{"id":245,"date":"2023-11-29T02:44:54","date_gmt":"2023-11-29T06:44:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/travelbeatmagazine.com\/?p=245"},"modified":"2025-03-12T16:11:30","modified_gmt":"2025-03-12T20:11:30","slug":"motor-along-the-appalachian-trail","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/travelbeatmagazine.com\/index.php\/2023\/11\/29\/motor-along-the-appalachian-trail\/","title":{"rendered":"Motor along the Appalachian Trail"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Sit

Sit a spell and watch the clouds take shape and roll over the mountains at Shenandoah National Park. (Cheryl Welch |Travel Beat Magazine)<\/p><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

Get cloud level and meander along the ridge lines of an ancient mountain ridge. Look down on the valleys below, some farm fields, some deep woods and others dotted with farms, houses and churches.<\/p>\n

This is the Shenandoah Valley, revered in folk country songs for its beauty and wholesome American values.<\/p>\n

And you\u2019re on Skyline Drive<\/a>.<\/p>\n

To take the drive from the tippy top to the very bottom, you\u2019ll want to leave at least a full day. Preferably, start your journey in the early morning while there is still dew on the ground.<\/p>\n

From the Ranger\u2019s Station entrance<\/a>, you\u2019ll gradually climb higher until you follow a fairly steady ridge for the duration.<\/p>\n

Keep it slow (the speed limit is 35 for a reason) so you don\u2019t miss the scenic turnoffs, trail heads<\/a> or way stations. Open your windows, too, so you can hear the tree frogs, crickets and birds as you motor along.<\/p>\n

You won\u2019t want to miss the way stations, of this you can be assured. Why? Restroom breaks are a biggie. But more than that, you will want to get one\u2014or two\u2014blackberry milkshakes.<\/p>\n

\"Skyline

Skyline Drive has a whole lot of big sky views. (Kevin Kaiser | Travel Beat Magazine)<\/p><\/div>\n

These are famous among the Appalachian Trail hikers<\/a> who frequently espouse the virtues of the Shenandoah National Park\u2019s elevation (relatively low on ups and downs) as well as wildflowers, views and amenities.<\/p>\n

The way stations, which offer hot dog and hamburger joints and milkshakes, are scattered along the Skyline Drive so you can be assured you won\u2019t A.) Go hungry, or B.) Have to go potty in the woods.<\/p>\n

The National Park centers are also found periodically along the Skyline Drive and offer clean restrooms, gift shops, at least one bona fide restaurant. All are handicap accessible.<\/p>\n

Shenandoah is also the perfect park to take in a picnic lunch as you\u2019ll be able to get a table with a mountaintop view.<\/p>\n

This is a drive that\u2019s full of scenic splendors, hiking opportunities, decadent flavors, and can be done by anyone. If you want a taste of the great outdoors, without having to leave the comfort of your car, or have limited mobility, this is it.<\/p>\n

Just make sure to reach the other end by sunset so you can get some great mountain-valley shots as the peaches, purples and reds set in.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s Shenandoah gold.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Skyline Drive offers views of clouds and nature\u2019s splendor.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":246,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[64,62,111],"tags":[205,203,206,204,148,201,207,200,202,208],"class_list":["post-245","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-american-east-coast","category-american-south","category-destinations","tag-appalachian-trail","tag-blackberry-shakes","tag-hikers","tag-hiking-1","tag-mountains","tag-national-park-service","tag-nature","tag-shenandoah-valley","tag-skyline-drive","tag-virginia"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/travelbeatmagazine.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/245","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/travelbeatmagazine.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/travelbeatmagazine.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/travelbeatmagazine.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/travelbeatmagazine.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=245"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/travelbeatmagazine.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/245\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/travelbeatmagazine.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/246"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/travelbeatmagazine.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=245"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/travelbeatmagazine.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=245"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/travelbeatmagazine.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=245"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}