Had such a great visit here, the roads were incredibly well kept!! Every turn offered a new…read moreperspective and view of the mountains!! The pull offs to take photos and take in the view felt like a cheat code to seeing the parks beauty without putting in the work to hike for a view point, making this part of the national park incredibly accessible to those who's mobility is not up to par for a long hike.

We absolutely loved this drive. You could honestly stay in the car the whole time and see some…read moregreat views. We didn't though - stopped and did some hiking but our guidebooks were good about noting the mile markers so you could try to plan it out. They had somewhat clear mile markers on the side of the road and it was fairly easy sailing the whole day. As the park got busier, it was nice to have the wayside lots to break things up a bit. Very easy to navigate.

The park is absolutely gorgeous and deserves a nice leisurly visit. There are many hiking trails…read morefor all technical levels. A lovely drive with scenic over looks. I recommend a few days stay but you can see it in a day if you are pressed for time. End to end the drive is around three hours plus stops. There are a number of 'cabins' for rent with gorgeous views. A full service restaurant is near by as well as a coffee shop. There are a few 'comfort stations' (restrooms) available along the driving route and picnic areas. Be sure to close the bear proof garbage bins securely! A ranger station and gift shop are located near the north entrance. A cafe, small convenience store and gift shop is located near camping. A gas station is near the south entrance. Check the NPS website for reservation and trail information and do make a plan to visit.

An amazing National Park, especially if you love hiking, camping, and/or amazing views of mountains…read moreand valleys. The main vein through the park is the Skyline Drive, accessible from any of the 4 (paid) park entrances. It's much longer than we anticipated. According to the National Park Service's website, on clear days, it takes about 3 hours to drive the whole thing! All along the Skyline Drive are spots to pull over and take in the stunning vistas. It really is beautiful on both sides of the Blue Ridge Mountains. A few of the spots are extra large and have bathrooms. I recommend looking up some maps of the different trails to plan your trip. We went with the Hawksbill Trail because it reaches the highest point and the views are not to be missed! My oldest friend goes every year with her family and they still are seeing new stuff, so don't be too hard on yourself if you don't see everything, but enjoy what you do; it's gorgeous.

What a gorgeous national park. Skyline drive felt like every twist and turn was another postcard…read moreworthy spot. I love to hike and was excited to arrive at Big Meadows because I've read about it in books about thru hiking the Appalachian Trail. We actually saw some thru hikers while we were at the Visitor Center and that was special watching their journey in real life. I grabbed a t shirt, a baby book for our new granddaughter and of course had to get some stamps for my National Parks passport book. Then we decided to head over for an "easy hike" at Dark Hollow Falls Trail.

October, 2025. There are four entrances to Shenandoah National Park; the Swift Run Gap Entrance is…read moreat mile marker 65.5 on Skyline Drive (which runs the length of the park for 105.5 miles). Swift Run Gap is the most convenient entrance if you're coming on U.S. 33 from Harrisonburg or Massanutten from the west or Stanardsville from the east. The entrance is usually manned by a national park ranger, who collects entrance frees and gives you a map of the park. We most recently visited in mid-October (height of the leaf-peeping season), but also during a government shutdown. The ranger at the entrance station informed us that the park was "open" but with very limited staffing, and that they were not authorized to collect fees during the shutdown. We selfishly appreciated that the park was open, but were dismayed to think about the forgone revenue that the national park lost during the shutdown. As a result, we spent a lot of money in the bookstore, which is run by the nonprofit SNP Association, with proceeds used to support educational programming in the park (and some staffing during the shutdown). There were a lot of people in the park, but they were following good "carry in, carry out" principles.

We were pumped to try this easy trail but quickly found out it's more moderate than easy. My…read morehusband has a broken vertebrae in his back so he had to turn around. I decided to push forward and was so happy I did. Such a breathtaking hike. The falls are gorgeous and the path is very nice. They have steps built in to many steep places that makes it very easy to navigate. It was a very warm spring day and I did not bring enough water. Bring water or at least a filter so you can have as much drinking water as you need. I enjoyed the hike down but was quickly humbled on the way back up! When I say breathtaking I mean I was out of breath and breathing hard on the way up. So worth it though. I actually hiked down to the Rose River Loop Trail and that's where I turned around to go back up and it's like a 945 ft elevation gain in 1.5 miles. I had to take some breaks and even cooled myself down a bit in the water. What an epic hike though and I even saw a deer!

Amazing waterfall! It was well worth it. It gets steep coming back up but it's nothing anyone can't…read moredo.

This is a substantial preserve that is free to enter. Some facilities without running water are…read moreavailable at the entrance. The topography varies, and the meadow near the parking lot is markedly distinct from the valley in which the actual creek lies. One suspension bridge crosses the creek and it was in quite good condition, but it could also be crossed on foot, or on hoof as this is a horse area. There were several miles of trails and I was worn out enough that I did only a fraction of them, but they were quite pleasant. Various signage suggested this parking lot was a spot for thieves despite the rural location; I suppose it is a highbrow crowd that would be parking here. It also suggests that anytime your shoe leaves a mark the trail is too wet to walk, which if taken literally is kind of ridiculous. Fortunately, if you lock your car and make your own decisions about mud, you can have a good experiences.

This is a great park we happen to find in the area. After spending the previous day at the winery,…read morewe needed to do a small hike. Unfortunately, it was extremely cold and windy and we didn't have bug spray, so we didn't get didn't get too adventurous. For these reasons, we tried the easiest trail--the Meadow Loop Trail. It was an easy loop around a grassy area, took maybe less than 10 minutes. There was a very detailed map at the entrance of the trails. This included all the available trails, the level of difficulty for each trail, basic etiquette, friendly reminders, etc. There was also a reminder that everyone needs to watch out for each other --hikers, bikers and horse riders. We didn't see any horses, but we did try to dodge the "presents" they left behind. We did see some bikers returning from the trail. There was a large parking lot, which most likely fills up when the weather is nicer. Cameras are watching the parking lot, but it's always best to lock cars and hide valuables :). There were bathrooms available, but not the type with running water....if you get what I mean! Would I return? Can't say for sure since it's pretty far.

TOTAL DOG HEAVEN. My pup Otis and I frequent the dog parks in town around Charlottesville a few…read moretimes a week, and decided to take a little winter adventure up to Chris Greene Lake this past weekend. Despite being VERY muddy (everywhere is muddy right now because of all of the rain and snow!), it was absolutely awesome. As soon as we arrived at the dog park area at Chris Greene, which is a short and pretty walk through the woods from the parking area, Otis went NUTS! There's a ton of space to romp, and I think the dogs really love the added fun of dodging in and out of the many trees. I've never seen Otis run so much at a dog park, and despite the cold and ice on the lake he jumped right in. This place will be perfect when the weather is warmer and the dogs really want to swim! It also offers what no other dog parks have: total shade, which will come in handy in July and August! I did get a little turned around leaving the park - there are two paths and I couldn't remember which one we came in on. I took the wrong one, but it just took me on a pleasant little loop before arriving back at the parking area. For the direct exit, take the path on the right. I also think it's important to note that this park is big and your pooch can get pretty far away from you at any given time. I try to stay pretty close to my guy just in case he encounters a grumpy-pants-pup, and that feels pretty hard to do here. Still, like most dog parks around town, the owners were all pretty keyed into their dogs behaviors and we didn't have any problems.

Nice park with many activities. However the dog park is not…read morefenced properly. Our dog got through the fence and ended up miles away and hurt herself doing so. Fortunately she had a name tag with phone number and we got her back that night. If they don't fix the fence you need to stay right with your dog, which defeats the purpose of the park.

Stopping overnight in Culpeper on a trip to Charlottesville, we stumbled upon this park. It was a…read morebeautiful day and lots of families were present, their children enjoying the playground equipment and water fountain cooling stations. Got to see some frisbee golf and take a wonderful hike. Beautiful vistas from the top loop, as well as fragrant jasmine. An amazing park!

Happy to find a the new park that opened last month in Culpeper. Great for a hilly walk weaving…read morethrough trees. Looks like they are going to put disc golf in. Not a fan. Would prefer they leave as is. Oh well. Pavement wide handicapped accessible trails.

Very nice fields. Am impressed by their condition. This is a bit odd pulling into. Large fences…read morewith barbed wire is unusual. Best guess is someone or a group of people, screwed it for the rest of us. Could enjoy more without that view. Parks and Recreation is, supposed to be a little more relaxing. That being said good picnic tables. Also if you have little ones, they will like the playground area. It should get them plenty tired. Luray definitely cares about its citizens, and this park is stellar for a town of its size. Well done. If you're in the area, you can play sports or watch them.

My children miss the old playground, thiers not many wood structures left, so to see it torn down…read morewas disappointing. The new playground is not bad and my kids love the zip line. However, I wish they would have made it more inclusive for children with disabilities.

This International Dark Sky Park is the smallest in Virginia. It isn't a huge park or a destination…read moreon it's own. But it is a wonderful piece of the puzzle to an engaging itinerary in the Blue Ridge Mountains. We enjoyed the playground and eating nearby in Washington VA. (To find out where we got some pretty awesome food and more about the park check out my blog post!) https://bigandlittleparks.com/rappahannock-county-park/

Small park near Washington, VA. Blink and you will miss the entrance. Park has neat children's play…read morearea. There are tennis courts too. A nature trail wraps along the Northern end through the woods and along the water. Covered picnic shelter. Big minus though is that bathrooms were locked and unavailable.

There is a stretch of riverfront space in this small college town. This particular park offered a…read morefountain that was a bit heavy on the algae and a view of the waterfront on a very slow moving and peaceful section of river. There are benches but not a lot else at this particular sight. Traveling along the riverfront to other parks yields more of interest.

Beautiful small park by the river with nice fish pond, and Bicycle parking. Cute benches and table…read morewith embed chess board.