Has anyone driven 'Skyline Drive' in the Shenendoah Valley ?

Murphy_The_Cat

Has anyone driven 'Skyline Drive' in the Shenendoah Valley, especially with young children ?

As part of our Maryland/Virginia/Deleware?Washington DC touring holiday, we're going to drive the 105 mile Skyline Drive in the Shenendoah Valley (speed limit 35 mph !) over a day. There is an absolute feast of things to do on the Drive, especially if you are an outdoorsytype adult, but drilling down to find things that a 7 & 4 year old will enjoy is a touch trickier !
The holiday is going to be a rich blend of museums, battleships, beach, mini golf, train rides etc etc, so a bit of time to enjoy the Shenendoah Valley would be ideal -- its just a mater of finding which bits to enjoy

If anyone has any first hand experience, I'd love to hear it.

Murph

p.s. please withhold any suggestions about donning walking boots and camping out in the mountains :rotfl:

Alan_Bowen

Drove part of the route, having overnighted in Charlottesville and drove north up to Harpers Ferry which was incredibly interesting, even though I am far from a civil war expert. The drive was taken in September, a little too early for the Fall Foliage but I seem to recall the road although winding at times was a really enjoyable ride, the scenery is so different from the madness of US cities and the weather was excellent.

unsure

I lived in Washington DC for a while and did Skyline Drive a few times. It is a beautuful and peaceful example of the USA's big open spaces, but...
The best ime to see it is fall as Alan Bowen says when the multicoloured foliage really makes a stunning spectacle. There are lodges in the park which would work fine for a night or two but i wouldn't say there was much in the way of entertainment. Simple short walks to dramatic viewpoints or long wilderness treks seemed to be the main attractions. I seem to recall a lot of signs for some spectacular caves (Luray Cavern?).

The links below might help:

http://www.capitalregionusa.org/Trip-Ideas/Scenic-Drives/Scenic-Byways/Skyline-Drive?src=ppc_google_scenicbyways_skylinedrive

http://www.nps.gov/shen/planyourvisit/driving-skyline-drive.htm

Murphy_The_Cat

thanks Alan/Unsure.

The last time drove along Skyline Drive was 10 years ago and that was sans children !
I can remember it being a really relaxing low speed cruise, with lots of interesting scenic viewpoints, but at the time, I wasn't looking at things from a Dad's perspective.

Thank you for the links, I have a peruse and start organising what to do for the day that we will be there.

Murphy_The_Cat

Skyline Drive is absolutely gorgeous and was well worth the 3 and a bit hours at 35 mph. It is just a lovely way to get from A-B - playing spot the dear and hunt the bear. We stopped for lunch at Big Meadows lodge and the view from the decking was truly spectacular.



If tou're in that part of the world and looking for a break from the hussle & bussle of a 'busy' holiday, go for it ! It was hard to imagine that a nice and easy, steady drive took us to a higher point (3510 feet) than the highest point in England (Scafell Pike 3210 feet). The temp being 84 deg was a real Brucie as well