Friday, November 4: We’re on our way this morning to Fayetteville, West Virginia to get away for a three-day weekend before the U.S. election on Tuesday. It’s a trip to celebrate my birthday (Oct. 25), belatedly, and our 28th anniversary (Nov. 13), early. We decide on our way down south, we’ll drive a portion of Skyline Drive from Front Royal to Thornton Gap.
Skyline Drive is the scenic roadway that winds 105 miles through Shenandoah National Park, in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia just west of Washington, D.C. There are only four entrances to the park; we take the northernmost one, getting off at the next one south. We have a long way to go to get to our destination in West Virginia, but we want to see some of the fall colors. Thus we take the slower route for about 28 miles.
We’re so glad we do because it’s a gorgeous day and we’re rewarded with some marvelous vistas.
Forty percent of the park (almost 80,000 acres) is designated as a wilderness area; it represents one of the largest wilderness areas in the eastern United States and has about 500 miles of hiking trails, according to Shenandoah National Park – Skyline Drive: What to See.
It’s surprising to see so much color on the trees in early November; usually the trees are further past their prime at this time of year.
We enjoy our drive immensely, stopping at the numerous pull-outs for sweeping views.
Finally, we exit the beautiful park and head south on Interstate 81, in route to cross the state line into West Virginia.
nomad, interrupted 
Spectacular photos! Who would have thought this huge national park was so close to Washington, DC??!! Praying that a certain someone won’t decide it would make a good place to look for coal…..!!!
Thanks, Mona Lisa. It is very close, but also gets very crowded on fall weekends, especially at peak season. Luckily we got an early start on a Friday so didn’t hit any crowds. As for coal, well, it’s a dead industry, as you’ll see when I post my pictures and tales of West Virginia.
That was wonderful. We’ve only seen Skyline Drive in summer so loved seeing how beautiful it is in Fall too.
Thanks, Anabel. You would love the Virginia mountains in the fall. My favorite time of year for sure! 🙂
Next best thing to being there. Thank you for the scenery!
Thanks, Pat. I wish I could have taken the time to do some hikes this fall. I love this time of year in the mountains. 🙂
The colours on the hills are wonderful – what a spectacle!
Thanks, Elaine. Isn’t it gorgeous? I love autumn in Virginia; it’s my favorite time of year. 🙂
How beautiful. No wonder it’s called Skyline Drive. The views are wonderful.
Thanks, Carol. It is a beautiful drive with lots of views along the way. As you can imagine, it gets very crowded during the peak fall weekends; we usually try to avoid it on weekends, or get a very early start. 🙂
I’be been hiking in this park with family and friends since the early ’70s. In addition to the Appalachian Trail cutting across the ridge, their are scores of great circuit hikes that are like old friends to us such as Old Rag, Stony Man, Little Devils Stairs, Mary’s Rock,, White Oak Canyon. It’s a great escape from the hectic D.C. Rat race.
You are the king of Shenandoah Mountain hikes! We’ve done many of these together! It is definitely a nice escape from D.C. 🙂
Glorious colours! Makes the heart sing 🙂 How are you feeling now the election is over? Still looking for an escape?
Thanks so much! I feel so depressed and distressed about the election, Jude. As I said I would if we had this result, I have started applying abroad. Don’t know if I’m aged out in many places, but I’ll keep trying.
Good luck! You deserve a break given your determination.
Thanks again for all your great pictures and blogs. As for road trips, have you ever done “Tail of The Dragon”
in the Smokey’s? Look it up. 318 curves in 11 miles.
Thanks for dropping by, Ron! No, I’ve never done that road trip, but thanks for telling me about it. I will definitely look it up! 🙂
Magical colours, Cathy! What a super celebration trip 🙂
Thanks Jo! It was nice to get away, but then our moods were ruined in Tuesday’s aftermath. 😦
I’m not surprised 😦
Love it – you sure hit the color! My mother was originally from W VA, and after my parents retired, they moved to western NC to enjoy similar mountains and scenery. The view from the Blue Ridge Parkway was a lot like your beautiful rolling hills stretching out into the distance. So pretty!
Thanks, Lynn! I thought for sure we’d have missed the fall color by the time we went out west, but we were lucky to still have some. It turned out to be quite gorgeous after all. 🙂