• Hiking the Appalachian Trail through Shenandoah National Park without having to carry a backpack
  
• Enjoying the May wildflowers in this beautiful mountain forest
• Staying at beautifully situated lodges every night
• Being surprised at just how cool the Luray Caverns really are
• Having our luggage transported for us

Shenandoah National Park straddles the crest of the Blue Ridge Mountains as they run north and south for over 100 miles. Embracing rolling hills, quiet hollows, abrupt hillsides, and verdant forests, the Park contains over 450 miles of hiking trails. The Appalachian Trail is the best known of these and this section of the trail is absolutely gorgeous in May. Because Skyline Drive follows this crest, the AT feels a little less remote here than in other sections, but that is more than made up for by the presence of well-spaced lodges along the way, offering warm beds and hot food at the end of every day. The human history of the Park is also very interesting and we'll learn about the people who inhabited this area for years as we go lodge to lodge on the Appalachian Trail.

This trip is suitable for any woman who exercises regularly at a moderate level, and who either enjoys hiking or is new to hiking and wants to learn in a safe and fun environment.  Our mileage varies from 5.3 to 6.8 miles a day and while the trail does not have huge ups and downs (i.e less than 1000 feet at a time), it is very far from flat and the mileage may seem longer than it sounds. No previous outdoor experience is required.
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• Two nights at Luray Caverns Inn
• One night at each of the Park Lodges: Lewis Cabins, Big Meadow Lodge and Skyland Lodge. At Lewis Cabins the accommodations are double cabins (2 rooms with a bed in each). The other two are standard lodge rooms with 2 beds in each room

• experienced guides
• five nights double occupancy accommodation
• all transportation during the trip, starting and ending at Dulles Airport (IAD)
• all meals from dinner on Sunday through breakfast on Friday
  
• entrance fees to Shenandoah and Luray Caverns

on May 22 at 3 pm at Washington Dulles airport (IAD) or at Luray Caverns motel at 5 pm

on May 27 at 1 pm at Washington Dulles airport (IAD) or at Luray Caverns motel at 11:30 am

you can download the complete trip information here

Sunday: If you are flying in, plan to arrive Dulles Airport by 3 pm. We will pick you up there and make the hour and a half drive to the town of Luray. If you are driving, you can meet us at our lodging (Luray Caverns inn) at 5 pm. We will gather to introduce ourselves and start getting to know each other and then begin our trip orientation. We will stop for dinner in town and then finish up any topics not yet covered.

Monday: After a hearty breakfast we will pack up and head for the South River Falls Picnic Area. We will start our hike while the shuttle carries our luggage to Lewis Mountain Cabins. The hike today is a lovely 5.3 mile section with great overhead canopy. It is one of the easier parts of the trail, fairly level with just enough up and down to be interesting, so it makes a good place to start.  The Lewis Mountain Cabins are historic rustic cabins (yes, they all have indoor plumbing) and since we will be occupying most of them, we will enjoy the solitude of the area. Mileage today: 5.3 miles

Tuesday: Our destination today is Big Meadows.  Our trail is a bit more up and down as we start with a gentle ascent of Bearfence Mountain.  To reach the summit of Bearfence Mountain we will take the Bearfence Mountain Scramble Loop (weather permitting) which is an amazing hands and feet scramble up basalt rocks to a 360 degree view of the valley below.  After returning to the Appalachian Trail we will continue to Booten Gap before starting up Hazletop Mountain (about a 600 foot climb); at 3800 feet is the highest peak on the AT within Shenandoah National Park.  The next mile is along the ridge and is "green tunnel" walking that the AT is known for, before descending to Milam Gap where we will meet out shuttle.  We will shuttle to Big Meadows Lodge (the origin of the name quickly becomes apparent), check in, and before dinner take the path behind our rooms up to Blackrock for a beautiful last view of the surrounding countryside before sunset.  The area around our rooms is open grasslands and gives us the opportunity to possibly see some wildlife tonight.  Mileage today:  6.8 miles

Wednesday: Before continuing our hiking today we will pay a visit to the Visitor's Center at Big Meadows where we can tour the exhibits, watch the park movie, and buy those 'souvies'.  We will then continue on the AT to Skyland Lodge - but it would be a shame not to take a couple of the blue-blazed trails that detour to panoramic overlooks.  One in particular, the Salamander Trail,  leads to the top of Hawksbill Mountain, the highest peak in the park and widely considered to have the best views in the park.   After summiting Hawksbill Mountain we will descend to the parking area where we will meet out shuttle.  Tonight's dinner will be in the dining room at Skyland which has one of the most amazing views you will ever see.  This time of year there is often entertainment during the dinner hours as well.  Mileage today:  5.7 miles

Thursday: This is our last hiking day today so we will go out in style as we hike to as many beautiful vistas as possible in one day.  We will start with a detour off the AT on a blue-blazed trail, the Stony Man Nature Trail. This gentle trail  leads to the top of Stony Man with a view over the valley to the Massanutten Mountains beyons.  We will descend to the Stony Man parking area where we will take our shuttle north to Meadow Spring Trail, where we will ascend to the AT again and continue to another amazing spot---Mary's Rock with its delightful testament to married love.  Our trail ends today at Thornton Gap where we meet the van for the short drive into Luray.  After a chance to clean up, we will go into town for a final dinner in celebration of our week!  Mileage today:  5.5 miles

Friday: But wait, there's more! If you grew up on the East Coast you have undoubtedly heard of Luray Caverns, which is advertised by countless ugly billboards. So you know it is a tourist trap, but what you may not know is that the Caverns are really cool and definitely worth a visit. We will take the hour-long tour before driving back to the airport. We will have you back there by 1:00 and you can plan to fly out anytime after 2:30. If you drove you can plan to be on the road by 11:30am.