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At mile 65.5 along Skyline Drive, Swift Run Entrance Station was a part of the intitial construction for Skyline Drive.
The first section of construction initially was to be from Rapidan Camp to the Skyland Resort, about twenty miles, but evolved into the 34 miles from Swift Run Gap (U.S. 33) to Thornton Gap (U.S. 211).
Visitors enjoying a hike on the Hightop Summit trail
NPS Photo
Mile 66: Hightop Summit Trailhead & the Appalachian Trail
With an elevation of 3,586 feet, Hightop Mountain is the highest peak in the South District of the park.
Prepare to hike along a section of the Appalachian Trail to reach a rocky viewpoint with breathtaking west-facing views. If hiking in the springtime, keep a lookout for wildflowers blooming. You may spot some trilliums, star chickweed, jack-in-the-pulpit, wild azalea, and more.
Through tree branches, a stunning view from Swift Run Overlook
NPS Photo
Mile 67: Swift Run Overlook
The first south-bound overlook in the southern district of the park offers stunnings views towards the west.
Looking out over the valley, you can see Massanutten Mountain on the horizon. Nearby, there is an orientation station to provide visitors with a map and other helpful information to use during their time at Shenandoah. Check out our interactive map on our website to see what you can find along Skyline Drive.
Mile 68: Smith Roach Gap
Early Appalachian Trail construction under Franklin Cliffs
NPS Photo
Mile 69: Appalachian Trail crossings along Skyline Drive
The Appalachian Trail trail crosses Skyline Drive a few times throughout the park. Mile 69 is one of these intersections where drivers may meet through-hikers.
Founded in 1925, the Appalachian Trail Conservancy (ATC) set out to build a continuous wilderness "super trail" along the eastern mountain crests. Benton MacKaye, first a forester for the U.S. Forest Service and later a planner for the Tennessee Valley Authority, conceived the trail as a peaceful escape from modern life, maintained by local communities. Soon after, in 1927, the Potomac Appalachian Trail Club (PATC) formed to build mid-Atlantic segments, routing early trails through the historic Skyland resort. However, tension erupted in the 1930s when the construction of Skyline Drive forced the relocation of the original trail.
The Miller-Kite House, a historic property located in Elkton, VA
David Edwards/DHR, 2021
Mile 70: Eaton Hollow Overlook & Miller-Kite House
Facing north-northeast from an elevation of 2,500 feet, you may be able to see a small window between the growth to look upon the Shenandoah Valley below.
Looking out from Eaton Hollow Overlook, straight ahead is the town of Elkton. One of the historic properties in Elkton is the Miller-Kite House. Henry Miller Jr. contructed this house in 1827 and later became Stonewall Jackson's headquarters for a brief period in 1862 at the beginning of the Shenandoah Valley Campaign. This house was listed on the National Register for Historic Places on February 1, 1979.
According to the Virginia Department of Historic Resources, in 1984 the house was donated by the Kite family to the town of Elkton. The Miller-Kite House has since been restored by the Elkton Historical Society for use as a museum.
Miles 71-80
Firefighters overlooking the 2016 Rocky Mount fire
NPS Photo
Mile 71: Rocky Mount Overlook & the Rocky Mount fire
Facing west-northwest from an elevation of 2,445 ft (745 m), the view from Rocky Mount Overlook looks straight out to Rocky Mount.
The second largest forest fire in the history of Shenandoah National Park occurred in the Rocky Mount area. The fire began on April 16, 2016. Dry conditions and wind soon caused the fire to spread rapidly. The fire was contained by April 29, leaving a total of 10,326 acres burned.
A visitor can use a GPS device to locate Earthcaches within the Park.
NPS Photo
Mile 74: Earthcaching in the Park
You may have heard of geocaching, but what about earthcaching?
Contrary to geocaching, earthcaching adheres to all of Shenandoah National Park's "Leave No Trace" principles. Earthcaching is a "virtual" geocache that contains no physical hidden container or cache. Earthcaching is a hunt for the Earth's natural and geological features as the "treasure".
Somewhere along mile 74 on Skyline Drive, you may find an earthcache. Keep an eye out for geological formations to be able to log it on the geocaching website.
The dark skies above Shenandoah National Park offer spectacular stargazing opportunities.
NPS Photo
Mile 79: The Night Sky at Loft Mountain Campground
Gaze upon the stars at one of the largest campgrounds in the park.
Resting atop of Big Flat Mountain, Loft Mountain is the perfect campground to stargaze on a clear night.
Take a short walk from your campsite to the campground amphitheater, set out a blanket, lay back, and enjoy. Listen to the calm winds travel up the mountain as you try to make out constellations. Try to spot bright planets when they're above the horizon. And if you're patient, you'll be sure to see plenty of meteors whipping across the night sky. It's a great way to end your night after a long day of hiking and exploring.
Miles 81-90
The Doyles River Cabin interactive virtual tour offers visitors the chance to see inside the cabin from the comfort of their own home.
NPS Photo
Mile 81: Doyles River Cabin
See if you can spot the cabin in the woods along the Doyles River Trail.
The Doyles River Falls Trail (mile 81.8) offers a trek through some of Shenandoah's expansive wilderness, leading you to two unique waterfalls. Along the way, you may notice a cabin off the trail sitting atop a ledge about a hundred feet up. This cabin is maintained and operated by the PATC (potomac appalachian trail club) and available to reserve.
If you want to explore the cabin for yourself (without making the trek or a reservation), visit our interactive virtual tour of the Doyles River Cabin.
An engraving of Stonewall Jackson
NPS Photo
Mile 83: Stonewall Jackson's March through Brown's Gap
On June 18, 1862 when leaving the Shenandoah Valley, Stonewall Jackson and his men crossed the Blue Ridge Mountains through Brown's Gap
Brown's Gap was one of the most significant tools that the Confederacy utilized during the American Civil War.
on June 16, General Lee wrote to Jackson, suggesting that he and his men march from the Shenandoah Valley to assist in the relief of Richmond, by attacking the relatively unprotected right flank of McClellan's army, north of the Chickahominy River.
Shortly after midnight, in the early hours of June 18, Jackson and his men left their position at Weyer's Cave and began the 120 mile march to Richmond. The route that Jackson took on his secret march through the night of June 17-18 followed the old Browns Gap Turnpike across the Blue Ridge Mountains, past their camp of a week earlier, and down toward Richmond.
At Blackrock Summit, the exposed rock which formed the ancient Iapetus Ocean now forms a crumbling talus slope.
NPS Photo
Mile 84: Blackrock Summit's Ancient Seabed
The exposed rocks of Blackrock formed the seabed of the Iapetus Ocean, an ancient body of water that predates the Appalachian Mountains.
The geological forces that created the mountains changed the seabed into solid quartzite rock. You can even see the layers of sand and quartzite on the rocks. Blackrock continues to change as weathering has caused what was once a cliff to crumble into a talus slope, a river of moving rocks. Water, ice, and roots break the rocks into even smaller pieces that slide downhill. Eventually the rocks will hace settled enough that plants can grow and Blackrock will look like other forested mountainsides.
Guests at Black Rock Springs, a resort that predates the Park by almost a century. Date unknown.
NPS Photo
Mile 87: Black Rock Springs Hotel
In early ninteenth-century Virginia, Shenandoah Valley and Appalachian Mountain resorts were popping up left and right to satisfy wealthy patrons in the summertime. One such resort site resides in Shenandoah National Park down Paine Run trail, at mile 87.
In the 1830s, the Black Rock Springs Hotel opened in the south district of the soon-to-be park. According to Carolyn and Jack Reeder in their book Shenandoah Secrets, "Advertisements claimed the waters at this nineteenth-century space were 'good for what ails you'". It is noted that no one really knows exactly when the hotel was first built, but "it was mentioned as a resort in a Shenandoah Valley newspaper in 1835".
In the late fall of 1909, a massive forest fire destroyed the bustling resort but left a nearby boarding school standing. This building lated became the Black Rock Spring Hotel and ran operations until the coming of the park.
The springs still flow, of course, and hikers sometimes explore the area. But there is little curiosity about the water once believed to have such wonderful powers that farmers brought it by the barrel to give to their sick animals.
Miles 91-95
Crimora Mine during operation
NPS Photo
Mile 92: Crimora Lake Overlook and the Crimora Manganese Mine
Facing northwest from Skyline Drive, Crimora Lake Overlook is a good place to contemplate the industrial history of the Sheanandoah Valley. Between two ridges straight ahead sits the locations of a former manganese mine.
Mining operations began in 1867. At one point this area was home to one of the largest manganese deposits in the United States. Until World War I, U.S. manganese was mostly imported, but the start of the war incentivized domestic production to the benefit of the economy. The mine shut down in 1946 after World War II, unable to compete with low cost imported manganese. All that remains now are small man-made lakes once constructed to process ore.
Map showing the designated wilderness within Shenandoah National Park
NPS
Mile 94: Turk Mountain Trail & The Shenandoah Wilderness
In 1964, the U.S. Congress passed a law known as the Wilderness Act. This created a National Wilderness Preservation System to provide an "enduring resource of wilderness" for present and future generations. This law designated 9-million acres of federal public lands as wilderness, and subsequent acts of Congress have added additional wilderness areas to the National Wilderness Preservation System.
Shenandoah National Park contains 79,579 acres of congressionally designated wilderness, nearly 40% of the park's acreage. This makes the Shenandoah Wilderness the third largest wilderness area east of the Mississippi River and one of the closest wilderness areas to a major population center. This wilderness, which was once settled, farmed, and logged, stands as a symbol of the regenerative ability of the deciduous forests of the Appalachian Range.
Many park trails are in designated wilderness, and most overlooks allow you to view wilderness along Skyline Drive. Turk Mountain Trail is one example. This trail will lead you through Shenandoah's wilderness to the 2,981 foot summit of Turk Mountain that provides a fantastic view to the west.
Extra care should be taken when exploring Shenandoah's wilderness. Visitors should practice Leave No Trace principles so that these special places are protected for future generations to explore.
There was a time in the development of Skyline Drive where miles 96 through 105 were not to exist at all.
The final stretch of Skyline Drive was originally designed to end at Jarman Gap functioning initially as a "road to nowhere", leaving visitors in the middle of nowhere. The idea was to preserve the historical Royal Orchard estate that was right in the path of the southernmost portion of the planned drive. Eventually, planners collaborated with landowners to extend the route south, connecting the highway to the Blue Ridge Parkway while protecting the landscape through a scenic easement and a detour below the mountain crest.
Rockfish Gap Entrance Station, Summer 1996
William A. Faust II, Photographer
Last updated: July 8, 2026
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Contact Info
Mailing Address:
Shenandoah National Park
3655 U.S. Highway 211 East
Luray,
VA
22835
