Family Hiking in Shenandoah: Soul Rejuvenation

With all our years of Virginia living, we had somehow never done any family hiking in Shenandoah National Park. How did we manage that one?? We had been near and around the park, visiting Luray Caverns, for example. Maybe it was the $30 price tag that hindered us in the moment. This time, however, we were going to be visiting several more national parks in the course of the year, especially in our plans to relocate from Virginia Beach to Idaho. With that in mind, we purchased the America the Beautiful pass at the entrance gate and finally entered its doors.

The thing we noticed immediately was the abundance of yellow swallowtails gracing the air. It a butterfly fairyland seemed to greet us everywhere we turned.

Our destination was not actually Shenandoah (which was Niagara Falls), but rather a stop along the way. We (correctly) thought it would be much more fun to spend the night at a national park than a hotel along the interstate. We were not disappointed. Regrettably, we did not even have one full day to spend in the park. However, the trails that we hiked and the beauty that we took in felt like a stand-alone vacation more than just a stopover. We were loving the actual changes in elevation on the Shenandoah hikes, unlike our usual Virginia Beach trails.

Despite our absolutely loving the park, we did have one disappointment. Shenandoah National Park is not a great option for those families that deal with food sensitivities/allergies. We had looked into booking a three-night stay the previous year in the park, but ended up declining. We were wanting to rent a cabin with full kitchen facilities because of our son’s gluten and dairy free needs. Given the option, we would rather cook our own food on vacation and avoid the hassle of trying to eat out. Shenandoah, not offering full-service cabins within the park, did not fit the bill. Instead, we booked a cabin near Boone, NC, which worked out perfectly for us at the time.

We made the food limitation work for us for our one night in Shenandoah. The only option available to our son was a cup of gluten-free chili, which he thought was only so-so. Still, it was only one night and an acceptable price to pay for the beautiful family hiking and incomparable Shenandoah mountain views. But Shenandoah, as inviting as it is, would probably not be a viable longer vacation for us, at least as far as cabins go.

We left the park sooner than we wanted to in our allotted schedule to get to Niagara Falls, but were happy at least we didn’t leave Virginia without entering its gates.

Have you been to Shenandoah? If so, what did you appreciate most about the park? Comment below!