Shenandoah River and Sky Meadows SP 5/10/13 - 5/12/13

We camped at Shenandoah SP with the plan to take a side trip to Sky Meadows to hike the AT. It rained hard all last week, so we weren’t surprised that the Shenandoah was flooded, but it was disappointing to not be able to kayak it after looking forward to that for some time.  At least we knew in advance so we didn’t even take the kayaks with us.

 



 

 

Shenandoah River SP was somewhat disappointing. The only options to camp are the treeless RV campground on the side of the mountain or a primitive campground in the woods by the river. There is no camp store and there were no oval stickers! The visitor's center is lovely, from the outside. Despite the posted hours, it was never open the entire time we were there.

The view is pretty and I’m sure the river is lovely when it’s not above flood stage.

On Saturday we went up the Sky Meadows to hike the AT.

 





The shop at Sky Meadows is very nice. It’s a historic area and there are some buildings and markers to look at, as well as baby cows. :)

 

Dave says "KAYLA THE PARK RANGER WAS AMAZINGLY HELPFUL!"














We did @ 8 miles of park loop including 2.43 miles of AT. This is the entire length of the Trail inside the park.

Starting out from the meadow is very scenic along a dirt farm road and a stream, past the backpacker’s camping area.

The @two miles up the North Ridge Trail were brutal and J whined. I was too busy trying to breathe to take photos.

 But then we got here. There is a clearing at the top of the mountain at the juncture of the North Ridge Trail and the AT. It has a nice bench where we had lunch.








 
 There are signs pointing all three directions--back to Sky Meadows, north to Harper's Ferry, and south to Shenandoah.

Once we started on the AT, the trail was much, much easier.

 

Dave and Jordan worked together to find the Hiking Upward geocache on the AT.

 

 

Coming back down Ambassador Whitehouse trail was lovely. There is an overlook called “Paris View”. Who knew Paris was a small town in northern Virginia?

 

 

Dave had never seen a stile before!



After we finished the 8 miles at Sky Meadows we decided to drive up to Harper’s Ferry.

We did a little sightseeing, got on the AT and walked across the C&O Canal footbridge across the Shenandoah/Potomac.

You can guess which member of the family took this.
Yes, Jordan is the artsy one.

Then we had dinner at a cute little outdoor restaurant. Fun!

Dave says, "AFTER LOOKING AT THE DETAILED MAP OF HARPER'S FEERY, WE REALIZED THAT WHEN WE CROSSED THE FOOTBRIDGE WE WERE IN MARYLAND, SO WE DID 3 STATES IN 1 DAY!"

 

We drove back to Shenandoah and made a fast camp fire as darkness was falling, and made some S’mores before showers and bed.

  On Sunday, which was Mother’s Day, we hiked the 3.2 Allen’s Mountain loop trail at Shenandoah. It was supposed to be the prettiest views in the park but we weren’t impressed. Culler’s Overlook was prettier.

  I took this picture, and I didn't even scream.

Shenandoah Park Rating:

C         8 (big, but too open)

B          10

W        10 (Shenandoah River)

H         8 (Shenandoah is 8ish but Sky Meadows is definitely a 10)

R          0

O         0 (there’s NO STORE?!)

S          8

  Sky Meadows Park Rating:

  C         2 (backpackers only)
  B          2 (bathrooms in visitor’s center but no bathhouse)
  W        0 (none)
  H         10
  R          0
  O         10 (nice shop, historical value)
  S          10