in winter).
Don’t skip it if
You want to end the outbound journey of your lives with something worthy of it. This is worthy.
How long do you need?
2 hours: drive the southern third of Skyline Drive with 3–4 overlooks. Half day: drive the full length at a relaxed pace. Full day: add Dark Hollow Falls hike and dusk at Big Meadows for elk.
What to ask
Ask a ranger about the Appalachian Trail — it runs the length of Shenandoah and crosses Skyline Drive 28 times. Ask how many people attempt the full 2,190-mile trail each year, and how many finish. The numbers are humbling.
🍂 This season · Fall / Winter
November: the leaf-off views are longer and more expansive. Many facilities close but the drive stays open.
Entry fee
$35/vehicle (7-day pass).
Gas
Luray and Front Royal at the north end; Waynesboro and Staunton at the south. Very limited inside the park.
Don't miss eating
Virginia apple pie from any roadside stand in the Shenandoah Valley — Virginia grows some of the finest apples in the country and the valley below the park is full of orchards. Buy a bag of apples too.
Websitenps.gov/shen
Average weather, all twelve months
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| High | 38° | 42° | 52° | 63° | 72° | 79° | 83° | 82° | 76° | 65° | 54° | 42° |
| Low | 20° | 22° | 30° | 40° | 50° | 58° | 63° | 62° | 55° | 43° | 33° | 24° |
| Rain/Snow | 3.0" | 2.8" | 3.5" | 3.3" | 4.0" | 3.8" | 3.8" | 3.4" | 3.5" | 3.0" | 3.2" | 3.1" |