Shenandoah always seems to be passed over when people talk about the America’s National Parks, losing out to the grandeur of Yosemite or the popularity of the Smokies.
– $30 for a 7 day pass for your car.
– Annual Shenandoah pass for $55.
– $80 for an “America the Beautiful” National Park Pass that covers entrance fees at all National Parks for a year.
How Long Does It Take To Drive Thru Shenandoah National Park?
– 3 Hours- Driving the entire 105 mile Skyline Drive if you don’t stop at all.
– 4 Hours- Driving the whole Skyline Drive, stop at a couple of the overlooks, and do one short hike.
We stopped at overlooks along the way that had great views, which turned out to be a lot of them. So it took us just under an hour to drive the 20 miles from the entrance to the Blackrock Summit trailhead parking lot.
We pulled into the well- marked and decently large parking lot for Blackrock Summit at mm 84.4 a little after 6 pm. This is a loop trail so you can take the Appalachian Trail or Trayfoot Mountain Trail up to Blackrock Summit and the other one back.
From the Swift Run Gap entrance, you exit the park and get on Hwy 33 heading east to Harrisonburg. There were a lot of signs. It took us just under 30 min to get to our hotel in Harrisonburg from the park. We were there by about 8pm.
We stayed in Harrisonburg at the Hyatt Place, one of the newest (built in 2021) and nicest Hyatt Places I have stayed in. It had wonderful views of the mountains and a 5th floor restaurant/ bar that had a open air deck which was pretty cool.