Blue Ridge Parkway Day #5

Thursday, October 23, 2025

A peaceful and beautiful day traveling Skyline Drive in Shenandoah National Park.

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Mary’s Rock Tunnel.

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View from the peak of Hawksbill Mountain.

From ChatGPT:

Hawksbill Mountain, along Skyline Drive in Shenandoah National Park, is the park’s highest peak at about 4,050 ft. A popular moderate hike leads to a stone observation platform with sweeping 360° views of the Shenandoah Valley and Blue Ridge Mountains. Trails from Hawksbill Gap make it a rewarding, relatively short climb with memorable vistas.

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I celebrated my 56th birthday with this view today. I have been in worse places for prior birthdays - too many spent working in a hospital.

Dark Hollow Falls.

The hike to these falls was not for the faint of heart. However, it was not our most adventurous hike - that would come the following day.

From ChatGPT:

Dark Hollow Falls on Skyline Drive in Shenandoah National Park is a scenic, 70-foot cascading waterfall accessed via a popular 1.4-mile round-trip hike. The trail descends steeply through forest alongside Hogcamp Branch to the falls, then climbs back up, making the return more strenuous. Its beauty and accessibility make it one of the park’s most visited waterfall hikes.

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On both Skyline Drive and The Blue Ridge Parkway, there are stunning views around almost every corner. As we work out way further south, the colors are more consistent with peak.

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