Matt
This was the back half of our summer 2026 Appalachia trip (as I've learned, correctly pronounced as Appa-latch-uh). Some of the prettiest driving I've ever done. Maggie's Prius was covering ground this trip, and driving through Virginia was unexpectedly eye-catching. If I had to describe Virginia in one word, "ellegant" evidently surfaces. It's a state that knows what it wants. It's simple. It's free of noise. It feels American. I can see why Washington and Jefferson built their estates here. One thing I wasn't aware of though was the size of Shenandoah. Unlike New River Gorge's coverage, which navigates in and out of National Park or Forest territories, Shenandoah is just one parcel of land. You could drive in Shenandoah for literally an hour straight. Our first stop was the visitor's center at Big Meadows (also where we camped) and I was fascinated about its use as a mock European battlefield, prepping US soldiers for overseas during WWII. One of the rangers gave us a bunch of recommendations for hikes, and in the two days we visited, I think we actually hit every suggestion but one. After we set up our gear, an evening hike pursued and we had our own sunset! As we walked back to the car, we noticed the same ranger from the visitor's center and joined his evening progam "Soundscapes". It was assuring that the one time we heard the sound's of bears, rattlesnakes, and coyotes was during his presentation. The next morning we tackled the day early on, climbing steep trails, navigating rock scrambles, jumping over water stream rocks. What a day. A final dinner concluded with smores over the fire was the cherry on top of this trip. I think that night was the best I slept on the whole trip. Before heading back home the next morning, Maggie and I fit a run through Big Meadows to get the last ounces of energy we had left out of us as we hit the road one last time. It felt like every place we visited, I could see myself going back to. But Shenandoah in particular, is a place that I believe everyone should visit once in their lifetime.