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A Three Day Itinerary for Shenandoah National Park

Sometimes you only have limited time to explore a national park, and prioritizing which trails to do can be a hard decision. We encountered this dilemma on our recent trip to Shenandoah National Park in September 2024. We were traveling to Richmond for my cousin’s wedding and decided to stay a couple of days in Shenandoah. We spent a week there a few years ago but we had our dogs with us and there are a few trails on which dogs aren’t allowed. Since we were going to be busy with wedding activities, we had my family babysit the dogs for this trip, meaning we were able to hike some of the trails that we weren’t able to do previously. 


Mountains in the background, wildflowers in the foreground, and a cloudy sky
Overlook with wildflowers on Skyline Drive

(All photos taken on my iPhone 14 Pro Max)


Travel tip: Shenandoah does have an entrance fee. You can buy passes early online but we just waited to buy at the entrance station as we knew we would get there when it probably wouldn’t be too busy. 


Day 1: Driving to Shenandoah takes a little over five hours from where we live. We left around 6 a.m. so that we would have several hours to do a hike. My main priority for this trip was to hike Dark Hollow Falls. Dogs aren’t allowed on this trail and I was disappointed last time that we didn’t get to do it. We got to the trailhead around 1 p.m. (after stopping for lunch and at an antique store) and there were still plenty of spots in the parking lot. It’s a fairly decently sized parking lot but we read that it can fill up quickly. This was a Thursday and the morning crowd was already gone so we didn’t have any trouble finding parking, but be aware that it can be an issue. 


The trail to the falls is relatively short (0.8 one way) and you’re going downhill to the falls. (But coming back up is a bit strenuous because it’s 583 feet of elevation gain in less than a mile, so I definitely stopped to catch my breath a couple of times). 

The falls are absolutely gorgeous. There hadn’t been much rain before we went so the water level was probably down, but there was still plenty of water. We found some rocks to sit and enjoy the view for a while. There were only a handful of people there that afternoon so we had plenty of room to spread out, but I can definitely see how it could get annoyingly crowded so, if possible, I would recommend going at an off time. 


A waterfall with rocks in the foreground and trees surrounding the falls
The aptly named Dark Hollow Falls

We had plenty of daylight left so we stopped at the Big Meadows visitor center and also drove Skyline Drive for a few miles to savor the views at some overlooks. Then we headed to our Airbnb in Elkton. 

Elkton doesn’t have much to do but it was convenient to the Swift Run entrance to Skyline Drive. And our Airbnb had a hot tub which is a must for me when we go on hiking trips. There’s nothing better after a long day of hiking than relaxing your tired muscles in a hot tub. The cabin also had a great sunset view so that was a nice bonus! 


Mountains in the background, trees in mid-ground, and grass in foreground. A blue sky
Overlook on Skyline Drive

That night we were looking at what hike we were going to do the next day. I wanted to hike Old Rag as that is the top rated hike in Shenandoah (according to AllTrails) and it’s also not dog friendly (for very good reason as you’ll read below). But in looking at the trail reviews, we realized it has quite a bit of rock scrambling. The definition of rock scrambling, according to kenver.com is “a hiking activity that entails climbing up steep hills and terrain primarily with your hands but also with your feet.” Essentially it’s a combination of some non-technical rock climbing (using your hands but not ropes and carabiners) and hiking. We have done some hikes in Washington where you have to be careful of your footing when crossing boulder fields and may occasionally use your hands, but this was more of having to pull yourself up onto boulders and squeeze in and under tight spaces. 

I ended up watching a YouTube video of a couple who filmed their hike going through the rock scrambling areas. After watching that video and reading reviews on AllTrails, we were confident that this was a trail we could do, and I highly recommend for those who don’t have experience with rock scrambling to do the same before attempting this hike. 

I didn’t know before that evening, but Old Rag requires a day use pass and they only offer so many per day (I think 800 passes). They had plenty left that I was able to purchase on recreation.gov (and just screenshotted it on my phone), but from what I understand they do tend to sell out so it’s best to get them in advance. They also have a ranger in the parking lot where you can buy them when you get there, but that’s also not recommended as they could be sold out. 



A sunset view with trees
Sunset view from our cabin in Elkton


Day 2: We got up early to make it to the Old Rag trailhead by 8 a.m. There was ample parking when we got there and we checked in at the ranger station to show them our day pass. Then we hit the trail! Thankfully it ended up not being quite as hard as we were expecting. There were two areas that I had to have my husband help pull me up (I’m 5’7” and there’s an area with a 6 foot reach), but he had no difficulty and he’s 5’10”. 

HOWEVER, I absolutely do not recommend this trail for everyone. It’s definitely physically taxing and can be dangerous if you’re not prepared. Read the trail description and reviews beforehand, and I personally recommend watching YouTube videos to determine if it’s safe for you. (And if you do it, bring Bandaids. I scraped my knee pretty good and saw several others who had done the same).



Mountains in the background, tree on the right, rock in the foreground. A cloudy sky.
View from Old Rag trail

The views on our way up were spectacular. You definitely get fantastic panoramic views. But unfortunately the fog rolled in right before we arrived at the true summit. We ate lunch and relaxed for about an hour to see if the fog would thin but it ended up staying until late that afternoon. But we weren’t too disappointed since we had some great views on the ascent. Just be aware that fog is a possibility (especially since Shenandoah is well known for its fog).



View from a mountain overlooking a town with rocks in foreground and a cloudy sky
Another view from Old Rag trail


A foggy view with rocks in the foreground
The fog at the summit

Trail tip - The trail down is pretty boring as it follows an old road and doesn’t have many views. We ended up coming to a split where a ranger was sitting to check people’s day use passes. She told us we could either take a right and continue on the trail for a mile back to the parking lot, or we could go straight following a gravel road and be at the parking lot in a quarter mile. Since we had other things we wanted to do that day, we took the shorter route. 


After Old Rag we drove to Luray Caverns which was the final must-do on my list for this trip. At the time it cost $34 per ticket for the self-guided tour and we were able to purchase them at the gate, although you can get them online ahead of time. The caverns were really amazing with some of the best formations we’ve ever seen. For the self-guided tour you’re given a brochure with very interesting facts and it took us about an hour. The Great Stalactite Organ was very magical to stop and listen to for a few minutes.

A large cave formation in Luray Caverns
One of the most stunning formations

A self-playing organ surrounded by cave formations
The Great Stalactite Organ

By that time it was getting toward evening so we took the slightly longer scenic route on Skyline Drive back to the Airbnb. 


Day 3: Today was our last day in Shenandoah and we had about half a day to enjoy it before we needed to head to Richmond for the wedding. Since the morning was supposed to be clear (and not foggy) we wanted to do a short hike with a view. Hightop Peak trail was not far from Elkton so we headed there. The main parking lot for it was full at 8 a.m. But there is another parking lot a couple of minutes down Skyline Drive with a different trail to the summit (it’s about half a mile longer but more gradually steep). So we parked there with only one other car in the lot. The trail to the summit is beautifully forested and we saw some deer but there are no views until you arrive at the summit. It’s a bit small at the rocky seating area at the summit but we had plenty of room to sit and enjoy with a small crowd there.  



Mountain View with a blue sky
View from Hightop Peak

Our last stop of the trip was the Diamonds in the Fluff alpaca farm in Elkton. I wasn’t aware of this place until we got to Elkton our first day and it showed up on Google Maps. Since I’m a crocheter and I love alpacas, I was intrigued. On the website it says they do tours by appointment. So I emailed her the night before and asked if she was available for a tour the next morning. She was very responsive and flexible. I emailed her when we were done with our hike and she told us to come on! It was $10 per person and worth every penny. She educated us on the alpacas, the differences between alpaca and llama fibers, and let us feel some samples of fibers from her animals. We then got to meet the alpacas! We were able to feed them treats and walk them on leads around the field and they were so stinking adorable! We learned about their personalities and she gave us more education on their care. It was just my husband and I and we had a fantastic time! She also had a gift shop with yarn made from her alpacas fibers; handmade clothes and hats and gloves; dryer balls; and socks. She did accept credit cards so we left with several goodies and a few skeins of yarn for me that I’m very excited to use for my upcoming sweater project - stay tuned! This place was definitely an awesome find and I highly recommend a visit! 



Two alpacas in a field, one white and one brown
Two of the adorable alpacas!

That concludes our three day trip to Shenandoah. Even with only one full day and two half days, we were able to pack all of our must-dos into the trip and included a couple of bonuses! Shenandoah is a beautiful national park with lots to explore and is definitely worth a visit whether short or long! 


Concise Itinerary:

Day 1: Dark Hollow Falls, Big Meadows Visitor Center, Skyline Drive

Day 2: Old Rag Trail, Luray Caverns, Skyline Drive

Day 3: Hightop Peak trail, Diamonds in the Fluff alpaca farm



Mountain in the background with fog, foliage in the foreground, blue sky
Overlook on Skyline Drive


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