Hiking the Best Shenandoah National Park Trails

Virginia is home to hundreds of hiking trails and the trails in their lone national park are definitely something to write home about!  The Shenandoah National Park trails stretch for miles and miles along Skyline Drive.  And while it’s nearly impossible to hike all of these trails, here are a few you shouldn’t miss!

My husband and I hiked several of the Shenandoah National Park trails in both 2021 and 2024.  From our quick visits, here are the trails you simply won’t want to skip.

But before I start name dropping, let’s discuss some important information to know and where Shenandoah National Park even is.  

Important Links 

Shenandoah National Park Website

Shenandoah National Park trails – Map

Old Rag Trail Map

Hiking Old Rag: Permits Required

George Washington National Forest – Hiking in the Area 

Creekside Campground – Nearby Camping with Full Hook-Ups!

Location

In the northwest section of Virginia, Shenandoah National Park stands tall.  Although the park does not contain Virginia’s tallest peaks, it is home to some amazing trails, the famous Skyline Drive, and stunning scenery.  

And with a distance of just 1.5 hours from Washington D.C., 1.5 from Richmond, VA, and a little over 2 hours from Baltimore, MD, you have a great opportunity for a day trip or even a weekend trip here.  

The best part is there is a trail for just about everyone’s skill level on the Shenandoah National Park Trails!  Let’s take a look.

Trails

Alright, alright, let’s finally get to naming those Shenandoah National Park trails that I’m talking about!  

These trails were hiked over the course of 2 short trips so I would make sure that you are being realistic about how much time you will need for all of them, or pick a couple that look cool.  

Let’s start with some easy trails and ease you in!

Easy Shenandoah National Park Trails

Blackrock Mountain

Blackrock Mountain is a great bang for your buck sort of trail.  Meaning, it’s pretty short and has a fantastic pay off with the stunning views you can see above.  This is also a great place to see a sunset (we did attempt this, but the sky didn’t quite understand the assignment).  

From the Blackrock Summit, we actually continued onto Trayfoot Mountain, but let me tell you, it’s not worth it.  We hiked up and up for this summet and it was entirely tree covered.  So we ended up heading right back to Blackrock Mountain for a great view before we left.  

Stats

• Distance: 1.1 miles
• Elevation Gain: 200 feet
• Time on Trail: 40 mins
• Difficulty: Easy

Little Stony Man (with Stony Man option)

Another easy Shenandoah National Park trail is the hike to Little Stony Man.  After a long day of hiking the previous day, the views from Little Stony Man were a great pay off with a short distance.  You can continue up to Stony Man summit (an additional 0.75 miles) but we opted not to.  

Whether you hike to both peaks or just one, you’ll love this view!

Stats

• Distance: 1.2 miles
• Elevation Gain: 350 feet
• Time on Trail: 40 mins
• Difficulty: Easy

Moderate Shenandoah National Park Trails

Marys Rock

In the moderate category, we hiked to Marys Rock.  We wanted to make this a longer trail so we started at the Pinnacle Picnic Grounds.  We hiked primarily on the Appalachian Trail and then continued on the Marys Rock Summit Trail to the beautiful view you see above.  

Stats

• Distance: 7.25 miles
• Elevation Gain: 1500 feet
• Time on the Trail: 4 hours
• Difficulty: Moderate

Hawksbill Mountain

Let’s get to the tallest mountain in Shenandoah shall we?  

Hawksbill Summit is the highest point in all of Shenandoah National Park and stands at 4,050 feet.  Now, this isn’t enough to get altitude sickness by any means, but this Shenandoah National Park trail is no joke!

Yes, the trail is short, but boy is it steep for such a short climb.  But trust me, the views are absolutely worth it!

Stats

• Distance: 2.1 miles
• Elevation Gain: 450 feet 
• Time on Trail: 1 hour 15 min
• Difficulty: Moderate (Short but Steep)

Calvary and Chimney Rocks

Chimney Rock Mountain was a great little trail for some cool rock features and just a few veiws.  We sat on one of the big rocks for a lunch break the day we hiked here.  The rock formations definitely resemble chimneys all along the edge of the trail.  

The best part about this trail is that it isn’t as high profile, so we only saw 2 other people on the trail.  But admittedly, this wasn’t the best trail for great views.  

Stats

• Distance: 3.2 miles
• Elevation Gain: 850 feet
• Time on Trail: 1 hour 30 mins
• Difficulty: Moderate

Turk Mountain

Turk Mountain was not a very long hike, but man did it lead us to a beautiful view.  The infamous Virginia rocks were gorgeous here and this short trail had a great pay off.  I mean just look at the photo above!

This trail really highlights the layers and layers of blue mountains that Shenandoah boasts.  

Stats

• Distance: 2.6 miles
• Elevation Gain: 817 feet
• Time on Trail: 1 hour 50 mins
• Difficulty: Moderate

Difficult Shenandoah National Park Trails

And finally, we have arguably the best hike in the whole park.  But you’ll want to make sure you’re in good shape for this one….trust me!

Old Rag

Old Rag is one of the most amazing Shenandoah National Park trails and has become insanely popular.  So popular in fact, that you now need a reservation to hike it.  For more information about the Old Rag reservation system, check out my post here!

You’ll start by parking at the Old Rag Parking Lot and you will have to present your reservation, park access pass, and ID before you begin your hike.  Start on the Ridge Trail and follow the blue blazes to the summit.  From here you will continue on the Saddle Trail before you turn right and loop back to the parking lot using the Weakley Hollow Fire Road.

We did this hike in 2021 and the total body workout was no joke.  You’ll be using your arms to push yourself up and move you along.  And your legs will definitely feel the 3000 feet of elevation gain.  Be prepared to be sore after this one!  But the views are definitely worth all the effort exerted on this hike.  

Stats

• Distance: ~10 miles
• Elevation Gain: 3000 feet 
• Time on Trail: ~8 hours
• Difficulty: Challenging!

Parking Tips!

Each of these trailheads have a parking lot.  Some are smaller than others, so don’t be surprised if they are full during the midday rush.  If you are really jonesing to do a certain trail, I highly recommend getting there early and claiming a spot.    

When in doubt, continue up the road and park at the next parking lot.  Most of the trails connect to each other and you can pretty easily get where you’re wanting to go by starting at the next trailhead.  You could also go check out one of the visitor’s centers or have lunch in one of the picnic areas and try again later.  

Time to Spend Here

Shenandoah National Park encompasses 200,000 acres of protected land and has over 500 miles of hiking trails.  You could spend an endless amount of time here hiking and exploring.  However, considering you probably don’t have endless PTO, let’s talk about a couple options for hiking the Shenandoah National Park trails.  

1 Day Option

If you only have 1 day to hike in Shenandoah, I would recommend hiking Old Rag.  This trail is insane and in my top ten trails I’ve ever hiked.  It’s a great workout and defintely worth spending a day hiking.  

Alternatively, if you want to hike but can’t hike a 10+ mile trail, you could also pick 2 or 3 smaller hikes (Little Stony Man, Hawksbill Mountian and/or Blackrock Mountain) and mix in some stops at the visitor’s centers to break up the hiking.  

Weekend Option

Alright you weekend warriors!  I’m assuming you live close to the park to only have Saturday and Sunday in the park, but I get it.  We were parked in the area for 2 full weeks and we only spend the weekends in Shenandoah, so let’s talk about it!

You can easily fill a weekend with hiking while you’re here.  If you hike Old Rag on one day and a few shorter trails on the other day, you will get a good taste of the park.  You won’t have time for all the views or the trails I recommended above, but you do what works best for you!

Week Long Option

If you are a super hiker and want to spend a full week (or over 5 days) of hiking the Shenandoah National Park trails, you can easily hike all of the trails I have suggested above and possibly a few others.  

With this much time to play with, I highly recommend talking to a Park Ranger and asking for more trails to hike.  They will be able to offer you advice for some of the best trails and possibly even some hidden gems within the park.  

However much time you are looking to spend here, you’re bound to be impressed with this east coast national park. 

Other Hiking in the Area

The beauty of the Shenandoah National Park trails has been attracting more and more people over the years.  And while I totally understand the hype, it can be exhausting to deal with so many people!  So we came up with a solution.

Go hiking in George Washington National Forest.  This national forest is huge!  But there is a small section just outside of Luray, VA and we hiked a few of the trails here.  They are on par with those in Shenandoah, but without the crowds!

So if you need a break from all the national park hikers, be sure to check out my post on the hikes we did in George Washington National Forest.   

Camping

Shenandoah National Park has several campgrounds, but we opted to stay outside of the park because none of the campgrounds in the park have electirc hook-ups.  Plus phone service is spotty at best.  If you don’t mind the lack of electric or phone service, you can look into camping in Shenandoah National Park here.  

After much research, we found Creekside Campground.  This private campground in Edinburg has tent sites, partial hook-ups sites, and full hook-up sites for a great price!  We stayed here in a tent and in our camper a few years later.  

For more details of our experience at Creekside Campground, check out my post on Camping in Creekside Campground VA.  

Conclusion

Hiking the Shenandoah National Park trails should be higher on your bucket list!  With amazing views and lots of easy, moderate and difficult trails to choose from you won’t be disappointed by the trails here.  

Whether you are planning a day trip, or a week long break from technology, there’s plenty of hiking and exploring options.  

As always, feel free to reach out with any questions about planning your trip or hiking in Shenandoah National Park at averagewildexperience@gmail.com 

Happy Hiking!