Check out a 2020 updated version of this post on my new blog: What To Do When The Skyline Drive Is Closed At Shenandoah National Park
Did you know that Skyline Drive in Shenandoah National Park closes during inclement weather?
A little background first:
The Skyline Drive is inside of Shenandoah National Park, an extraordinary 200,000 acres of protected lands that are a haven to deer, birds and a gorgeous night sky only 75 miles from Washington, D.C. There are over 500 miles of trails for hikers, 70 mountain streams for fishing and 196,000 acres of backcountry to explore. However, the most popular (besides hiking) thing to do at Shenandoah National Park is drive the Skyline Drive.
According to NPS, the Skyline Drive runs about 105 miles north and south along the crest of the Blue Ridge Mountains inside of Shenandoah National Park. Interestingly, it is the only public road in all of the parks 200,000 acres. It takes about 3 hours to drive the entire length and that’s mostly because the speed limit is 35 mph. Well that and the nearly 70 overlooks that are all gorgeous, trust us, you will want to stop at every single one. RV’s, campers and horse trailers are all permitted on the Skyline Drive but you should be prepared to shift into your lowest gear.
Unfortunately, during the winter months inclement weather often forces the Skyline Drive to close. This happened to us on our misadventure in November of 2018, read about that here. Although I do pretty extensive trip “unplanners” for this very reason it didn’t help when most of my unplanner revolved around the Skyline Drive. To see the Shenandoah National Park trip unplanner click here. It left us scrambling to find other things to do because most everything is connected by the Skyline Drive. This is a great list to have just in case! That way you won’t have to scramble.
Visit Shenandoah National Park anyway! You can still enter the park on foot at one of the entrances or boundary access points even if the Skyline Drive is closed. This would have been great to know during our trip but I didn’t read that until after we got home.
Visit a local ski resort. If you want to take advantage of the winter weather check out Massanutten Resort. Where you can get outside and ski, snowboard, snow tube and ice skate!
Visit some of the many caverns in the area. You have several to choose from including Skyline Caverns, Shenandoah Caverns and our personal favorite (almost everyone else’s too) Luray Caverns. To read which caverns we recommend click here. These are all open year round and as long as the roads aren’t too bad, they will be open. If the roads are iffy, we suggest calling first just to make sure.
Visit another part of the Blue Ridge Parkway. The Blue Ridge Parkway is probably much bigger then you realize. It links Shenandoah National Park to Great Smoky Mountains National Park and travels from Virginia to North Carolina. An impressive 469 miles to be exact and you can visit different parts of it. If the Skyline D
Visit another scenic drive. If you are looking for another scenic drive check out Route 11. It runs from Winchester south to Roanoke and winds through the heart of the Shenandoah Valley. It’s almost parallel to Interstate 81 linking both charming towns and natural wonders. For the ultimate road trip try cruising Route 11 the 50-miles from Natural Bridge to Staunton.
Or two! You could also try Route 39 otherwise known as the Appalachian Water Scenic Byway. Extending from Lexington westward to Summersville, West Virginia this scenic byway is home to the Goshen Pass Natural Area Preserve. Make a pitstop for an eyeful of the magnificent gorge or enjoy some of the 937 acre woven with hiking trails.
Scrap the scenic drive for some history. Head to Jefferson’s Monticello in Charlottesville, VA or Washington’s Mount Vernon in Fairfax County, VA. I really wanted to get to Mount Vernon during our visit but it was a bit of a drive for us and the only day we would have been able to go was a Saturday. If you know anything about the traffic on 95 in this area on a Saturday, you will understand why we didn’t even attempt that!
Check out a show at the American Shakespeare Theater in Staunton. The Blackfriars Playhouse is the world’s only re-creation of Shakespeare’s indoor theatre. Check here to see what’s going on during your visit.
You see there are tons of options if the Skyline Drive is closed but it sucks that you have to miss the drive itself. It’s gorgeous and a drive that we absolutely recommend. It’s spectacular in the fall!
Please note: I have no affiliation with any of these places. These are simply suggestions that I came up with when I found myself in this situation.
