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Shenandoah National Park
The park extends approximately 105 miles along the crest of the Blue Ridge Mountains, between Front Royal on the north and Waynesboro on the south. In one of the most beautiful and historic regions of the East, Shenandoah National Park embraces one of the highest and most scenic portions of the Blue Ridge. Shenandoah, an American Indian name, is thought to mean "Daughter of the Stars."
Spur ridges from the mountain crest blend into the rolling land of the Shenandoah Valley on the west and the wooded hills, orchards and fields of the Piedmont on the east. Between these ridges are deep, timbered hollows and cascading streams.
The 4,050-foot Hawksbill Peak and the 4,010-foot Stony Man are among the highest points in northern Virginia. Notable among the passes through the Blue Ridge are Thornton, Swift Run and Rockfish gaps, which form three of the four primary entrances into the park.
The park's 197,412 acres contain hundreds of miles of hiking trails and scenic viewpoints and are home to many species of plant and animal life. The park is a wildlife sanctuary harboring about 50 varieties of mammals, from chipmunks and groundhogs to deer and bears. Some 200 kinds of birds and a number of reptiles have been observed. The only poisonous snakes are rattlesnakes and copperheads, neither of which is encountered often. It is illegal to feed or harm wild animals.
There are nearly 100 species of trees. Most common are the hardwoods, which produce the annual blaze of autumn color; their height of brilliance usually occurs from mid- to late October. About 1,100 species of flowering plants have been identified. Wildflowers typically bloom from May through late fall. Azaleas and mountain laurel are strikingly beautiful in late spring; redbud and dogwood trees also flower at lower elevations in early spring.
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