Shenandoah National Park with Kids
Explore the beautiful Shenandoah National Park with kids on your next family adventure.
From jaw-dropping views to plenty of easy hikes, this mountainous national park in Virginia will keep you busy for days. Plus, its location within major cities on the East Coast makes it a great weekend trip or addition to a longer road trip.
Below, you’ll find everything you need to know to set started on your kid-friendly visit to Shenandoah National Park from suggested activities to tips on how to make your trip safe and memorable.
The park might be less than 2 from Washington, D.C., but, once you get here, you’ll feel as if you’re a million miles away from everything as you and your family explore trails, go waterfall chasing, and learn about the park’s incredible history.
Jewell Hollow Overlook in Shenandoah National Park
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Family Vacations at Shenandoah: An Overview
At first glance, the park might not seem super accessible or interesting to families with kids.
After all, the only obvious element of the park is a 105-mile road that runs from north to south along the mountain ridges.
I’m here to tell you that there’s SO much to do here…and that road is not to be missed. (Seriously!)
Kids should visit the park because there are lots of cool hikes and there is a fun exhibit at the [Big Meadow] Visitors’ Center.
-Britton, age 9
The park covers about 197,000 acres, making it over twice as large as New River Gorge National Park in West Virginia, and 4 times larger than Acadia National Park in Maine.
That might seem intimidating to try and explore on a single family vacation, but, since nearly all of it is accessible from the main Skyline Drive, your family will be able to see much of it.
Having the road bisect the park from northeast to southwest along the mountain ridges means that even beginning hikers and families with very young children can find a trail easily.
And, since the road stretches for over 100 miles, there are plenty of overlooks, parking areas, and trail options, which helps to distribute crowds during peak visitation times.
See below for more on Skyline Drive and how to best navigate it with your kids!
Every piece of Shenandoah National Park is breathtaking!
Areas of the Park
Unlike places such as Canyonlands National Park in Utah or Glacier National Park in Montana, Shenandoah doesn’t have named sections of the park.
Instead, the park is divided by mile markers on Skyline Drive. You’ll see mile markers along the road to help you determine where you are. The mile markers start near Front Royal, and climb higher as you travel south through the park.
For example, the Dickey Ridge Visitors Center is at mile 4.6 near the northern entrance to the park, while the Chimney Rocks Trailhead is at mile 90 near the southern end of the park.
Where to Focus Your Time in Shenandoah National Park
In an ideal situation, you’d have a week to explore all that Shenandoah and the surrounding area has to offer. I also know that families don’t have unlimited time off, and that you’ll need to make tough decisions on how to spend your time here.
If you only have a few days in Shenandoah, I’d recommend staying near the Front Royal end of the park (to the north), which will put you in easy driving distance of the Elkwallow picnic area, several short hikes, and the Harry F. Byrd Visitors Center at Big Meadow (Mile 51 on the Skyline Drive).
This home base also offers Luray—including Luray Caverns—as an easy day trip from the park.
Honestly, this park is beautiful from beginning to end, and you can’t go wrong with any section of it.
When is the best time to visit Shenandoah National Park with kids?
I spy an amazing family vacation waiting for you in Shenandoah!
If you only have one day here during the summer, which is peak season, you’ll want to get started fairly early in the morning if you’re planning to do one of the more popular hikes.
If you’re visiting between late September and early April, you’re much more likely to meander through the park at your leisure.
Since the park is so spread out along Skyline Drive, you’ll want to figure out which areas you want to explore in the time you have available. In general, plan to spend the entire day at the park which will allow you to do more hiking and exploring instead of popping in and out.
There are picnic areas throughout Shenandoah National Park where you can eat, and this is a much more efficient use of your time than driving out of the park for lunch and snacks.
Because of the park’s location on the tops of the mountains, the park stays much cooler than the surrounding areas in the Shenandoah Valley. Thanks to the elevation, you won’t see temperatures much higher than the low 80s even in the peak of summer.
This means that you can safely hike throughout the summer day, and, unless you’re doing a longer hike like Old Rag, you won’t need to get up before sunrise to spend time on the trails like you do during the summer at Arches National Park in Utah. (So, so hot!)
Shenandoah, Season by Season
You really cannot go wrong with a visit to Shenandoah at any time of the year!
The park sees most of its visitors during the summer, when the East Coast visitors from Washington, D.C., Philadelphia, Boston, and beyond drive down in search of hiking opportunities and cooler weather.
The summer is also when everything is open and available in the park. You’ll be able to stop by any of the visitors centers to pick up Junior Ranger booklets or souvenirs, the ranger programs are offered consistently, and the campgrounds and lodges are all open for reservations.
The summers here are warm but not sweltering, and the park explodes in a rich blanket of greenery. Those waterfall hikes and swimming holes are especially refreshing for families visiting between late May and late August!
The park also sees strong visitation numbers in the fall when the park’s trees put on a colorful display. Seeing Skyline Drive at peak leaf peeping times is like driving through a painting—and each of the overlooks down into the valley is more incredible than the next.
I know that fall can be a trickier time for families to visit because of school schedules, but it really is something special during this time if you can manage it.
The winter is an underrated time at Shenandoah, but it is magical in its own way. While the park can—and does—get snow and ice, Skyline Drive stays open in all but the most intense weather.
On those days when a winter storm has just passed, the parkway will have frozen waterfalls and icicles hanging everywhere. Just pack a good jacket and hiking boots—the trails don’t typically hold snow for very long.
There are limited facilities in the winter, though the picnic areas and the Harry F. Byrd visitors center stay open year round.
In the spring, the park slowly prepares for the busy days ahead. If you can manage a spring break trip here, you’ll get lower crowds than the summer.
Do I need a reservation for visiting Shenandoah?
No, you don’t need a reservation for accessing Shenandoah National Park.
While places like Glacier National Park require vehicle reservations for areas of the park and Arches National Park requires park entrance reservations, Shenandoah National Park is more of a show-up-when-you-want situation.
Given that the reservations systems at the aforementioned parks for spreading out crowds, Shenandoah National Park probably won’t need a reservation system anytime soon. Shenandoah’s Skyline Drive naturally spreads out people along its 105 mile length, so the number of visitors the park sees is dispersed enough to void any need for a formalized reservations system.
You will still need to pay an entrance fee at one of the ranger stations, and that fee is good for unlimited visits in and out of the park for 7 days.
If you know you’ll be visiting 2 or more national parks, battlefields, monuments, or seashores in a 12-month period, I highly recommend getting the America the Beautiful annual pass. We get one every year, and it has saved us hundreds of dollars on our road trips.
Explore more of the Shenandoah Valley and beyond:
What Can You Do in Shenandoah with Kids?
Skyline Drive
The central road through Shenandoah National Park is key to your family’s visit.
PIN ME!
Whether you’re planning a day hike near mile 5 or checking into one of the lodges, you’re going to get there by Skyline Drive.
Built in 1935, this 2 lane road hugs the sides of the mountains in the park, reaching over 3600 feet above sea level at its highest point near Skyline Lodge.
I wasn’t sure how my kids would feel about getting back in the car after we’d just traveled 8 hours from South Carolina to Virginia.
However, they loved the incredible views from the car while on Skyline Drive.
We made the drive even better with lots of stops at the overlooks.
Even though the road is small, it’s paved and well maintained. Plus, the speed limit is 35, so you don’t have to worry about missing any of the views.
In addition to gorgeous roadside views, Skyline Drive also offers plenty of areas to pull off and get out of the car.
There are also trailheads located throughout the park with easy access to the drive.
We didn’t bring our camper into the park on my most recent visit as the campgrounds are closed in the winter, but you’ll see many smaller travel trailers on Skyline Drive during the spring, winter, and fall.
I wouldn’t advise bringing a large RV on the drive, but a smaller Class C, Class B, pop-up, or smaller travel trailer would be just fine.
Shenandoah National Park GuideAlong Tour: A Must Have!
As you are exploring Skyline Drive, be sure to have the GuideAlong audio tour for Shenandoah National Park playing!
These fun, educational audio guides are inexpensive, but excellent, and they are our go-to guide when exploring national parks.
Once you’ve downloaded the tour to your phone, you don’t need wifi, and the tour will stop and start automatically as you approach points of interest. You’ll learn about the park’s history, wildlife, important people, and geology as you drive along.
Visitor Centers
Views from the Dickey Ridge Visitors Center
From roughly March to October, you’ll be able to visit one of the 2 visitor centers.
If you’re traveling on Skyline Drive from north to south, you’ll find the Dickey Ridge visitors center on mile 5, making it super convenient to access from Front Royal.
Then, at mile 51, you can stop at Big Meadow Visitor Center (also known as the Byrd Visitors Center).
This center is the halfway point along Skyline Drive, and it’s a great destination for a day trip from either end of the park.
Junior Ranger Programs
My 2 favorite junior ranger at the Big Meadows Visitors Center
We love a good junior ranger program!
These programs are often free—or very low cost—and are a great way to direct your child’s learning and immersion while in the park.
The one at Shenandoah National Park is free, and your child will get a large printed booklet to complete while you’re visiting.
Once your kids have filled out their required pages and attended a ranger talk or two, they can talk to the rangers at the visitors’ centers to take the Junior Ranger pledge and get a free badge.
(If you don’t complete it while on property, that’s okay! You can mail it back it in to receive your badge.)
For homeschooling families, these packets are easy ways to extend a unit study about the Appalachian mountains, the local flora, and fauna, or the park’s history.
For anyone else, it’s still a wonderful way to get a comprehensive overview of what makes Shenandoah National Park a special place.
Hiking with Kids in Shenandoah National Park
The Camping Kiddos with their Tracks Trail booklets on the Fox Hollow Trail
If you like hiking, there’s a nearly endless amount of options for you!
No matter which part of the park you’re exploring, there are hikes located all along Skyline Drive.
For even more options, you can do one of the backcountry hikes, which allow you to get further away from the crowds.
Several trails also have TRACK guides at the trailhead for an extra way to get kids excited about what they’ll see along the way.
For older kids, you can hop on a portion of the Appalachian Trail, which cuts through the park.
Whichever you choose, you’ll find that there is plenty of parking along Skyline Drive for all of the trails.
The trailheads aren’t always marked in a way that you can see from the road, so you’ll need to have a general idea of what hikes are located in each section of the park.
Fox Hollow Trail
This easy trail is located directly across from the Dickey Ridge Visitors Center at mile 4.6 on Skyline Drive.
If you’re traveling with little ones, this trail is a good one to hike with toddlers or preschoolers, thanks to its gentle slopes and wide trail.
There’s also a Tracks Trail pamphlet available for elementary aged kids who want to add a bit of learning to their hike. These are free and available at the trailhead.
On this trail, you’ll find evidence of those people who lived here before it was a park. Look for old stone walls, farming equipment, and other homestead materials as you hike this easy loop.
Limberlost Trail
This is another easy trail at mile 41, and it also has a Tracks Trail pamphlet available. I love these pamphlets as they add a fun, educational layer to our hikes, and are truly a great way to keep kids engaged while hiking.
This trail is well defined and cuts through fields of ferns and the old growth forest.
Check out more options on my list of short, kid friendly hikes in Shenandoah National Park.
NOTE: There is very, very little cell coverage in the park, so plan ahead and research what hikes are best for your family.
“My best part was the hike we went on the Appalachian Trail ‘cause I got to go downhill and it was super fun.”
Marys Rock Tunnel
Marys Rock Tunnel after an ice storm
This covered tunnel was one of the highlights for my kids!
When they saw the sign for a tunnel through the side of one of the mountains, they both shared their enthusiasm (loudly).
It’s a shorter mountain tunnel, so if your kids have traveled through some of the more intimidating mountain tunnels out west like the Zion-Mt. Carmel Tunnel in Zion National Park in Utah, they might not be as impressed.
Still, a mountain tunnel is a mountain tunnel, and my kids can’t get enough of them.
The tunnel is located south on Skyline Drive just after the Thorton Gap Entrance Station around mile 32.
If you’d like to get a picture of the tunnel, there’s a pull off on the southern side of the tunnel right after you pass through.
It’s particularly scenic after an ice storm when you can see icicles hanging off of the entrance, so consider visiting during the winter for a different experience.
Keep in mind that the tunnel only has a 12’8” clearance if your family is taking your camper or RV into the park!
Picnicking
My family loves a good picnic.
We have not one, but two, picnic baskets, and a cooler backpack to help us transport our food.
I promise I brought more than just a single Diet Coke to our picnic at the Elkwallow picnic area!
If you’re like us and love to dine al fresco, you’ll have plenty of options inside Shenandoah National Park.
You’ll see picnic areas signposted throughout the park, so it’s easy to pull over whenever your bunch gets hungry.
We found that the picnic areas near the visitor centers were equally well kept as the ones near some of the trail heads, so take your pick.
I’d particularly recommend the picnic area next door to the Dickey Ridge Visitor Center as there is an easy walking path between the two.
You’ll be treated to beautiful views of the Shenandoah Valley while you eat!
You can access rangers (during the warmer months), clean restrooms, and the trailhead to the Fox Hollow Trail from the same parking lot.
There’s a large sign on Skyline Drive indicating where the picnic area is, as well as ample parking and a big trash bin.
Another great choice is the picnic area near Elkwallow.
This group of picnic tables is nestled under a large canopy of pine trees and has easy access to 2 bathrooms (one plumbed, one vault).
The Elkwallow picnic area also has free fire pits to use, which would be wonderful for a lunch break in the cooler months.
If you’d like to do some hiking after lunch here, you can jump on the Appalachian trail section that runs through the national park or explore the backcountry on the Jeremys Run Trail.
Scenic Overlooks
Don’t go into the Skyline Drive thinking that you’ll blast through to your destination.
Instead, think of it more as a journey than a means to a particular end.
There are frequent overlooks throughout the park—usually every mile or so—and I strongly encourage you to pull over at any that your family finds interesting.
You’ll be treated to breathtaking views of the valley below, but you might also see things you’d miss from the car.
Your family might see a deer quietly eating just off the road, or a small waterfall trickling through the woods.
You could discover a trailhead, a big rock for climbing, or an interpretive sign explaining a part of the park’s history.
Take the journey slowly, and prepare to be awed!
NOTE: Most of the overlooks have small walls for visitor protection, but keep smaller kids close as there are some steep drop offs.
If you’re not sure how to organize all of these suggestions while visiting, check out my Shenandoah National Park itineraries for 1, 3, and 7 day visits.
What You Should Know Before Visiting Shenandoah National Park with Kids
Being silly at the North Entrance sign to the park near Front Royal
Shenandoah National Park with kids can be a wonderful experience, but don’t go into it expecting a walk in the park (ha).
Here’s what you’ll need to know for an easy, prepared trip.
Cell phone service is nearly non-existent.
In fact, for much of our time in and around Shenandoah National Park, we struggled to get even one bar of service.
While being disconnected from the world for a few days isn’t a terrible thing, it might give you pause if you or your kids suddenly get sick or hurt.
During the summer, you’ll be able to easily access a park ranger or other visitors, but in the winter, you can go quite a while without seeing anyone else.
We always take our Garmin InReach Mini with us whenever we’re hiking, no matter where we are or how close we are to civilization. It allows us to text others with our GPS location and provide updates as we hike.
It’s expensive, but well worth it in an emergency.
You can find lodging and campgrounds in the park.
However, book ahead, especially in the summer when the park is extra busy.
The lodging is also seasonal.
You won’t find any available lodging during the winter as the cabins and lodges aren’t open between the end of November and March-April (check the Shenandoah lodging page for more specifics each year).
All of the in-park campgrounds are also closed at this time of the year.
Thinking of renting or purchasing a camper for your Shenandoah trip? Explore the pros and cons of a pop up camper vs. travel trailer.
You’ll need to head outside of the park for lodging during the winter.
If you want to explore the park during the winter, there’s still plenty to see!
You’ll need to make lodging or camping arrangements outside of the park.
There are several hotels in Front Royal, on the northern end of the park, about a 10 minute drive to the North Entrance and Dickey Ridge Visitor Center.
Camping at Shenandoah River State Park is a great option if the campgrounds in the national park are full or closed.
If you’re camping while visiting the area, I highly recommend the Shenandoah River State Park also located near Front Royal.
This clean and quiet state park’s wooded lots and easy access to hiking trails makes this the best RV campground near Shenandoah National Park.
We stayed at the Shenandoah River State Park during our winter visit, and it was wonderful!
There are also cabins and yurts at the state park if you don’t have a camper.
If you choose to stay at one of the yurts, check out my complete yurt camping list!
The state park is located roughly halfway between Luray, Virginia, and Front Royal, Virginia, for quick access to both Shenandoah National Park and the famed Luray Caverns (another can’t-miss with kids!).
If you’d rather stay in a hotel, I recommend staying in Front Royal, which is the closest town to the north entrance of the park.
Look for great deals on hotels in Front Royal here:
Ready to add more adventure to your family trips? Check out our guide to all of the East Coast national parks!
You don’t have many amenities inside the park.
Come prepared for a full day of fun before you enter the park.
From spring through fall, there are some quick service food stops open and guided tours available.
During the winter, you’ll need to bring your food and drinks into the park, and be prepared with your day’s game plan. No guided tours are offered in the winter.
Year round, you can find gas at the one gas station inside of the park, an Exxon located at the Big Meadows Visitors Center.
Keep in mind that this gas station is more than 50 miles from Front Royal and 15 miles from the Swift Run entrance station near Elkton.
Skyline Drive is one place you don’t want to run out of gas!
Because of the vastness of the park and the single road that runs throughout, you should also be prepared with basic first aid supplies and plenty of water for your family for the duration of your visit.
There aren’t many exits on and off of Skyline Drive.
Skyline Drive was designed to show visitors the beauty of the park—it’s not a way to easily get around the Shenandoah Valley area.
Keep that in mind as you plan your day, and realize that you’ll have to backtrack on the Drive a good bit to get off of the drive.
For example, one of the days on our recent visit, we entered through Front Royal with the plan to turn around at mile 51, where the Big Meadows Visitors Center is.
When we were ready to head back to our camper that day, we had to drive back up Skyline Drive just past Marys Tunnel to get out of the park at the Thorton Gap Entrance Station around mile 30.
Final Thoughts on Visiting Shenandoah with Kids
As one of the more accessible national parks on the East Coast, Shenandoah National Park should be on every family’s list of places to visit.
The park designation protects this gorgeous part of the Appalachian Mountains for years to come while still being close enough to major cities for an easy visit.
Skyline Drive offers up a variety of ways for families to explore the park, whether you’re planning to spend just one day or an entire week here.
Plus, the wide variety of hiking means that families with any level of hiking ability will be able to find a fun, enjoyable trail while they’re here.
Ultimately, Shenandoah National Park is an excellent choice for an outdoor family vacation you’ll never forget!
