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Skyline Drive, seen from the air.
Cameron Davidson/courtesy Virginia Tourism Corp.
There’s something magical about the summit of a mountain. Perhaps it’s the crispness of the air, the panoramic views or the feeling that you’re standing on top of the world, above all the problems of day-to-day life. Up there in the wilds, you can take a deep breath, slowly exhale and relax.
There’s just one problem for those of us who enjoy lofty peaks but live in Central Ohio. Let’s just say that when it comes to mountains, this area is a little geographically challenged.
Fortunately, there are several mountains within driving distance, especially if you head in an easterly direction. My favorite place to go when I need a mountain fix is the Appalachian Mountains—specifically, the famous Skyline Drive, a 105-mile road through Shenandoah National Park that runs up and then along the crest of the Blue Ridge Mountains, a subset of the Appalachians. This road was built specially for those of us who love a nice ride—in a car, on a motorcycle or even on a bike—to the top of scenic peaks.
There are numerous spots along Skyline Drive that are above 3,000 feet (the highest spot in Ohio is less than half that at 1,549 feet). It boasts 75 overlooks and car parks where you can stop and take in stunning panoramic views, plus miles of hiking trails through thick forests, lodges for overnight stays and all kinds of wildlife. You’re pretty much guaranteed to see deer—on my first-ever trip there, we spotted a doe and her fawn about a mile into the park, meandering along the side of the road. If you’re lucky, you might even see a bear or two, although hopefully not too up close and personal . . . like Andy did.
I met Andy on a recent trip to Skyline and he told me about a bear sighting the day before. He was riding his bike along one of the unpaved fire roads (which you’re not allowed to do, for reasons that soon will become obvious), when suddenly. . . .
“I didn’t see him, but a bear was up in a tree and when I rode by he jumped down near me,” Andy said, adding he wasn’t sure if this was a coincidence or the bear had targeted him for consumption. Needless to say, he took off like a bolt of lightning—and swore never again to leave Skyline Drive for a fire road.
I’ve seen bears twice. A large black bear once darted across the road in front of me as I was heading down a steep hill on my bicycle. He seemed quite spry and speedy for such a big beast. Another time, there were two bears outside the lodge where we stayed. They were in the woods about 100 yards away, and several people gathered to watch and snap photos. For some reason, nobody seemed to think the bears were dangerous.
I first encountered Skyline Drive while visiting relatives who live in Winchester, Virginia, not far from the northern entrance of the park in Front Royal. “You’ve never been to the Skyline Drive?” they asked incredulously. “You have to go.”
And so I did, as much to stop their nagging as to see the mountains.
Front Royal is a relatively easy, seven-hour drive from Columbus, through the plains of Ohio and then the mountains of West Virginia. The fall months, when the leaves are turning, are an especially great time to visit.
The idea for what eventually became Shenandoah National Park and Skyline Drive dates back to 1924, when government officials began searching for a national park site in the east. There were millions of acres of national parkland in the west, but back east, where the majority of the population lived . . . not so much. It just didn’t seem fair.
The committee in charge of finding a park location finally settled on a site in Virginia that they described as a “sky-line drive along the mountain top, following a continuous ridge and looking down westerly on the Shenandoah Valley . . . and also commanding a view of the Piedmont Plain stretching easterly to the Washington Monument.”
To be honest, I don’t think you actually can see the Washington Monument, even on a really clear day.
Construction began in 1931, in the midst of the Great Depression, and was completed in 1939 at a cost of $50,000 per mile. Thousands of members of the New Deal’s Civilian Conservation Corps built rock walls, facilities and lodges along the route. One of the highlights is the 670-foot-long Marys Rock tunnel carved through the side of a granite cliff. Considered quite an engineering marvel at the time, it’s wide enough for cars to pass by in either direction.
The speed limit along the road is a rather sedate 35 miles per hour, but then again, what’s the hurry? Skyline Drive is all about taking your time and stopping to take in the views. (Although I have to admit there have been a couple of times during long, steep descents on my bike when I may have exceeded the speed limit.)
There are three lodges that provide overnight accommodations along the route: the Skyland Lodge at mile 42, Big Meadows Lodge at mile 51 and Lewis Mountain Lodge at mile 58. These are the only hotel-like lodgings on Skyline Drive, although there are several camping sites where you can make reservations. I’ve stayed at Skyland and Big Meadows. Skyland offers typical hotel-style rooms with all the basic amenities; Big Meadows is a bit more rustic and cabin-like. Each has a nice restaurant, with the exact same menu.
I’ve always entered Skyline Drive from Front Royal, a fairly nondescript town you don’t really need to spend any time in. The entrance is about 1,000 feet above sea level, and once you’re in the park, you immediately begin climbing, engulfed by a thick, green forest. All along the side of the road is a shimmering sea of yellow and white wildflowers in spring and summer.
It takes a few miles of climbing to get out of the woods and reach the first stopping point, the Signal Knob Overlook, which is at 2,085 feet and offers a panoramic view. “Wow,” you’ll think to yourself, “this is a totally amazing view. What could top this?”
The answer is: the next overlook, and then the one after that and the one after that. . . .
Unlike many mountain roads, which are surrounded by forests that block the view, Skyline Drive was constructed as a tourist attraction rather than as a major mode of transportation. There’s an overlook with parking every mile or so, each more beautiful than the last. Many are more than 3,000 feet high, and they alternate between views to the east and views to the west.
One of my favorites is Hogback Overlook, which is just past the mile 20 marker. At 3,385 feet, it’s one of the first overlooks above 3,000 feet. You really do feel like you’re on top of the world, and the view stretches out endlessly, down the mountains, to the valley and then up the mountains on the other side. Another favorite is just past the Marys Rock tunnel. Large rock formations jut up and out along the side of the mountain. There’s a narrow path down to some rocks you can stand on to take in the view. Yes, it’s a little scary to be out there on a rock so high up, but the view is worth it.
There usually are several cars and motorcycles parked at the overlooks, and everyone I’ve met has always been super-friendly. Maybe it’s the view, or the mountain air, but people almost always want to chat: Have you ever been to Skyline Drive before? Where are you from?
The highest point on Skyline clocks in at 3,680 feet and is just past the entrance to Skyland Lodge, which more than lives up to its name. Unfortunately, at this point you’re in the midst of the woods, with no view.
The balcony of our room at Skyland looked out across a field, down to a valley way off in the distance. Watching the sun set over the mountains that first night was a wonderful ending to the day. The next morning, when we woke up and looked out over the foggy field, there were several deer ambling about.
While I’ve biked the entire length of Skyline Drive, in both directions, I confess I haven’t done much hiking, just a few miles around the lodges. It’s an embarrassing admission, since this is prime hiking territory. There are about 500 miles of hiking trails in the park, and several lead to waterfalls.
There’s also the Appalachian Trail, a 2,180-mile path between Georgia and Maine that pretty much parallels the entire length of Skyline Drive. There are people—hairy, smelly people—who hike the entire distance of the Appalachian Trail over the course of several months.
If you’re lucky, you can meet up with some of these thru-hikers when they emerge from the woods to stock up at one of the stores along Skyline Drive. The folks we met were all nice and seemed desperate for human contact and conversation after so much time alone in the woods. And they all had cool trail names they earned from other thru-hikers. The first hiker I met was Journey, a woman in her 50s or 60s who was traveling the entire Appalachian Trail by herself.
A few minutes later, Bubbles and Birdy—a young, married couple—arrived and told me how excited they were to be close to Waynesboro, which is a few miles from the Rockfish Gap end of Skyline Drive. “There’s a hostel there—and a shower!” Bubbles said.
I later met Acorn, who was traveling with Anthrax and Download. Acorn got his trail name due to an incident with a squirrel a couple weeks earlier. One night, while he slept in a little hut with a few other hikers, a squirrel decided to turn his knapsack into a nest and deposited several acorns inside it. “Here, look at the picture,” Acorn said, showing me a shot on his cellphone of several acorns stacked neatly in his knapsack. My wife wanted to know how Acorn kept his phone charged out in the wilds. Great question—I wish I had asked.
It’s been a while since I got my mountain fix along Skyline Drive—all the way back in July. But I plan to go back again this year, maybe in the spring, or in the fall to see the leaves turn. What the heck, maybe I’ll go two times in 2012.
I also have this crazy dream to bike the entire length of Skyline Drive again, then just keep on pedaling all the way to the end of the Blue Ridge Parkway. Hopefully, Columbus Monthly will let me write about it.
IF YOU GO
Getting there: It's about a 385-mile, seven-hour drive from Columbus to Front Royal.
Lodging: There are three lodges with hotel rooms on Skyline Drive, plus several camping sites. For reservations, visit nps.gov/shen/planyourvisit/lodging.htm. There also are hotels in Front Royal, at the northern end of Skyline Drive, and in Waynesboro, about five miles from the southern end.
Activities: Hiking, fishing, rock climbing, horseback riding and biking.
Guided hikes: Shenandoah National Park offers several guided hikes that vary in length and difficulty. For info, go to visitshenandoah.com/guided-programs/guided-hiking.aspx.
General information: Check out visitshenandoah.com or nps.gov/shen/index.htm.
