NPS Photo Welcome to the Central DistrictThe Central District, stretching from Thornton Gap to Swift Run Gap, is the oldest portion of the park, and the first completed. It was the site of the park's ceremonial groundbreaking in 1931, and the site of its dedication on July 3, 1936. Some of the amenities in this region even predate the park. It contain's Shenandoah's largest visitor center, Byrd Visitor Center, three of the park's four campgrounds, and both of its lodges. 
NPS Photo Mile 32An unusual sight greets visitors to Skyline Drive's Mile 32: a tunnel, boring through the rock. Despite 105 miles of curves, mountains, and rocks, this is the only tunnel along the Drive. This is in contrast to other similar parkways: Great Smoky Mountains (built 1936) has five tunnels, and Blue Ridge Parkway (1935-1966) boasts a staggering 26. This discrepancy can be attributed largely to timing: although now overshadowed, in 1931 Marys Rock Tunnel was an engineering feat, a fact attested by the large parking area and heavy visitation obvious here in early photos of the park. While train tunnels had been in use for a number of years, road tunnels were a relatively new phenomenon, not fully accepted as a common highway feature until the construction of the Pennsylvania Turnpike, completed in 1940. Tunnels were becoming popular in national parks in the 1930s because they avoided the huge scars left on rugged landscapes by more conventional road construction methods. From the summit of Marys Rock to the floor of the tunnel is an elevation of some 200 feet, and the roadway on either side follows the contour of the ridgeline. Placing a conventional road here would mean cutting back the rock ridge at least a thousand feet to the west, creating a 500-foot-high slope at a 1:1 (45 degree) angle. Such a process would have been massively expensive, and generated many tons of waste rock. It would also have been ugly and created a landscape vulnerable to landslides. In light of these complications, park planners settled on a tunnel as the most practical solution. The construction of Marys Rock proved to be a significant undertaking for the CCC boys. Construction began in 1931, with crews working continuously in three 8-hour shifts per day, 15 men per shift. Even so, it took until January 1932 to break through to the north side. The tunnel was in use by official traffic within a week, though not officially open, and described in as "roughly completed." Even after its opening, work on Marys Rock Tunnel continued. The north portal in particular was plagued with rockslides. Initial efforts to anchor boulders naturalistically to the hillside were unsuccessful, so in 1934 the slope above was stripped of loose rocks and soil and stone retaining walls were constructed. The tunnel as originally opened was also too narrow: in December 1934 it was widened by four feet to a final width of 27 feet; this allowed for a 22-foot roadway, a three-foot sidewalk and curb on the east side, and a two-foot curb and ditch on the west. The ditch was an attempt to deal with another persistent issue: water. Construction had uncovered many natural springs, causing seeping inside the tunnel. This seepage rendered the tunnel near-impassable in winter because of all the icicles. The tunnel was lined in 1958-59 in an attempt to correct the problem, but massive icicles up to ten feet tall still form over the north portal in winter. 
NPS Photo Mile 33Although Shenandoah National Park appears to be a site of "untrammeled wilderness," in fact the landscape was in many cases constructed by hand, and designed by expert landscape architects. The construction of Skyline Drive was, by its nature, somewhat destructive. The land that became the park had also been home to many generations of farmers: farmers who had cleared and used much of the land for agricultural and industrial purposes. As a result, the designated parkland was far from untrammeled or wild. Landscape Architects employed by the Department of the Interior were brought in to reconstruct the Appalachian wilderness. Many plants were reclaimed from areas designated for road construction or other developments. Flowers and shrubs were potted and preserved, trees were transplanted, and grass and groundcover was cut into sod strips and set aside. Even rocks were saved for later landscaping. After roads and buildings had been constructed, their surroundings were sculpted and replanted in order to maximize their natural appearance. Sod from meadow-area building sites was planted in diagonal strips with space between, allowing native plants to fill in the gaps more-or-less naturally. The traces of this process could be seen even as recently as 2000, when a wildfire between Panorama and Skyland revealed linear patterns in the growth along road shoulders. Great attention was also given to the placement and variety of trees and shrubs. As much as possible, existing plants were transported and used. In many cases, however, park planners were forced to purchase wide varieties of native plants from local nurseries, in order to pad out the available stock. Trees, in particular, were in short supply: the chestnut blight, arriving on American soil around 1900, had hit the park hard. Forests in the Blue Ridge were up to 70% chestnut, and by 1930 all but a very few of these trees were dead. Landscapers had to choose new trees to flesh out Shenandoah forests in place of the lost chestnuts. Ultimately, over 100,000 trees and shrubs were planted or moved - an average of approximately 1000 per mile! Not just plants, but animals needed to be reintroduced into the new park. As a relic of the land's agricultural and settler history, many food or nuisance animals had been nearly extirpated from the area. Bears had been reduced to, at most, a couple individuals. Accounts vary as to whether the population recovered naturally, or whether bears were reintroduced deliberately. Turkeys, now a common sight, had been almost completely eliminated, and had to be reintroduced. Clearly they have thrived, as turkeys are now one of the most visible park animals. To learn more about the landscape design process of Shenandoah, click the photo at right. 
NPS Photo Mile 38Stony Man Mountain is one of the more notable landmarks as one travels south on Skyline Drive. From the area around Stony Man Overlook you can easily see where this mountain gets its name: when viewed from the north, the westward side of the mountain resembles an old man's face and beard. His craggy stone forehead, deep-set eyes, and hawkish nose flow into a bushy tree-beard. The exact origins of this name are unknown, but can be traced to at least the 1850s when the property was included in the large Stony Man Mountain Tract. Stony Man, like many rock outcrops throughout the park, is made from volcanic greenstone. In fact, the Stony Man's facial features each represent a series of lava flows that occurred over several million years. Each of the flows are between 20' and 100' thick. The lava flows initially cooled into igneous basalt. Over time, this basalt metamorphosed into greenstone. This particular formation is called Catoctin Greenstone, and stretches as far north as Pennsylvania. To learn more about the geological history of Shenandoah's greenstone formations, click the photo at left. 
NPS Photo Mile 39Corbin Cabin, built around 1910 by George T. Corbin, is one of the last remaining structures from the pre-park period, and is typical of the vernacular home styles built and used by many of the mountain residents. It was one of several homesites once located in Nicholson Hollow, and is remarkable for having survived the park's creation and subsequent wildfires; it is the only mountain cabin to have done so. The oldest portion of the cabin constructed is the central room. This portion, constructed around 1910, provided a single open living area with an attic or loft space above, accessed by a flight of stairs. A large rear lean-to was later constructed to serve as a kitchen. When the family was evicted in 1938, the side lean-to was under construction. The lifestyle of the Corbin family at this homesite was typical of the mountain residents. Nicholson Hollow had first been settled in the late-18th century. The Corbin family had lived there since at least the 1880s. George T. Corbin constructed this cabin himself. It sat at the center of a small farm which provided for his family, and maybe a small amount of extra produce to sell. When the Corbins lived here, the cabin was surrounded by outbuildings including pens, hen houses, and stone fences; structures that have unfortunately fallen into ruin. In 1954 the Potomac Appalachian Trail Club took control of the cabin and renovated it for use by Appalachian Trail hikers. The partially completed lean-to became a sleeping area. The roof was repaired. Shutters were added to the windows for security and to prevent vandalism. To this day, the cabin is available for rent by hikers and the public. To learn more about reserving this cabin, please click the photo at right. 
NPS Photo Mile 41Miriam Sizer was a key figure in the establishment of Shenandoah National Park. She was also a controversial one. Sizer was an educator, hired to teach vacation school in a rural Weakley Hollow school. Unbeknownst to the local residents, however, she had actually been hired in order to study the mountain folk. Based on just a few months spent at the one-room Old Rag school, Sizer determined that the students at her school were, in her words, "a modern Robinson Crusoe, without his knowledge of civilization." She described them as passive, primitive, and ignorant, lacking any sense of citizenship. She sent these findings on to William E. Carson, the Chairman of the Virginia State Conservation and Development Commission, the agency in charge of surveying and acquiring land for the proposed park. She would remain in her position, continuing her observations, for some three years. Based on her findings, the Commonwealth of Virginia decided that it was in the best interest of everyone involved - including the mountain residents themselves - to condemn the mountain land and forcibly resettle the residents to the valley where they could be a part of "civilization." What Miriam Sizer's exact motivations were are hard to say, but it is certain that without her influence the park landscape would look very different today. To learn more about Miriam Sizer's observations of the people of Weakley Hollow, click the photo at left. To learn more about the lives of the evicted residents, see this article about The Displaced 
NPS Photo Mile 42Skyland, once known as Stony Man Camp, is one of the oldest commercial or tourist properties within the park. First opened around 1898, the resort was very much a product of its time. Rural vacations had long been the fashion with the rich. Cities in the summer became pits of heat and disease. Rather than endure a summer in the city, those who had the means would escape to luxury resorts in idyllic pieces of countryside. These resorts had always been out of reach of common people, who lacked the disposable income and free time to enjoy them. The concept of vacation also clashed with the Protestant work ethic, which created a sense of guilt around leisure and viewed the revels of the rich as anti-democratic and sinful. The rise of industry and the resultant middle class created for the first time a group of common people who had disposable income and the time to spend it. Railroads (and eventually cars) also made it much easier for middle class people to escape cities in a timely fashion. Starting in the mid-19th century, religious camp meetings began to appear in order to cater to middle-class needs. These resorts appeased Protestant sensibilities by banning alcohol, gambling, dancing, and other such sinful activities. They also provided recreation disguised as work to appeal to the guilt of leisure - educational and self-improvement activities were popular: leisure time well-spent. Stony Man Camp was the next evolution of these camp resorts. The resort, headed by the flamboyant George Freeman Pollock, was an explicitly middle-class resort meant for an educated urban clientel - civil servants, clerics, and business owners. It was also, increasingly, meant for the ever-more independent turn-of-the-century woman. Wealthy suffragists, women seeking the right to vote, felt that they had a moral obligation to help the less fortunate. This led many women to join service organizations like the Girl Scouts, organizations that advocated for physical as well as moral health. Suffragist and other independent women became an important part of the culture of Stony Man Camp. Many of the resort's cabins were owned by women. To learn more about Stony Man Resort, and to read the resort newspaper, click the photo at right. 
Gary Fleming / VA DCR DNH Mile 43Shenandoah National Park is home to nine globally rare plant communities. Two of them, the High-Elevation Greenstone Barren and the Central Appalachian Mafic Boulderfield, are completely unique to Shenandoah, found nowhere else in the world. The High Elevation Greenstone Barren community found at Hawksbill and Stony Man is particularly rare: all known occurrences collectively cover less than 10 acres. These communities are generally defined by their plants: twenty-one state-rare plant species, and at least 90 species of lichen, one of which was new to North America at time of discovery. These ecosystems also play host to more than 700 species of invertebrates and many other animals. To learn more about rock outcrop ecosystems and management, please click the photo at left 
NPS Photo/Jay Elhard Mile 46Shenandoah National Park is home to one species of endemic salamander - an amphibian that lives only within the park! The Shenandoah Salamander is a small, endangered salamander that lives only within park bounds. These salamanders depend on a cool climate, and as such are limited to a shrinking territory on only the park's three highest peaks. Their territory, at less than one total acre, is among the smallest of any species in the world. Unfortunately, the warming climate is pushing these salamanders ever higher, shrinking their territory. There are also only two mountains in the park that are taller than 4000 feet, meaning that eventually the Shenandoah Salamander will run out of mountain to ascend. To learn more about these special native animals, click the photo at right. 
NPS Photo/Tom Reece Mile 47While much of the exposed rock throughout the park is Catoctin Greenstone, Old Rag Mountain is one of a few special places where the oldest rock in the park can be seen. These ancient boulders are the remains of the approximately one billion-year-old Grenville orogeny, and are known as Old Rag Granite. Because of its age, Old Rag Granite is considered to be basement rock. Much like other basement formations, such as the Canadian Shield or Vishnu Basement Rocks, it forms the foundation for a much newer mountain range: the Blue Ridge. The Blue Ridge Mountains are among the oldest mountains in the world, but the basement rocks were already ancient when they developed. While Old Rag Mountain is one of the most prominent examples of this ancient formation, it is not the only one! Other examples of basement rock can found at Hogback Mountain (mile 21) and Bacon Hollow Overlook (mile 69). To learn more about basement rock in the park, click the photo at left 
NPS Photo Mile 49Before the 20th century, the dominant tree species in the Virginia mountains would have been the American Chestnut. Some estimates place them at as much as 70% of all trees in the forest. In 1904, this began to change. Imported Japanese Chestnut Trees accidentally brought the Chestnut blight to North America. Chestnut blight is a necrotic fungus that girdles the tree, killing it. It travels on the wind, meaning that it was able to spread across the country remarkably quickly. By 1940, most chestnut trees nationwide were dead or dying of the blight. The land that would become Shenandoah National Park was once thickly forested with American Chestnuts; some estimate that as many as 70% of all trees in our forests were once American Chestnuts. By the time the park was being established, most of these trees had already died, leaving behind eerie white skeletons of themselves. During his singular trip to Rapidan Camp, Franklin Delano Roosevelt termed the dead trees a "ghost forest," and the name stuck. The ghost forest was a prominent feature of the park in its early years. While none of these old trees remain standing in Shenandoah National Park, they live on as building material. Chestnut wood was prized for its rot resistance, so even years after their death, these trees were still useful as lumber. Although the wood didn't rot, it was eaten by worms, giving the wood a distinctive look and name: wormy chestnut. Wormy chestnut was used to build several structures in the park, most notably Dickey Ridge Visitor Center (mile 4.5). 
NPS Photo Mile 53Milam Gap was once home to the Colvin Family. While James "Jim" Colvin farmed, his wife gained a reputation for her excellent braided rugs. When Herbert Hoover began building Rapidan Camp nearby, his wife Lou sought out local artisans to provide the decorations and furnishings. Mrs. Colvin's rugs were famous enough that Mrs. Hoover sought her out to purchase some for the camp. In fact, she liked them so well that she told other society friends about the rugs. Many years later, then-First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt even made the trip to buy rugs from Mrs. Colvin. 
NPS Photo Mile 58When Shenandoah National Park was opened, Virginia was a strictly segregated state in the Jim Crow south. This presented park officials with a problem: no park so far had been truly segregated, but to desegregate the park would create a legislative island, with different rules from the surrounding area. Harold Ickes, Secretary of the Interior, was strongly anti-segregationist, and so was adamant that the park should be fully integrated. Arno B. Cammerer, on the other hand, was in favor of keeping the park in line with state policy. Ultimately, this stance won out, and the park was established as the first and only segregated park in NPS history. While other parks had occasionally had segregated facilities – restaurants with two separate dining rooms, for instance – Shenandoah was truly segregated: for the first several years of the park's existence, there were no restaurants, lodges, or campgrounds open to Black visitors. Restaurants would sometimes bring food out to Black patrons and allow them to eat outside, and some law enforcement rangers were deliberately lax about enforcing segregation of public spaces, but despite the state's official "separate but equal" policy, there remained no amenities of facilities that were open to people of color. Lewis Mountain was the answer to this void. While the park master plan already included a "proposed colored picnic grounds at Lewis Mountain," Black visitors wanted more than just somewhere to eat a packed lunch: they wanted the same food and rest accommodations open to other park visitors. As such, the planned picnic area was expanded to include a campground, cabins, and restaurant, all to be managed by the park concessioner, not directly by the NPS as the other campgrounds were. At first, facilities were basic; the campground was just a level space lacking any improvements, but in 1939 fire pits were built, joined by the cabins and lodge starting in 1940. A campground manager, Lloyd Tutt, was hired to run the campground and restaurant; his wife Mittie became famous for her excellent Southern cooking and baking which could be smelled from the road. The camp even earned a place in The Negro Motorist Green Book, a travel guide for Black travelers listing safe places to eat and stay. While officially a "Negro Area" with white visitors not permitted, in practice the camp became desegregated at night, with the lodge's dances and dinners attracting a large and mixed crowd. In 1940, Lewis Mountain was chosen as the site to begin experimental desegregation of the park, something that the concessioner, the Virginia Sky-Line Company, strongly objected to. NPS Director Arno Cammerer and Shenandoah Superintendent Lassiter also objected to the integration of the park, and both were removed from their positions. World War II led to the closure of concession facilities, bringing a temporary halt to the desegregation effort. When facilities reopened in 1945, a general directive to NPS concessioners ordered that all park amenities be desegregated, something that Virginia Sky-Line refused to do. It wasn't until the General Manager of Virginia Sky-Line resigned in 1947 that desegregation began, and by 1950 the park was fully integrated. Virginia did not become truly integrated until the late 1960s and 1970s. A few pieces of the park's segregated history remain. An abandoned colored bathroom can be seen via a path at the south end of the Stony Man Overlook. The original Lewis Mountain sign can be seen inside Byrd Visitor Center, and the Lewis Mountain facilities, including the lodge (now a wayside) and cabins remain in use to this day. To learn more about the segregation history of Shenandoah National Park and Lewis Mountain, please visit the exhibit at Byrd Visitor Center, or click the photo at right 
Mile 59Just over a mile from Pocosin Cabin sits a very special tree: a Virginia state champion Black Ash. Once a common tree, widespread from Canada through Virginia, this tree is now critically endangered due to the effects of the invasive emerald ash borer. Because of this parasitic insect, foresters believe that this tree may be extirpated from much of its range over the next century. While this tree is not the only black ash within Shenandoah National Park, it is unique for its size. At 92 feet tall and 56 inches around the trunk, it is the biggest not just in the park, but in the entire state. Although this tree has survived the first years of the emerald ash borer's destruction, it is not "out of the woods" yet. Treatment for emerald ash borer is slow and labor-intensive, and involves injecting the insecticide emamectin benzoate into the vascular system of the tree. While this tree has been treated in the past, the injections must be repeated regularly to remain effective. 
NPS Photo Mile 60Pocosin Cabin is one of six cabins operated inside Shenandoah National Park by the Potomac Appalachian Trail Club. A simple one-room log structure, the cabin took its name from the nearby Pocosin Mission. The cabin was built in the winter of 1936 by CCC Camp NP-3 (Baldface). It was prefabricated offsite, and then hauled to its current location in pieces. Per founding PATC member Frank Schairer, "Logs were hauled to the various CCC Camps and squared up at the sawmills, and then they roughed up with axes to look hand hewn, and the whole shelter was cut and fitted- prefabricated- and then hauled to its site where it was erected." Pocosin Cabin can be reserved on the PATC website. If you aren't able to stay in the cabin yourself, you can still take a virtual tour! Click the photo at right to learn more. Mile 63The South River Picnic Area plays host to a variety of beautiful native trees. One individual, a fanleaf hawthorn, is a national champion! Crataegus flabellata, or fanleaf hawthorn, is one of several species of hawthorn native to the northeastern United States and eastern Canada. A member of the large rose family, this shrub sports thorny branches and small, tart red fruits. Hawthorns are usually small in size, ranging from woody bushes to small trees, so this fanleaf hawthorn may not look impressive. At 28 feet tall and 38 inchest around, however, it is the largest not just in the state, but in the country. If you want to visit this champion of the forest, it can be seen on the side of the road at the very start of the picnic loop 
NPS Photo Mile 64The southern portion of Skyline Drive, running from Swift Run Gap to Rockfish Gap, was the last section of the road to be completed. Until 1939 the drive ended just south of here, at Mile 65. Construction of Skyline Drive began in July 1931 with a groundbreaking ceremony held at Skyland, although in actual fact contractors had already broken ground earlier that month. The project had never been without controversy. First had been the purchase of the land easement for the road. While mountain residents were widely supportive of an improved road to their homesteads, they did not view the proposed park so favorably. While they were willing to sell their land for the road easement, they demanded new fences along its length to contain their animals, suggesting residents did not expect any more interference with their land. The drive's construction also caused conflict with the Appalachian Trail Conference and Potomac Appalachian Trail Club. The Appalachian trail through Virginia had been completed in 1931, and followed a route along the crestline of the mountains: the same route that had been proposed for the new Skyline Drive. The father of the Appalachian Trail, Benton MacKaye, felt strongly that the trail should pass only through the deepest wilderness. "One function, at least, of true wilderness is to provide a refuge from the crassitudes of civilization–whether visible, intangible, audible–whether of billboard, of pavement, of auto horn–all of these are urban essences; all are negations of wilderness." – Benton MacKaye This perspective was not unique to Benton MacKaye, but rather was shared by many early proponents of the AT. Not only would the trail need to be relocated, but any new route would place it in close proximity to the road. A road would expose the trail to all the tangible and intangible evidence of civilization that it was meant to be an escape from. Many members of the Appalachian Trail Conference and Potomac Appalachian Trail Club objected very strongly to the changes a road would bring to their vision. PATC president Myron Avery did not hold a hardline stance against the road construction. He was interested in making the trail more easily accessible, and as such saw the drive more positively than some of his peers. Nevertheless, he saw the value of maintaining a wilderness around the trail, and thus proposed a compromise. On January 9, 1936, Avery hand-delivered a letter to the office of Harold Ickes, Secretary of the Interior. He followed the letter up with a phone call, to assure that Ickes received the letter. Avery's letter suggested an interesting proposal: rather than taking the road along the ridgeline to the southern terminus of the park, it would instead leave the ridgeline at Swift Run Gap, or alternatively at Simmons Gap. The drive would then drop down into the valley, and follow the mountains along their western edge. This would leave the southern third of the park, from Swift Run Gap to Rockfish Gap, entirely free from development: a true wilderness, at least for now, of the sort generally found only in the great western parks. In Avery's words, "The Drive can always be built later on the crest, if desired; once built, it is there for all times." The plan received serious consideration. Ickes responded on February 6th saying that he had discussed the suggestion with Arno Cammerer and would be looking into the matter further. He also ordered a halt to any work on Skyline Drive south of Simmons Gap. Park and departmental leadership considered their options for the next month, weighing the costs of the plan versus the benefits of leaving the south untouched. Ultimately, money won out: not only would rerouting the drive in this way require many more miles of road construction, it would also mean purchasing expensive property all along the base of the mountains. For a project that had already been prohibitively expensive, this argument proved successful, and construction proceeded along the ridgeline as originally planned. |
Last updated: July 4, 2026