Appalachian Trail Landscape: Cultural Landscapes Inventory, Shenandoah National Park
NPS Northeast Regional Office. 2026. Appalachian Trail Landscape: Cultural Landscapes Inventory, Shenandoah National Park. Cultural Landscapes Inventory Report. 300129. National Park Service. NPS Northeast Regional Office, Boston, Massachusetts / CRIS-CL Database
The Appalachian Trail in Shenandoah National Park (NP) is comprised of three component landscapes, the North District, Central District, and South District. Together, they comprise the 103-mile long Appalachian Trail (AT) landscape within the 196,000-acre Shenandoah NP. The portion of the AT in Shenandoah NP is part of the 2,175-mile trail that follows the Appalachian Mountains from Georgia to Maine as conceived in 1921 and developed and opened as a continuous trail in 1937. The North District includes twenty-four miles of trail from Possums Rest Overlook, accessed from Skyline Drive at Milepost (MP) 10.4 at the north end of the park near Front Royal, to Thornton Gap at MP 31.3 at Route 211. The Central District includes thirty-four miles of trail from Thornton Gap/Panorama, accessed from Skyline Drive at Milepost (MP) 31.5 at Route 211 (Lee Highway), to MP 65.5 at Route 33 (Spotswood Trail). The South District includes forty-five miles of trail from Swift Run Gap, accessed from Skyline Drive at Milepost (MP) 65.5 and the junction of Route 33 (Spotswood Trail), to the trail’s end in Shenandoah NP at MP 105.4 at Interstate 64 and Route 240 at Rockfish Gap. The study boundaries of the CLI for the AT include a twenty-foot wide corridor, ten-feet to either side of the trail’s centerline. This distance was selected because it generally encompasses the constructed features associated with the trail such as retaining walls and signs. Features beyond this corridor were inventoried if they were associated with the construction of the AT, were easily viewed from the trail, or if they were part of the hiking experience (i.e. shelter or view). The trail corridor intersects Skyline Drive, numerous named side trails, and unnamed spur trails that lead to Skyline Drive overlooks, parking areas, rock outcrops, and views. Other trail junctions provide access to historic and non-historic cabins for day or overnight use. Detailed information on the three segments of the AT in Shenandoah NP can be found in their respective reports.
- Type
- Published Report
- Authors
- NPS Northeast Regional Office
- Date of Issue
- 2026
- Publisher
- National Park Service
- Units
- NER , SHEN
- Keywords
- Appalachian National Scenic Trail, Blue Ridge Mountains, Civilian Conservation Corps, Community Planning and Development, Conservation, Conservation of Natural resources, Entertainment, Hiking Trail , Historic Designed Landscape, Historic Preservation, Origin and Development of the National Park Service, Range and Forest Protection, Recreation, Regional planning, Scenic Preservation, Skyline Drive, Social History, The 1930s: Era of Public Works, The Conservation Movement Matures 1908-1941, The Great Depression, The New Deal, Transforming the Environment, Virginia, Wilderness System