If you are a summer person, the best advice we can offer you is to make friends with a fall person because they will show you why fall is amazing! A few weeks ago, we did a day trip to Shenandoah National Park to drive along Skyline Drive - perfect for an autumn day getaway from city life. There are multiple entrances to the park, but we entered at the North Entrance - just 75 miles from Washington, DC. Our biggest tips? GO EARLY - despite the park being over 200,000 acres, it gets busy! We went at 9 am and the entrance was already backing up. Plan to make a day of it! There are so many great overlooks to see, and so many great stops along the way home (you'll see one of our favorites below) - take the day to enjoy nature and recharge. Don't forget about the national park entrance fees - you can purchase passes online ahead of time to speed up the entry process! Military get in free. The park also features several restroom stops along the way - grab a map when you arrive or download the app before you go to know where they are located. You likely won't have cell phone service - so if you are planning to meet anyone there, establish a specific time and location to connect before you go. We also recommend you bring snacks! The drive has multiple exits throughout but with the lower speed limits and the increased traffic, you can expect to be driving inside the park for 1-3 hour stretches, depending on how frequently you stop (plus extra time if you want to take advantage of the many hiking trails!). Established in 1935, much of the park you experience today is the product of work completed by the Civilian Conservation Corps in the 1930s. During the Great Depression, President Roosevelt created a social welfare program offering young men basic pay, food and housing in exchange for labor on public lands. According to the NPS website, nine camps worked at Shenandoah National Park and installed 28 sewage systems, 136 miles of phone lines, 1,145 miles of fire trails, 101 miles of hiking trails, 4001 markers, 147,595 trees and shrubs and seeded 361 acres, in less than a decade. Impressive to say the least! Some of the housing for CCC camps still stands today and can be rented out for camping. Lodging is seasonable and it fills up fast! There are also two visitor centers - we stopped at the Dickey Ridge Visitor Center near the North entrance which offers incredible views for family pictures along with commemorative merchandise for purchase like puzzles and games for the kids. (I purchased a few CCC history books, shocker.) You really can't go wrong by stopping at overlooks, and as you move along Skyline Drive the views will shift based on elevation. During our Oct. 31 trip, some areas were still green while others were fiery shades of red, orange and yellow. It's worth it to stop as much as you like. And if one stop is too crowded, don't fret, the next pullover is likely not too far away and maybe less crowded. Wherever you decide to exit the park - we left at Thornton Gap - there are plenty of places to stop along the way home (we could probably do an entire post about Flint Hill alone). But one of our favorite places to refuel on the way back to DC is Linden Vineyards in Linden, Virginia. The wine is great, and the views and ambiance are even better. We recommend doing a tasting - ask for Jen or Andy and tell them the Dunkin' Coffee Girls sent you (a story for another day ;-)! Just be sure to check their website for hours of operation before you go - especially during winter months! The Claret is one of our favorites if you're looking to buy a bottle to stay for awhile and take in the views - and we certainly recommend you do that, too, if you can! They have a great deck and a porch in the back with hillside views. Cheers to your next adventure!
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