Skyline Hiking

November 2025
Over the Thanksgiving holiday we decided to head out to Shenandoah National Park for some hiking in the Appalachians. We found a cabin outside Luray, near the Thornton Gap Entrance to the Park. It was a short trip, 4 nights, which gave us 3 solid days of hiking. I plotted out a couple of hikes the boys would be able to complete, and padded in some time for a cruise up and down Skyline Drive. One day 1 we hiked Mary’s Rock. The weather was amazing, and we ended up in t-shirts at the top of the mountain. By day 2 the temperature had dropped nearly 20 degrees, so we bundled up and soldiered on, this time heading north. We started with a short loop at Pass Mountain Loop, then headed further north and hiked a short hike that paralleled the Appalachian Trail, then split off to an overlook, called Hogwallow Flats. Day 3 we hiked to Hawksbill Summit. This hike was a bit challenging for the boys given the weather conditions. The water in the straws of our water bags froze to ice, making hydration near impossible. But we eventually got to the very very windy summit, snapped some photos, then I had to carry Gabe down the mountain because he was getting physically ill. Hawksbill was still beautiful, despite the challenges. We ended the day with dinner at a brewery, where the boys got dirtier than they had the entire trip by drawing chalk pictures all over the chalkboard wall in the restaurant.