Skyline Drive, Virginia questions

[pharmjenn]

We will be visiting Northern VA later in the week. I decided to get away for a night and drive down Skyline Drive, stop in Luray and then head to Monticello the next day and back home. I grew up in Northern Virginia, but have been gone for over 20 years. We will be leaving Herndon area around noon on Sunday. I had first thought to get a hotel room in Luray and see the caverns in the morning, but am now thinking we will probably get to Luray by midafternoon, even with a few stops along Skyline. We are not hikers, so any stops would be brief, with maybe a quick hike, unless someone has a hike they particularly recommend.
If we don't stay in Luray, we would stay somewhere closer to Charlottesville.

Anyone local, or who has been to Skyline recently have any input on the time it will take to get from Front Royal down the drive to Luray? I can't get google maps to calculate Skyline, just the two highways, which are about 30 miles.

[SnuggleBuggles]

We just did part of Skyline Drive for the 1st time last week. We started at the southern end and drove until the first turn off to the main highway- so drive for maybe 1 hour 30 min, that includes pulling off at most scenic stops.
They give you a great map with lists of hikes. The hikes are sorted by time the take then detailed out by ease and what you'll see. I bet their website has the same info.
Consider staying in the park. The lodge rates are quite low and there's lots of neat programming available.

[Mikey0709]

I think that drive is a HUGE variable... how much traffic is in the park, how many stops you want to make (pull off's for views, photos)... and the weather! Speed limit is 35 - and last time we were there the park was JAMMED. Parts of the road we couldn't even do 35 with all the tourist traffic. We pulled off at Big Meadows and Skytop for snacks, history stuff, gift shops, etc).. and it took us awhile to even find a parking space! Some of the views we bypassed because of crowds. THEN (lucky us), when we got back to the road a freak thunderstorm rolled through which took down trees across the road, and ended in EXTREME fog. SO normally a ride which takes 60-90 minutes, took us about 4 hours. Thank GOD we had a full tank of gas. There was even a backup getting onto skyline and paying admission earlier in the day - but they are pretty good at keeping that moving on busy days... rangers were in the road ahead of the booth directing and collecting to keep things moving nicely.

Other days - we drove through no problem quickly!

SO what i'm saying is - you never know for a ride which only has one lane in each direction. You can fly through, or you can be majorly delayed and have to move a tree out of the road yourself! And remember - barely any cell phone service - so you can't depend on weather or traffic reports. Most of the ride we had no service at all.

But - we LOVE the ride and have done it quite a few times. Luray caverns is nice, but also gets VERY crowded. I think you should be fine on a monday - but i think they do timed admission and tours now. I would definatley check their website. Skyline caverns is also very cool - and i think we liked it better. It's definitely smaller and not as popular as Luray since it's off the road more.

If i were doing one night - i would find a hotel... but some of the places we have stayed for a weekend trip were:

The Yogi Bear Jellystone campground right outside of Luray. It's actually in between Luray Caverns and the Skyline drive entrance... so it's VERY convenient. We tented there, but they have nice rental cabins. Also alot to do right at the campground (pools, waterslide, jumping pillow, fishing, etc). They may have a 2-night minimum though.

We have also stayed in Skytop lodge - but this was years ago and I wonder if they have updated it at all since then. It was sort of outdated and a TON of spiders and bugs inside the room.... I guess environmental hazards of the location??? I think my kids would be bored there - but it was a reasonable price.

The last place we have have stayed were Shenandoah river outfitters cabins - - off the beaten path a few miles on windy roads - but reasonable and a fun getaway. http://www.shenandoah-river.com/

Have fun - it's such a BEAUTIFUL ride! Just gas up before you start.

[Smillow]

You may want to consider staying in Waynesboro if you drive all the way down on Sunday and its late when you finish. It's about 5 miles west on 64 with lots of restaurant options. The drive from Front Royal to Luray is pretty short. Big Meadow has nice restaurant. You can exit the park on 33 and get to Charlottesville that way if the parkway is crowded.

[egoldber]

I would expect later this week to be very crowded. Friday is a federal holiday and tons of people have taken the week off.

[pharmjenn]

I would expect later this week to be very crowded. Friday is a federal holiday and tons of people have taken the week off.

Thanks everyone for your replies. Did you know that Friday is Shenandoahs birthday?

The reviews for both in park "resorts" are pretty bad, so I'm not too sure I want to stay. There still seems to be plenty of availability so we will probably wait till that afternoon to decide where to stay. Then we can figure out how far we got.

Regarding the Caverns, we were probably not even going down into the caverns.:) Luray has a ropes course that sounded pretty fun and very affordable. That was my reason for choosing Lutay over any of the other caverns.

I also want to go to Schuyler before Monticello. It is the home town that the Waltons was modeled after.

[Smillow]

I think you may be trying to pack too much into 2 days, especially considering the driving time and the increased holiday traffic. I have stayed in the motel rooms at Big Meadow and they were nice and clean but not 3 star and up nice. I imagine the cabins would be more rustic inside. Coming from the Shenandoah valley, Schuyler was quite a drive and your kids may not find much to interest them there. My mom & I enjoyed it though.

[pb&j]

There is really nothing to see in Schuyler. Seriously. And it is a schlep from Skyline Dr. If you are a huuuuuuge Waltons fan, you might find it…not dreadfully boring. Sorry, but presidential home and world heritage site trumps a fake TV family. FYI, there is a naturalization ceremony at Monticello the morning of the 4th of July, so plan accordingly. Definitely worth going to, but it is HOT and there is not much shade. The governor is the speaker this year, and I'm guessing his speech will be kind of a snooze (def not as fun as Tracey Ullman a few years back!). But, the ceremony is very moving, and there are activities going on as part of the celebration.

I second the rec for Waynesboro, there are some decent hotels there now, or stay in Charlottesville. There's a Marriott and a Hampton Inn on West Main that are both convenient to UVA and downtown. Lodges within the park is fine, also - if you've ever stayed at a national park lodge, you'll know what to expect - nothing fancy, but the location can't be beat. Cabins tend to be more rustic.

[pharmjenn]

There is really nothing to see in Schuyler. Seriously. And it is a schlep from Skyline Dr. If you are a huuuuuuge Waltons fan, you might find it…not dreadfully boring. Sorry, but presidential home and world heritage site trumps a fake TV family. FYI, there is a naturalization ceremony at Monticello the morning of the 4th of July, so plan accordingly. Definitely worth going to, but it is HOT and there is not much shade. The governor is the speaker this year, and I'm guessing his speech will be kind of a snooze (def not as fun as Tracey Ullman a few years back!). But, the ceremony is very moving, and there are activities going on as part of the celebration.

I second the rec for Waynesboro, there are some decent hotels there now, or stay in Charlottesville. There's a Marriott and a Hampton Inn on West Main that are both convenient to UVA and downtown. Lodges within the park is fine, also - if you've ever stayed at a national park lodge, you'll know what to expect - nothing fancy, but the location can't be beat. Cabins tend to be more rustic.

Maybe we will skip Schuyler. I had read that sometimes the museum is closed even when they list it as open. I enjoy the show still, and DH used to watch it with his now deceased father, but it won't break the trip to skip it. I didn't realize it was so far away, either.
My SIL is road-tripping from LA and will be in Charlottesville on the 4th. From her, I heard about the naturalization ceremony. I am hoping 2 days later it will be back to normal.

[Smillow]

If you wanted to get off of Skyline Dr on 33, you could also head west and drive down 81 to 64. Grand Caverns in Grottoes are very impressive. They are part of a town park that has a playground, picnic areas and a pool. If Skyline drive is too crowded, this would be a good antidote!