Shenandoah National Park, VA

Great weekend in Shenandoah National Park! 🌄

About a 7 hour drive from Buffalo, NY. We stayed in a cabin at Harrisonburg / Shenandoah Valley KOA Holiday. Two bedroom, full bathroom, and pull out couch with a kitchen. Full patio with table, gas grill and fire pit. Great ameneties for the kids: activities on Saturdays, heated pool, pond for fishing, lawn games, hiking trails and playground.

This trip was to explore Shenandoah National Park. We try to check 1-2 off our list each year. Our kids are finally at great ages where we can now spend full days hiking without the complaints. 🥾All our hikes were done in the National Park. ⛰️

Hikes:

•Bearfence: strenuous hike with the majority of it rock climbing up 3,050 feet elevation. There were many times I closed my eyes, screamed, and thought we were going to die! 😵‍💫 But we made it and the view was in a credible at the top.

•Dark Hollow: Great hike and beautiful. There are a lot of stairs and it is steep. The view at the bottom is a beautiful waterfall. You should def have hiking sticks for this one. I have them and they are great! Expect to spend a lot of time here. While the hike distance is short, it is strenuous with a lot of climbing.

•Meadow Night Hike: We did a night hike through the meadow. When we went by it earlier I thought “wow what an open field.” Nothing more. Little did I know my mindset would be changed and shifted. We booked a night hike through the park. Our guide Andy was incredible. We left at 7pm. Little did we know that the hike was through the meadow! This place was filled with life, burning, swamps, microclimates, beauty, remedy plants, sunsets like no other, and animals of all kind. It was incredible. Highly recommend.✨👍🏼

•Hawksbill Summit: This was our fourth and final hike. The most strenuous on the body and mind and steepest. 4,050 feet elevation that was completely vertical the entire time. Hurting today! 🥵So many times I wanted to collapse and my littles needed too many breaks to count. 🙃 BUT we made it and I’m so glad we got through it because the view from this high was absolutely breathtaking! The pain was worth this gain!

Things to Do:

There are so many cool things to do outside of the park! We visited the Luray Caverns and this was incredible! The history and views were like nothing I’ve ever experienced. Great for all ages!

We loved the high ropes course. You can climb right at the caverns or visit Bear Mountain Ziplines for all of your adventure needs!

Main Street in Luray has amazing shops to visit that have the coolest items. We even stopped at al Hawksbill Brewing Co. to grab a Flight since the area is well known for breweries and wineries. The peach was our favorite! 🍑If you have more time and are with adults only, consider the Shenandoah Spirits Trail to see and taste it all: wineries, breweries, distilleries, and cideries. 🍷🍻

Horseback riding in the George Washington National Forest with Fort Valley Ranch/Cabin/Trail Rides/Campground is a must with views through this historic site! Ages 6 and up 🐴

Looking for some water action? We love kayaking and bringing our own tandems. Shenandoah River Outfitters has kayak rentals, tubing and rafting down the Shenandoah River 💦🛶

Places to Dine:

This area is well know for blackberry EVERYTHING!

Breakfast: we made most of our breakfast at the cabin. However, we highly recommend Hawksbill Diner. Southern vibe and cash only! That’s how you know it’s a gem! Their biscuits and gravy were 🤤. Other places include Thunderbird Diner and Rudy's Diner. 🍳

Lunch: we packed most of our lunches because we were in trails most days. However, we manage to catch a quick bite at Triple Crown BBQ but by the time we arrived, most items were already sold out by 1pm. Must try with amazing reviews. It’s a food truck on the side of the road. Line was out the door! 🍗 We also stopped at Big Meadows Visitor Center to grab some snacks, get some travel stickers and get our National Park book stamped! Highly recommend the Passport Book to track your national adventures. We just checked off NP #9.

Dinner: We ate dinner at Big Meadows Lodge in Shenandoah NP. It overlooked the mountains. Place was beautiful. There was even a space to rock in chairs or play games. Highly recommend the meatloaf, wedge salad and green tomatoes.

We also grabbed dinner at Mamma Mia - Italian Restaurant & Bar. Pasta was amazing! Highly recommend the baked pasta GF, white bean soup and antipasto. 🍝

For dessert we hit up a staple for ice cream at Klines Dairy Bar. Chocolate, vanilla, and Flavor of the week. Creamy and absolutely delish! 🍦

If you get the chance stop and grab Route 11 Potato Chips or swing by the headquarters. 🥔 Flavors are so fun!

We also stopped at Big Meadows Visiting Center for snacks, travel stickers and to get our NP Passport book stamped. Highly recommend getting one if you love to explore National places. We just checked off NP #9.

Hiking Sticks Found Here: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01L5YWW7I?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details

All camping gear: https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/LSOBECK7DQDT?ref_=wl_share

Kayaks Found Here: https://a.co/d/8Npye68

Hiking Boots: https://a.co/d/0yzcPRO

Kid's Hiking Lamps: https://a.co/d/0yzcPRO

Overall, great trip. 4-5 days are perfect to explore this region in its entirety. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️✌🏻🩵✈️

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