Shenandoah National Park — Planning a Day Trip Thornton Gap Entrance

Shenandoah National Park — Thornton Gap Entrance

The Shenandoah National Park includes the following as documented on Wikipedia: “is an American national park that encompasses part of the Blue Ridge Mountains in the Commonwealth of Virginia. The park is long and narrow, with the Shenandoah River and it’s broad valley to the west, and the rolling hills of the Virginia Piedmont to the east.” It is a great day trip but requires planning. The park has no mobile phone reception and your usual “access” to information will be thwarted as you head into the park. Take the time to perform some planning for your day trip. Planning is important if you are going to go in October where the park will see the highest number of visitors. In October of 2019, CBS noted that: Shenandoah National Park offers tips on avoiding large crowds this weekend.

Before You Go

There are several tips to cover, but if you have not left home, one of the key tips will be to login to Recreation.gov, create an account, and purchase your pass to the park. This will give you time to review your options and potentially save some time as you approach the entrance to the park. Due to the lack of mobile phone reception, you will not get to do this when you get to the park entrance. Print out your ticket. Mobile phone reception is non-existent in the park for Verizon, T-Mobile, and AT&T.

Packing For The Day

You want to pack sandwiches and snacks for your trip. The park has very few concession stands and restaurants that can quickly feed a couple or a family. Here are some suggestions on what to pack:

1. A small folding table
2. Disinfecting wipes. (I like the Chlorox brand, but others are offered as well)
3. Folding chairs for all parties that are on the trip
4. Pick up sandwiches in advance at your favorite sandwich store. Make sure to keep the mayonnaise, mustard, and other condiments off of the sandwich. Add those when you get ready to eat
5. Purchase a pre-packaged veggie tray at the supermarket with green and red peppers and celery. A lot of people LOVE celery and it is often packaged with tomatoes as well.
6. Purchase a pre-packaged fruit cup in a container at the supermarket
7. Bring some Multi-grain chips. The Food Should Taste Good brand makes some great Tortilla Chips!
8. Bottled water
9. A trash bag. If you have some paper bags at the house, bring those and cut down on the use of plastic in the park
10. Plastic Silverware (I know contradictory to the note above, but at least you offset some of it)
11. Paper Towels
12. Other bottled beverages for your consumption

Printing Out the Maps

Before your departure, spend some time on the Shenandoah Valley National Park web site (NPS) and print out the trail maps that you may want to try. The web site is here: National Park Service Shenandoah Trail List. One of the most popular spots to see is the Little Stony Man Parking and subsequent hike. Plan on printing that map at the minimum as that is one of the most popular attractions to see. Again, you must print the maps in advance as the mobile phone carriers do not have data in the park. Do not plan on Internet Access in the park!

Stay in the right lane or prepare for a brutal merge and angry drivers!

Getting There

If you are going to enter the park from the Thornton Gap entrance, prepare for the following:

1. If you are going in October, make sure you have a full tank of gas and use the bathroom before you go. There will be a long time to get into the park. On October 17, 2020, the line to get to the front entrance of the park starting at 11 AM was 1.5 hours! Restrooms do not exist on 211 and the woods are too deep for a restroom break. Please consider this if you are bringing your pet as well.
2. When you get on 211, stay in the right lane. If the park has a long line, the majority of traffic will be in the right lane. If you opt to take the “Wide- open” left lane, you will “sail” ahead only to be met with angry “Right lane” drivers that have waited patiently to get into the park while you now want to merge into the right lane, since the road converges into a single line. On a side note, the park should make a lane for those that have an annual pass. Again, if you choose to take that wide open left lane, while everybody else sits in traffic, prepare for a brutal merge into a single lane and angry drivers.
3. Once you approach the front entrance, park staff may be available to direct you to the “pre-purchased” pass option. If you did not purchase the pass in advance, prepare to sit and wait to purchase your pass.

Travels In The Park

Set up your table and chair for lunch

Depending on the time you have arrived at the park, consider driving up to Skyland Lodge. Skyland will have a nice full-service rest room along with a concession stand if you need a hot beverage. Please note, Skyland has a restaurant as well, but I did not visit the restaurant and can’t comment on it. If you take the advice in the section above titled: Packing For The Day, you will reduce your costs and have your meals ready when you are.

While at Skyland, consider setting up your table and chairs and having your lunch. You can dine and then dispose of your trash at this location. Once complete you can hit the rest room one more time and head off for some exploration.

Hiking Tips

One of the popular attractions in the park is at Little Stony Man Parking. Little Stony Man parking is very limited, but there is an option.

Drive down to Hughes River Gap parking lot. This is a big parking lot! Where cars can park on the fringe and middle of the parking lot. From there, you will see a small trail to the left of the stonewall. Go down the trail and at the “Marker” turn left. You are now on a part of the Appalachian Trail and in 10 minutes you will be at the parking lot entrance to the Little Stoney Man parking lot. If you don’t do this, then you might be tempted to park in the Hughes River Gap parking lot and take the walk on the street. This is dangerous and ripe for injury. Take the time to hit the trail and experience the walk up to Little Stony Man parking.

Leaving The Park

In planning your departure from the park, head back to Skyland to use the restroom. This will allow you to sit in any traffic that you encounter leaving the park. Remember that “merge” when you were coming in the park, well, if you are leaving out the same entrance, that merge, now becomes a left-hand turn, that does not have a set of lights or anybody to direct traffic. Translation: Exiting the park could take some additional time as well.

On Your Way Home

If you are not a regular in the Shenandoah Valley, consider taking a detour on your way home to get a nice dinner at Trummers On Main in Clifton, VA. They take reservations on Open Table. Trummers has a great wine list and wonderful ambiance. If you are traveling in the summertime or early fall, consider an outdoor table. Please note, they do not have heat lamps, so plan accordingly for various weather conditions if you choose to sit outside.

Summary

A day trip to the Shenandoah Valley takes some planning. Printed maps, tables, chairs, and food will make your day. Other than that, the park has plenty of “Vista’s” for you to see and it is a delightful park. The National Park Service does an amazing job and I think they are under-appreciated for the work they do to keep these National Treasures clean and well organized!