Dr. Moto

We drove along Skyline Drive through Shenandoah Nat'l Park a couple of years ago, and it's a beautiful drive. It would probably be a very challenging ride. Has anyone done it, or part of it? Can you recommend any good starting points? Is there a way to ride it without paying the national park entrance fee?

While I'm on the subject, has anyone ridden Colonial Parkway between Jamestown and Yorktown? That looks like another good ride.

stealthbiker

Skyline Drive is (almost literally) in our backyard. We are at the very south end - near Afton where Skyline drive ends and Blue Ridge Parkway begins. The riding is very good - almost all up and down - very few flat sections. Traffic is generally light but you need to be careful as drivers are often distracted by views and scenery.

Don't know if there is a way to get onto SLD without a pass. At our end the only paved road that gets to it is Hwy 250. Next paved road is Hwy 33. Gatehouses at both ends. We always buy an annual pass since we are so close and often hike off of SLD as well.

Noddy

taken from the National Park Service page on the Shenandoah National Park. Somewhere else I read a whole list of reasons why bicycling the Skyline Drive is a terrible idea.

Corsaire

I've done the Skyline Drive repeatedly but in Oakland/Ringwood, New Jersey, from both sides. Average 8-9% for about 260 ft

Corsaire

BikeWNC

I haven't been to Shenandoah NP in the summer, but have biked the entire length in September as the start of a longer ride down to Linville, NC on the BRP. We had very light traffic, at times more deer than cars on the road, and great weather.

Blackberry

I've ridden about 50 miles or so. Beautiful scenery--however, I was somewhat unsettled by all of those Winnebago-type vehicles that kept rumbling by. More than once I wondered if I was going to get clocked in the head by a giant sideview mirror.

cc_rider

Never biked on the skyline drive, but I've heard from some who have that the narrow roads can be a problem. Try the Shenandoah Valley, similar views (from the other direction) and ok roads.

Have ridden the Colonial Parkway. Pleasant enough, but not challenging. Good start for a day of biking around Williamsburgh. Tends to be buggy in summer. The drivers on the parkway are usually well behaved, but can get impatient when the passing lane isn't available.

cc_rider

He means the OTHER Skyline Drive ;-) but I know the one you mean. Used to bike up to Oakland and Mahwah.

lokerola

Oh yea, did 60 miles in March. Came in at Front Royal and parked the car at the first ranger station/bathroom area, about mile 2 or 3. Then 30 miles down and 30 miles back. It's a tough ride! You're either haulin' down a hill very fast, or slogging up a hill pretty slow. There are no flats. Up and down and up and down. Try to go on a week day if you can, there's almost no traffic. Weekends can get very crowded. Make sure you pack your own food and water too, there are very few places to stop for supplies. I wore a backpack with extra Gatorade and sandwiches. It's great fun though!

roadwarrior

Did a bunch on the Blueridge Parkway last October. Met with an old racing buddy at cabins (Rocky Knob Cabins which I guess is one of the few places to actually stay on the Blueridge) on the Parkway down a bit north of the Meadows of Dan (actually the Rocky Knob/Mabry Mill area). Not much traffic...but that may have been due to visibility of about 50 feet max due to fog and rain. But we rode. Not much more fun that descending at 50-60mph in the fog and have to take your Oakleys off due to the dampness and not being able to see.
My take was in that area the motorists were very careful of us and paid attention.
On a nice day it might have been different.
We were there to go to Martinsville for the NASCAR race...this was the weekend that the Hendrick Motorsports plane crashed in heavy fog.

Dr. Moto

Yeah, that's what I'm talking about. Maybe 30-40 miles, lotsa climbing and downhill racing, on a weekday. Thanks for the info everyone.

KevinF

I used to ride Skyline Drive a couple times a year when I lived in Virginia. I was most familair with the northen-most 33 miles (Front Royal to Elkwallow / Panorama area). Elevation profiles are at: https://www.bikewashington.org/routes/skyline/index.htm. There's nothing all that steep, but the grades can be fairly long. I'd do it with a 39x26 low, but I wouldn't use even that much (but then again, I love climbing).

Yes, the road is somewhat narrow, and there are no shoulders. Which is no different then any other rural road in Virginia. There were a handful of times I had issues with the traffic -- all but one of those times was when I was on my way down and I caught up to the cars in front of me. I wouldn't even dream about doing it during leaf-peeping season though. The turns on the descents are banked -- you almost never have to touch the brakes. Just cruise at 40mph the whole way down.

There's only four entry points onto Skyline Drive -- Front Royal, Panorama, I forget , and Waynesboro. The busiest stretch, traffic wise, is from Front Royal to Panorama. South of Panorama is (or at least was) pretty quiet. I'm not aware of any way to get in without paying the entrance fee; why risk it? It's only $5.

There aren't a whole lot of places on Skyline Drive to get food / water. There's the Dickey Ridge Visitor Center (mile 5), Elkwallow (mile 25), Panorama (mile 33), Skyland (mile 40 or so), Big Meadows (mile 50?), and then there's pretty much nothing. Be prepared!

If you have a chance to do it -- and you like to climb -- you should definitely do it.

roadbuzz

Stealthbiker must be a neighbor. Yeah, I ride Skyline/BRP all the time. Traffic south of Skyland usually isn't a problem except, like, leaf-watcher week-ends. North of there it seems like there's more traffic, and of the hurry-to-get-somewhere variety (I suspect DC area escapees).

If you ride it much, you can buy 1 year pass for $20 (unless it's gone up since last July or August.) If you don't want to pay, you could park near Skyline and carry your bike to the road someplace not visible from an entry station. Personally, I think the fee is money well spent. If you ride from Rockfish Gap, where I-64 crosses the BRP (technically, near Afton, which is down the mountain a mile or so from Rockfish Gap), you can head south which is the BRP, and there's no fee. You'll be doing a lot of climbing for 10 or so miles, but the views on the climb south of the Humpback Rocks Visitor Center are awesome.

I mostly ride from Swift Run Gap, where 33 crosses Skyline. If you head south from there, there's a relatively moderate mix of climbs and descents, and less traffic than north of Swift Run. There's a gas station, store, and restaurant after about 14 miles. After that, there's nothing until Rockfish Gap, another 24 miles. Heading north has you mostly climbing for 4 or 5 miles. There're stores and services at Big Meadows, about 14 or so miles, at Skyland (highest point on Skyline)another ~8 miles, and at Panorama, where 211 crosses Skyline, another ~9 miles. It's pretty much all climbing from Panorama to Skyland.

For the most part, I find the drivers on Skyline and the BRP pretty easy to get along with. They might be preoccupied with sight-seeing, but they aren't usually in a big hurry.

The park service warnings about riding on the parkway are nonsense... it's way better than lots of country roads. Maybe it's oriented towards riders with little experience riding on public roads??? If a ranger catches you riding side-by-side with someone, s/he'll tell you to ride single file. No biggie.

jitteringjr

Nobody seems to have fielded this one so I will. A friend at work rode it once, but didn't recommend it. The road is rough because it has that pebble stone on top of the pavement. He said after about 40 miles of it, it felt like riding over cobblestones. Not many cars though so if you rode it with fatter touring tires it might be nice.

SteveE

cc_rider,

I used to live nearby in your sister city -- Falls Church!

SteveE

cc_rider

Gee, maybe I should move my "r"s .... Nahh! I think I like it better this way.

Dr Moto -
There is a Potomac Pedalers club ride to the the north end of the Skyline Drive set for June 18 if you want to go with a group. The PPTC doesn't require you to be a member to ride.
https://www.bikepptc.org/ride_schedul...6.html#Jun4Sat

"CC/B/BB(Hilly) * 0-65 * VA * 9:30 AM * Front Royal (FRO) * 40% Northern Skyline. (Directions: From I-495, take I-66 for 52 miles to Exit 13 / Linden / Rt 79, then go west on Rt 55 for 6 miles to SC on left, just pass Rt 522. Meet at parking lot to left of KMART.) Enjoy one of the most beautiful and invigorating rides in the area. Cycle to Top of Hogback (42 miles R/T) or Elkwallow (50 miles R/T) or Panorama (65 miles R/T) on Skyline Drive and return via same route. You can make a U-turn at any time. Be prepared for long, perspiring climbs and thrilling, chilling, downhill runs. The hills are not really that steep, just loooooong. Elevation maps provided. Bring food (food only available at Elkwallow). Entrance fee for bicyclists is $5. Gary Nooger [gary.nooger@his.com] and Mark Pankin [mark@pankin.com]"

Bruce Lowekamp

I live 2 miles from the colonial parkway. It's a nice 3 lane wide road, so traffic is not a problem. The scenery is beautiful, although since you're next to rivers it can be a little bit windy.

The downside is that it's paved with "exposed aggregate concrete," i.e. concrete with all of the gravel exposed at the top. The roughest part is part of the way from Jamestown to Williamsburg. (only in that direction) Fortunately it's not that bad the rest of the way. Still, this is one of the reasons I got a steel/carbon Lemond rather than an aluminum frame on my roadbike.

If I only have an hour to ride, it's great to be able to hop onto the parkway and ride for a bit. If you're sensitive to rough surfaces, I wouldn't do it, but if they don't bother you much it's a great road.

Bruce

Flynn

I live 16 miles from Skyline Drive/Shenandoah Park. It is an amazing ride. Really, anywhere you start the ride is good. If you do not want to pay the park fee, and want to ride something that is just as amazing, head out to the Blue Ridge Parkway. This is essentially an extension of Skyline Drive, minus the park and the cost!!

stealthbiker

Roadbuzz and Flynn - just over the mountain in Waynesboro. Both the SLD and BRP are great rides. Traffic is light (except leaf season), road is good and rides are interesting. One of my favorites is to take 608 to Vesuvius and then up 56 to the parkway. North all the way to Afton. Some good climbs and some really fun descents. IMHO this area has some of the best riding in the country.

Tommyp

I've driven it a couple of times in each direction... I've thought about riding it since I am on the east oast currently...
From memory, it is 105 miles each way...nothing is flat. It can have traffic or it can be vacant. As all National Parks go, you'll have to pay an entrance fee and there will be tons of RVs and the like.

I recommend the blue ridge parkway...no fee, less cars and the same terrain....less scenic overlooks and facilities, but I think it would be a more pleasant ride. I'm also a big fan of West Virginia for hiking and the like, even fewer people than Virginia and the terrain is similar...
Good luck and enjoy...

T

roadbuzz

If I lived closer to Montebello or Vesuvius, I'd probably be up one side or the other of 56 and back to Afton every week-end. Awesome climbs, excellent scenery, and low traffic. No doubt... we got some of the best riding around.

Ever do the TdV or any of the centuries in the area? If so, we've probably done some riding together!

Doid23

I'm going to be in a weeklong conference at the Airlie Conference Center in Warrenton, it looks like all my rides will be starting at ~6:00 (if I can get any in at all), wondering if any of you folks local to Warrenton know of any good rides closeby (would prefer to just ride out of Airlie without having to drive), or at least any roads/ directions to take, roads to avoid. Thanks

SteveE

I used to ride that area. But that was 10 years ago. Anyone know if it's still good riding the following route? 605, r on 628, l. 674, l. on 55, r. on 626 (in The Plains), l. 50 (Middleburg), l. 709, l. 750, l 245, r. 55, r. 674, r. 628, l. 605

cc_rider

Those roads in Fauquier and Loudon are still good for riding. The new housing developments like the ones in Fairfax and eastern Loundon haven't reached out that far ...... yet.

I rode Marshall to Orleans last month and will probably do something out of Middleburg soon. The "Peach Picker" ride out of Markham should be late summer.


Check the cue sheet library. https://www.bikepptc.org/cue_sheet_library/
Most of the rides starting in Warrenton are longer ones, but it should give you a guide to good biking roads.
The "Country life lite" might work for you. 32 miles Starting in the middle of Warrenton.

Doid23

Thanks CC