This Guide to the AT Section Hike — Shenandoah to Harpers Ferry, is an installment of our no-car-needed, low carbon AT hiking Guides. This beautiful section has the infamous roller coaster, along with great vistas like Raven Rock and Sky Meadows Park. It connects two popular AT trailheads—Shenandoah National Park Front Royal, VA ; and historic Harpers Ferry, WV. When combined with our , you have ~180 great miles of the AT easily accessible by public transportation. The views are sublime, the history compelling, the restored town a work of historical art. Many of these are among the nicer sections of the AT. This guide is for an AT section hike that you can undertake solely using public transportation from Washington, DC. This 54 mile AT section could be done in one long weekend 3-4 days, e. It would also be a great hike for fall color viewing as it has somewhat less foot traffic than the adjacent Shenandoah Park. And that was only part of our FUN for the day. There are numerous overlooks including the famous Raven Rocks, and the endless ridge top vistas from Sky Meadows Park. Because of the wonderful overlooks and clearings on this section, it would be a great hike for fall leaf viewing. More often than not, trail magic will appear making the end of the roller coaster that much sweeter. The town is so lovely, it is always a highlight. Overview map of the 54 mile route. Overview — Low Carbon AT Section Hike — Shenandoah to Harpers Ferry — No Car Needed This guide is meant to supplement the many excellent AT. We believe this will make the hike more pleasant for others. There are many excellent guides. Logistics — Getting to and From the Hike Trip Start This hike begins at the northern end of Shenandoah National Park. Unfortunately, as of this writing, there was no public transportation directly to Front Royal from Washington DC. So we had to string together two transportation modes to get to the trip start at around 6:00 pm. Not cheap, but worth not having to shuttle, thus allowing us to do a one-way trek while still going low carbon. See more options in description below. A crisp fall morning on Day 2, perfect for some hiking on the AT! Brief Route Description and Trip Highlights — a Photo Essay The section between Shenandoah National Park and Harpers Ferry is a rather popular section hike. The multiple overlooks and great overnight camping options make it a very nice section the AT. There is only one park you walk thru, Sky Meadows State Park which has its own stunning overlook. Otherwise, this section is a nicely challenging walk on the AT. It has a covered picnic pavilion and a solar shower! First Full Day Your first full day if you started hiking the nite before will be lovely. Keep an eye out for great overlooks because you come upon them very quickly. Sky Meadows State Park, really does have superb mountain top meadows and views. After that, you also get to cross the not-so-lovely, first of two death-defying major highways on this section no bridge, no stop signs, just put your big boy pants on and run for your life at John Marshall Highway VA55. We ended our day at Rod Hollow Shelter in prep for roller coaster day. Several nice campsites and hammock hanging areas are available at this shelter. Sunrise above our hammocks at the Blackburn Center. Day 2 First thing up the next day is riding the roller coaster! The Bears Den Hostel was our lunch spot and we enjoyed a covered picnic table, a few cokes, and some shade from the sun. Shortly after the Bears Den you cross your second death-defying major highway, Pine Grove Road VA 7. Lunch and a feet-up rest at the shaded picnic table at the Bears Den. We grabbed a couple of 50 cent Cokes out of the fridge! If you live after crossing VA7, you get the privilege of hiking up to see the spectacular Raven Rocks overlook lead photo of the guide. The good news is that you drop the day hikers with your first step past the Raven Rocks. We ended our day at Blackburn AT Center which was quite a treat. They have tent sites, and a smallish cabin for hikers to stay in no shelter tho , picnic tables, and fresh water from a tap. The AT Center is the meeting place for trail workers so there is a lot of activity surrounding the facility. As a result, trail magic often happens here. Note: the Blackburn Center is a significant drop down and ascent back up to the AT. Rt 340 Bridge across the Shenandoah River as you enter Harpers Ferry. After Blackburn AT Center, the last section is fairly flat and offered up a nice stretch for your legs post-roller coaster. We saw a number of these beautiful, and delicate Rough Greensnakes as we approached Harpers Ferry. In Harpers Ferry we stayed overnight at the Econolodge as we had heard good things about it. We liked the location. Excellent WiFi and a box of trail magic available for the taking. Breakfast is always welcome and although they said it started at 6:30am, a full breakfast was out for the taking at 6:00am which helped us make our train. If you arrive earlier or can stay a bit later in the morning, the nearby has the best coffee in town and serves light breakfast food. Overall a very nice hike. In Harpers Ferry I had lunch at the Coach House Grill N Bar on High St. I mention these because it was a Tuesday and several restaurants in HF are closed on Mondays and Tuesdays. Also stayed at the Econo Lodge, which was perfectly suited to me. One final comment, which probably goes without saying, but for others I would not recommend July for this hike. The roller coaster could have been called the log flume instead, as I was soaked from my own sweat from head to toe. But still a worthwhile hike done when I had some free time. I appreciate the time and effort put into these trip reports and trip guides. Great stuff chock full of useful information. My girlfriend and I live in NYC and were eyeing this for our summer trip. It looks super fun. We were a little nervous about taking public transportation and being away from our car. Also, we would only be able to do it in August, and were worried it may be too hot. There is nothing technically difficult with this hike. It is all on trail, navigation is easy, campsites are well spaced. The trail is quite hilly in sections as is much of the AT requiring some basic conditioning. But assuming you are in decent shape, and keep your daily miles well within your abilities taking into account the weight of your packs you should have a great time. For more on this see my highly popular post Wishing you a great trek. We are walking from Rockfish Gap Waynesboro for 6 days through the Shenandoah National Park. Will resupply with food half way when we pick up more hikers. Plan on having about 9 or less of weight not counting food and water drink when thirsty. Pro Trail, circuit pack, bear bag. So I have always worn mid boots for Grand Canyon and other hikes, I was thinking of wearing Oboz Sawtooth low. Bike 40-50 miles 4-5 days a week for the last 5 months dropped 30 lbs. I eat vegan too. So would I have trouble with the low tops? We go the last week of October. I have always worn boots to keep from turning a ankle and I never had any problems not even a blister but I would really like to be able to wear really light weight shoes for this trip since we are taking on some big mileage. It seems like all the thru hikers wear low tops. I have done everything in them from weeks in Alaska to days and days of Talus in the Sierras to technical canyoneering in UT. The trick is to condition your feet and ankles with progressive training hikes. For shoes I would try Altra Lone Peaks or Brooks Cascadias and for training checkout my Hope this helps and wishing you some great trekking in SNP. Your post is exceptionally helpful! One question: is there any compelling reason to travel north? The transit schedules work out better for me to go south. Is there cell signal to get an Uber from the Trailhead at US 522, near Front Royal? Any other reasons not to go south? Thanks again for the excellent post. You will do fine heading south. I tend to remember not having cell coverage at the US522 trailhead but I may be wrong. Or, you can probably put a good guess together on when you might hit US522 from VA55 and schedule the Uber ahead of time. Brief excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Alan Dixon and AdventureAlan. Disclaimer: Posts on this site contain affiliate links. If you make a purchase after clicking on these links, a portion of the sale helps support this site at no additional cost to you. I do not receive compensation from the companies whose products I review. Unless otherwise noted, products are purchased with my own funds. I am never under an obligation to write a review about any product. Finally, reviews express my own independent opinion.
