Tag: Skyline Drive

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Culture Living

Out, out and away

A cabin within driving distance is a nice change of pace during the ongoing pandemic. he Potomac Appalachian Trail Club offers great choices, such as Charlottesville’s own Dunlodge. Courtesy of PATC

By Erika Howsare

Most of us have experienced some degree of cabin fever during the past year. As we near the anniversary of the dramatic upheaval brought on by the pandemic, we look back on a full 12 months lived much closer to home than many folks are used to. At the same time, spring is coming. How can we safely stretch our wings?

Hopping a plane to the usual spring-break destinations is not the smartest idea right now. Neither is road-tripping, unless you have an RV or another way to avoid public restrooms and hotel stays. For the COVID-cautious traveler, renting a standalone cabin or cottage might be your best bet. The only caveat is, as with RVs and campgrounds themselves, demand for such rentals is high. Be prepared to plan ahead.

We’re lucky to have an excellent state park system in Virginia, and many of our parks offer lodgings. Some of these are as comfortable as your average suburban home. James River State Park, for example, has 16 modern cabins (from $129) with board-and-batten siding, fireplaces, big porches and decks, and conveniences from microwaves to air conditioning.

At Belle Isle State Park, the Bel Air “mansion” (a slight exaggeration, though the 1942 Colonial-style home is certainly lovely) and a smaller guesthouse offer refined stays near the Rappahannock River. And Hungry Mother State Park in Marion offers 20 cabins starting at $84, some of which were log-built by the Civilian Conservation Corps during the Great Depression. Though these retain their rustic character, they don’t ask you to give up any of the conveniences of home (except TV—but hey, isn’t this supposed to be a getaway?).

A total of 25 state parks contain cabins, and some provide more unusual lodgings. Check out the yurts at places like Lake Anna State Park and First Landing State Park (from $75). Think of the yurt as a big, sturdy tent—it offers no electricity or running water, nor cooking facilities, so plan on cooking or grilling outdoors. In the warm months, other parks, like Westmoreland State Park near the mouth of the Potomac, rent “camping cabins” starting at $47—electrified but not heated or cooled, and lacking kitchens and bathrooms.

A somewhat clunky reservation system at virginiastateparks.reserveamerica.com is the way to secure your state park cabin—and you’ll have to work around some COVID restrictions, like 24-hour rest periods between visitors. During the pandemic, the parks aren’t providing linens as they usually do. Go anyway; it’s worth it.

Our backyard national park, Shenandoah, is another great option, with two rather different sets of cabins starting at $135. Lewis Mountain cabins are off Skyline Drive in the upper elevations of the park. They offer comfy bedrooms and bathrooms, outdoor cooking areas, heat and electricity. Shenandoah River cabins are down in the valley, right on the waterfront, and more luxurious—each one has a hot tub, even the Vintage River Cabin that dates back to the 1700s. Jockey for reservations at nationalparkreservations.com.

There’s another way to experience cabin life in Shenandoah and other areas, if you’re not afraid to go primitive. The Potomac Appalachian Trail Club maintains 42 cabins, in an area stretching from the southern end of Shenandoah up into Pennsylvania. While some do have modern amenities, most are free of electricity, heated by wood stoves, and—in some cases—reachable only on foot, with your gear on your back.

The closest of these to Charlottesville (besides one called Dunlodge that’s actually located right here in town) is called Doyles River ($45), and it’s less than half a mile off the Appalachian Trail. It’s primitive and, like some of the state park cabins, was built by the CCC. There are other PATC cabins in and around Shenandoah—like the Argow Cabin ($55), boasting big mountain views—and the Vining Cabin ($100), with electricity inside and solar panels on the roof. But Doyles River is one of the select PATC cabins that doesn’t require you to buy a $40 annual membership.

Read more, and link to the reservation system, at patc.net. But note: The pandemic has restricted PATC cabin rentals to weekends, and all stays have a two-night minimum.

Of course, in the age of Airbnb, we’d be remiss not to point out that there are scores of privately owned rentals scattered throughout the land, representing all manner of styles, price ranges, and quirky amenities. A few that invite a second look: an $84-a-night treehouse in Sandston, just east of Richmond, which has a hot tub, a fire pit, and a cute loft-type bed reached by a ladder. Or a sleek, modern shipping-container house in Forest, near Lynchburg, can be yours for $145 per night. Down in Farmville, a cottage on a goat farm goes for $114 a night. (Baby goats just born on February 8, says the listing!)

You may not need to stray very far at all to find an escape. Six miles from downtown Charlottesville is a $125-a-night “Tiny Tree Cottage,” essentially a tiny house with rustic detailing and a roof deck featuring hammock swings. For almost anyone, that sounds like a real change of pace.

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News

It’s a wonder: Blue Ridge Tunnel trail opening is more than a century in the making

Community members use the trail leading to the Blue Ridge Tunnel in Afton. Photo: Zack Wajsgras

It’s dark. It’s damp. It’s cold. And it’s so cool.

The newly opened Claudius Crozet Blue Ridge Tunnel trail lets you walk under the Blue Ridge—under Rockfish Gap, under I-64, under the Appalachian Trail and Skyline Drive. More than 700 feet above, drivers sweep through forested hillsides while you peer at walls of hewn rock and brick. Up there, hikers hear leaves rustling in the wind while you hear water dripping from the tunnel walls; they see dappled sunlight while you see flashlights bobbing like underground fireflies—and one small point of light ahead, a beacon from a mile away.

The tunnel is a secret world but not a closed one. A steady breeze brings fresh air through the passage, which is arrow-straight and has a very slight incline. Kids coming through will laugh to stir an echo, and squeal when they find wildlife—salamanders and crayfish live here, so be respectful. And it’s hard not to think about the men who labored here, mostly Irish immigrants and enslaved workers hired out for cash, pitting their strength—and their lives—against the unyielding mountain.

When the 4,273-foot Blue Ridge Tunnel was completed in 1858, it was the longest railroad tunnel in North America. Construction was overseen by Claudius Crozet (yes, the town was named for him), a French immigrant and highly trained engineer. When the eastern and western tunnel crews first connected, the two sides were only a few inches off. But it took years before the tunnel was up and running, and Crozet, fed up with management problems, public pressure, and criticism, eventually resigned—three months before the tunnel’s grand opening. He didn’t get to ride on that first ceremonial train.

The Blue Ridge railroad tunnel was in service for 86 years—it closed in 1944, when an adjacent tunnel designed for larger locomotives was completed. In 2007, CSX generously donated the property to Nelson County. The Blue Ridge Tunnel Foundation, including representatives from Albemarle, Nelson, and Augusta counties, the City of Waynesboro, and local community organizations, was set up in 2012 to develop community support and funding. The opening last weekend was the culmination of more than a decade of that work.

The trail is now open every day, sunrise to sunset. Nelson County Parks and Recreation Director Claire Richardson recommends checking the department’s Facebook page or website before coming, since there may be occasional closures due to weather or maintenance. There are access points at either end (one in Nelson, one in Augusta), with small parking lots and half-mile approach trails leading up to the tunnel entrances. (Word to the wise: The western approach trail is much steeper than the eastern one.) Bring a flashlight, headlamp, or lantern for safety, and a jacket for comfort; the crushed gravel path can be uneven, so wear decent walking shoes. And bring your mask.

But mostly, bring your sense of wonder: at this area’s natural beauty, at a remarkable human achievement from 160 years ago, and at a marvelous opportunity to visit a world we don’t usually get to see—unless we’re salamanders or crayfish.

And, as Richardson says, “Stay tuned for Halloween 2021.”

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News

Price hike: National park users asked to pay up

The National Park Service announced plans to raise entry fees to some of its most popular parks to $70 per carload. This includes the Shenandoah National Park, where the cost is currently $25. Courtesy photo

About 1.4 million nature enthusiasts from near and far flock to the Shenandoah National Park each year, but they may soon be greeted by a different type of hike than they’re seeking—a price hike.

The National Park Service announced plans October 24 to increase entrance fees in 17 of the country’s most visited parks from about $25 to $70 per vehicle. As proposed, the entry pass will be valid for a week.

“The argument has been made that $70 for a week’s pass is still an excellent deal for a family vacation,” says Susan Sherman, the executive director of the Shenandoah National Park Trust. But the SNP is within a day’s drive of millions of people on the East Coast, and as a result, the majority of visitors spend only a day in the park, she says. “We believe that a $70 fee for what many use as a day pass would create a barrier to entry.”

The hefty price increase is intended to make up for an $11 billion backlog of maintenance and infrastructure projects in national parks across the nation. In Shenandoah alone, that number is $76 million.

Some of the local park projects include repairing roads and parking areas, repairing and reconstructing numerous historic stone walls along Skyline Drive, upgrading wastewater treatment plants and water systems across the park and upgrading the electrical system at the Front Royal Entrance Station.

“Placing the burden of repairing our parks on the backs of park visitors is misguided,” says Sherman. The trust is “deeply concerned” that the fee increase “will create economic barriers for thousands of would-be visitors.”

National park supporters are calling for the federal administration, which announced its intention to invest $1 trillion in American infrastructure, to allocate some of those funds to the parks. According to Sherman, for every dollar invested, $10 are pumped back into the national economy.

Senators Mark Warner and Ohio’s Rob Portman introduced the National Park Service Legacy Act last spring, which would establish an annual federal fund to restore park infrastructure. If authorized, it would invest $50 million a year to repair national park infrastructure over the next three years, increasing gradually for the following six years, and eventually peaking at $500 million annually for 20 years.

Says Sherman, “This level of financial commitment…is far superior than an increase in visitor entrance fees.”

Scott Osborne, a fly-fishing guide within the SNP, says he relies on its clean streams, brook trout and daily visitors for the success of his occupation.

“I share the park as a special place with people visiting from far and wide,” he says. “This is one of the greatest joys I have in my job, the ability to expose people to the phenomenal beauty and bounty in my own backyard. …Keep the entrance fee to the Shenandoah affordable and people from all walks of life will be able to enjoy and advocate for our natural world. In these turbulent and unsure times, our public lands need us now more than ever.”

A walk in the park

Grab your hiking boots and your sleeping bag. The Shenandoah National Park is a 300-square-mile destination for hiking, camping, picnicking, horseback riding, fishing, leaf peeping—you name it.

Skyline Drive runs for 105 miles across the entirety of the park, but to access it, you have to enter at one of the SNP’s four gates, which costs $25 per carload.

The gate nearest Charlottesville is the Rockfish Gap entryway, which is also the northern entrance to the Blue Ridge Parkway. It’s accessible via Interstate-64 and Route 250.

Five seasonal campgrounds include Big Meadows, Lewis Mountain, Matthews Arm, Dundo and Loft Mountain, with Big Meadows being the first to open in late March and prices ranging from $15 to $20 per night.

The National Park Service announced plans to raise the entry fee in several of America’s most popular national parks to $70. This includes the Shenandoah National Park, where visitors are used to paying just $25.

Big Meadows is the first campsite to open in early spring. It costs $20 per night to say there. Courtesy of SNP