We spent an amazing weekend in the Shenandoah Valley region recently. We stayed in Waynesboro, a small town at the southern end of the Skyline Drive (about 30 miles from Charlottesville). We spent the two days going out on scenic drives, a few hikes and visiting many of the wineries and breweries in the area.

Shenandoah National Park extends along the Blue Ridge Mountains in the U.S. state of Virginia. The Skyline Drive runs its length, and a vast network of trails includes a section of the long-distance Appalachian Trail. Mostly forested, the park features wetlands, waterfalls and rocky peaks like Hawksbill and Old Rag mountains. Shenandoah is home to many bird species, plus deer, squirrels and the elusive black bear. The park’s southernmost access point is just three miles from Waynesboro.

Spanning the southern and central Appalachians, the Blue Ridge Parkway offers an exceptional glimpse of the regional flora and fauna. It is world-renowned for its biodiversity. The Parkway covers a wide range of habitats along the Appalachian Mountains, and some of these habitats are exceptionally rare. Visitors encounter unsurpassed diversity of climate, vegetation, wildlife and geological features. The Blue Ridge Parkway also boasts some of the oldest mountains in the world, the highest mountain peak in the Eastern United States and the oldest river in North America. 

Humpback Rock Trail

We hiked on the Humpback Rock Trail, this is a steep rocky uphill climb taking us to an elevation of about 3,200 ft. The strenuous 700-foot climb rewards hikers with spectacular views of the Rockfish and Shenandoah Valleys. It was an amazing “top of the world” experience.

Amazing sights on the Skyline Drive

We went on a scenic drive along the Skyline Drive and stopped at various scenic overlooks along the way. The views from the Rocky Top Overlook were the best. Here are a few pictures from our scenic drive…

Sunrise and sunsets

We were to enjoy beautiful views of sunrise and sunset in the mountains. Our Airbnb offered some beautiful views of the sunrise every morning. Here’s my fav shot of the sunrise from the deck of the house.

My favorite shot of the sunset was from one of the breweries that we visited along the Blue Ridge Parkway. The red / orange glow in the sky was mesmerizing…

Beer and Wine

One of our discoveries on this visit is that the Shenandoah Valley is home to many breweries and wineries. We visited a couple of breweries in the area – The Blue Ridge Brewery (in the Blue Ridge Mountains) and the Stable Craft Brewery (in the countryside). If you are a beer aficionado, you should check out the Shenandoah Beerwerks trail in the valley. It takes you on a tour of 19 breweries in the region. There are many wineries in valley – we visited the Hazy Mountain and the Vertias Wineries. The tag line “Virgina is for Lovers” has now been changed to “Virginia is for Wine Lovers” 😉😉. Here are a few pictures from our tours..