A BEAR Necessities, family friendly hiking guide, ideal for all ages for Shenandoah National Park in Virginia. Shendandoah, at least from an international tourist perspective is least well known of all the national parks I have visited.
Before talking about hiking it's important we talk about the racist history of the park. Certain areas of the park upon its opening were off limits to BIPOC people. Signs and maps defined these areas, and were regulated by park staff. Complaints led to an area only for black people, known as Lewis Mountain. The access was popular, nonetheless, still segregated. As integration began in the park in 1947, hotels and restaurants close by were still very much enforcing segregation, thus perpetuating white priviledge and racism in the outdoors. Notions which are still very much present today. It's definitely worth visiting the exhibit which addresses the parks history of segregation and area of Lewis Mountain to learn more.
As mentioned in other National Park blogs its also important to remember whose land you are exploring on. National park were created from stolen land from indigenous people. Shenandoah National Park, lies on the land of the Manahoac and Manocan people.
After extensive research regarding hiking routes before arriving in the USA, the following hikes are the ones I selected as having the best views whilst also being most family friendly. All hikes listed vary in level and are rated according to the National Park Service. Most hikes are relatively short as we chose to explore more areas, than sticking to one area, plus a slight fear of bears and lack of ‘bear proof food storage’ deterred us from taking snacks needed for a longer hike. Whatever hikes you choose to take, be bear aware and know what to do if you encounter a black bear, it is important to add attacks are rare. Shenandoah is the national park I've encountered the most bears in the US. The following hiking recommendations will be grouped based on hikes within the same area and their allotted approximate drive times from Stanardsville, Virginia.
'If you drive to, say, Shenandoah National Park, or the Great Smoky Mountains, you'll get some appreciation for the scale and beauty of the outdoors. When you walk into it, then you see it in a completely different way. You discover it in a much slower, more majestic sort of way.'
- Bill Bryson
Day / Area 1- Drive time: 40 minutes
From Stanardsville head into Shenandoah NP or over to George Washington and Jefferson National Forest. Shenandoah has an entrance fee of $30 per vehicle, if you are visiting other national parks with entry fees it is worth considering an ‘America the beautiful pass’ for $80 you can get these at https://store.usgs.gov/pass/index.html or enquire at a park, this will save you a lot of money. This is where we saw the most bears! Typically, we headed to the visitor centre to pick up some maps, close by is the Dark Hallows Falls trail, we hadn’t even seen the waterfall before we spotted 2 bear cubs and their mother.
Day / Area 2 - Drive time: 45 minutes -1.5 hours
Once again head into the park for more hiking. Unfortunately humpback rock has some graffiti towards the top, but as you make your way past these rocks and see the view it’s worth the steep hike up. It is graded strenuous due to the total elevation gain at 1240ft, once you reach the top the rocks frame the view, climb up onto these for a panoramic view of the park. It's also a great spot to watch the sunset.
Top view points close by:
Blackrock Viewpoint (0.4 miles - 15 minutes)
Day / Area 3 - Drive time: 1 hour
Head to Upper Hawksbill trailhead and hike up to the highest point in Shenandoah National Park, to witness some magnificent views across the park, the cloud rolled in whilst we were at the summit. We ended our time in Shenandoah with a total bear count of 12!
Top view points close by:
Little Hogback Overlook
Little Devils Stairs Overlook
Socks and Sandals