The formation of eastern National Parks was very different than their western counterparts. In the east parks were cobbled together from many disparate sources to form one cohesive whole. This makes it all the more remarkable that Shenandoah National Park has 40% of the present park classified as wilderness.
The park is long and thin with the Shenandoah Valley on the eastern boundary. This is a great place to visit as well with the wealth of historic sites in the area. Numerous Civil War battlefields are within an easy drive from the park. Running along the crest of the mountains north to south in the park is the Skyline Drive, a scenic paved road offering spectacular views of the surrounding countryside.
As you make your way along the drive especially if you can plan on an early morning or evening trip be sure to keep your eyes open for wildlife. You may see a turkey vulture calmly sitting in a tree,
The Appalachian Trail also runs along the park and there are many trail heads where you can hike part of the trail. I will certainly never be an AT Thru-hiker but I can say that I have hiked at least a portion of the AT in every state with the exception of Georgia.
There are many other methods to enjoy the park besides hiking or driving such as by horse:
There are two visitor centers where you can get your passport to the National Parks stamped; The Dickey Ridge Visitor Center at milepost 5.6 on Skyline Drive and the Harry F. Byrd, Sr. Visitor Center at milepost 51. There are exhibits and orientation films available and helpful rangers are at both centers to aid your exploration of the park.
Bring a picnic lunch there are seven picnic areas at mileposts; 4.6, 24.1, 36.7, 51.2, 57.5, 62.8 and 83.7 on Skyline Drive. The park can be crowded in the height of the summer season but remember that you will drop 99% of the tourists if you get 1 mile into the back-country. By all means take a trip along Skyline Drive but be sure to get out and enjoy other aspects of the park as well.
Camden, Maine is an idyllic New England coastal town and holiday destination. The charming town was used for location filming for the movie version of the popular 1956 novelPeyton Place. A soap opera in the 60s was also produced. As you head north on US Route 1 you will first enter the town center. There are numerous shops and restaurants lining the streets with the marina just past the main drag.
As you pass the marina on the right you will get to the area where there are some spectacular hotels and guest houses mixed in with some extraordinary mansions. It is fun to take a stroll or slow drive past the mansions and marvel at the extravagance of the oceanfront homes.
My mother was born in Eastport, Maine and we took an annual pilgrimage to my grandmothers house every summer. Leaving the Boston area and pulling a travel trailer we would stop halfway to Eastport in Camden Hills State Park. We would camp in the camping area on the left of the highway. One of my favorite early memories was eating lunch when we arrived. We would often travel with my Uncle Fred and Aunt Peggy and prior to leaving Uncle Fred would pick up deli meat from the North End in Boston and we would make spukies when we got to the campsite. Access to the rocky Maine shore line is across the street.
Adjacent to the campground is the auto road up Mount Battie. Views from the top of the mountain are fantastic.
You can definitely make Camden more than a one day stopover. There is culture with the opera house and galleries, adventure with the schooners and harbor cruises and ample hiking opportunities.
The Mount Washington Auto Road was built in 1861 and was a fantastic achievement at the time. It was called the carriage road for obvious reasons when it was first built. It is a winding mostly paved (there is one dirt section) with no guard rails and some interesting drops over the ledge if you are not careful. Not for the feint of heart or the timid driver.
To get to Mount Washington you can fly into the Manchester, NH airport or drive the three hours up from Boston. Taking route 16 North will bring you to Conway, NH; the gateway to the White Mountains. Conway is an interesting town with many shops and restaurants catering to the tourist crowd.
Numerous accommodations can be had in the Conway area the most interesting are the Adventure Suites which offer such rooms as; a Roman Spa, a cave, a tree house, etc. A bit kitschy but great for the kids.
At Conway the road splits you can take NH Route 302 which will take you to the western side of Mount Washington where you will find the Mount Washington Cog Railroad and the Mount Washington Inn a holdover grand hotel from the early 20th century. To get to the auto road stay on NH Route 16. An interesting stop if you have young children is the amusement park Storyland (see separate post) on the right going northbound on 16.
Continue on until you get to the auto road. On the right there is an inn and gift shop where you can find an ATM, convenience items and souvenirs. On the left you will come directly to the auto road toll booth. $29 for car and driver and $9 for each additional person, $7 for children under 12. At the tollbooth you get an audio CD with a history of the road and some safe driving suggestions. You also receive the famous “This Car Climbed Mount Washington” bumper sticker that you will see throughout New England. The road starts out very steep and winding as it curls through a heavily wooded section of the mountain. You can practice passing oncoming vehicles while still in the relative safety of an absence of cliff edges.
The road now enters into a transitional zone of scrub pines and low laying bushes.
As you continue into the alpine tundra area the views and the driving become dramatic. As the driver is clinging to the road the passengers can marvel at views not often seen on the east coast. On a clear day you can see 100 miles. Be prepared the temperature change can also be just as dramatic. Our September trip saw two inches of snow on the summit and temperatures of 28° Fahrenheit.
The weather station at the top of the mountain has been in service for over 100 years and has the unique distinction of recording the highest wind speed ever recorded on planet Earth at 231 miles per hour! The top of the mountain has more than 100 days with wind speeds of greater than 100 mph! There is a deck on top of the visitor center for the State Park and if you can walk the circumference of the deck during a 100 mph wind without falling down you get bragging rights.
There is a cafeteria on the top of the mountain, a visitor center, the Tip Top house (one of the original structures) and the terminus for the cog railroad.
The Mount Washington Autoroad is a great attraction for New England and the eastern United States providing views rarely available east of the Mississippi.
Civil War Battlefields and Shenandoah National Park
We left our home in New Hampshire to begin a week long tour of civil war battlefields and Shenandoah National Park. After a travel stop for refueling and some Roy Rogers chicken we arrived at our first hotel Crown Plaza in Monroe, New Jersey. Our mode of travel is to have a set list of attractions that we want to see but to travel leisurely stopping when we see fit using and adjusting schedules as a place of interest takes more or less time.
After a night of restful sleep in a clean comfortable hotel we set out for Fort McHenry Natioanl Monument in Baltimore. The visitor center is a must stop and be sure to take in the short film with its impressive flag emphasis. A short walk up to the fort brought us just in time to the flag raising ceremony. We had fun with a self guided tour of the fort as Alex worked on his junior ranger booklet. The single passport cancellation station is in the visitor’s center.
We next drove to Frederick, Maryland where we had lunch at the Beijing Chinese restaurant a typical corner take out location the likes of which you will find in any American city. Monocacy National Battlefield was next on our itinerary. This is touted as the battle that saved Washington. In 1864 the Confederacy made a push into Maryland in an effort to capture the capital. Vastly outnumbered union troops were able to hold off the confederate army until reinforcements arrived. The visitor center has a nice museum describing the battle and this is where you can pick up your junior ranger materials and get your passport stamp. There are some nice walks through the battlefield but there is not much in terms of monuments or infrastructure.
Our last stop for the day was at Great Falls Park and the Billy Goat trail along the Potomac River. A pleasant place to stroll along the river in a nice wooded area.
We stayed the night after making our way to West Virginia at the Quality Hotel and Conference Center in Harpers Ferry. The White Horse Tavern attached to the hotel had wonderful meals and drinks. Try the Old Bay chicken wings as an appetizer.
We made our way the next morning to Harpers Ferry National Historic Park. We spent the day exploring the park and the preserved old town, this was definitely one of the highlights of our trip. There is a visitor center with passport cancellation station on a bluff above the town, This is where you catch a shuttle bus down into the old town where there are museums, preserved buildings and views of the river.
After a short drive to Front Royal, Virginia we ate at Joe’s Steakhouse and stayed the night at the Quality Inn Skyline Drive. In the morning we headed into Shenandoah National Park along the Skyline Drive. This park raod runs along the ridge of the mountains offering spectacular views at every turn.
The visitor center is close to the start of the drive coming down from Front Royal and is where you get your passport stamped. Keep your eyes open not only for the views but for wildlife as well. The family of bears in the video below was a welcome sight.
We traveled just a few miles on the parkway to get a flavor of it before heading to Appomattox Courthouse National Historic Park. There are several buildings on site included the reconstructed McLean house where the surrender was signed by Lee and Grant.
A 4.5 mile walking tour called the History Trail takes you to several historic areas all the while traversing quiet country fields and glens. The passport cancellation location is behind the first building on the site in the bookstore. The hotel for the night was the Winchester Travel Lodge in Winchester, Virginia.
The morning brought us back to Maryland for a visit to Antietam National Battlefield the location of the bloodiest one day battle in the history of America. We were lucky enough to see some re-enactors in full costume. Alex was thrilled to mix with the “soldiers” while wearing his union army hat.
You get your passport stamped at the visitor center, watch the introductory film and tour the exhibits. There is a wonderful driving tour through the park where you can stop at any point of interest and explore at your leisure. A wonderful park to picnic and spend the whole day.
The Weir Farm National Historic Site was our destination in the morning. This is an art centered site that is great for kids. There is an artist in residence and the kids get sketching materials to draw their own “masterpieces.” The junior ranger program is also a great deal of fun as it involves a scavenger hunt as you wonder around the grounds. Ranger Adrian was wonderful working with Alex and it is people like him that make the National Park experience so special.
