Front Royal, VA

[Easyhiker]

Info, questions, comments, experiences (good or bad) regarding - Front Royal, VA

Past/Present hikers - what can future hikers expect here? Have any good stories or memories, would you suggest a maildrop here?

Future hikers - any questions?

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Stats: ?

zipcode - 22630

[stranger]

Call me crazy but I kinda dug Front Royal..although everything is a bit spread out and it's a tough hitch. Everything you need and a few perks like the pool hall that only charges $3 per hour, ended up taking a taxi out to avoid the hitching problem.

[chief]

kinda liked front royal myself. had some time to kill before my partner was to rejoin me at harpers ferry. the town has everything a hiker needs, but is a bit spread out. i had good luck with a hitch into town. before i could stick my thumb out a pickup stopped and offered me a ride. nice! on the way into town, i spotted ENTERPRISE! soon as i got settled in a cheesy motel, i had em bring me a car. spent the rest of day shuttling hikers into town, to stores, to ayce places, etc. even took some hiker friends to DC for the july 4th festivities. me, i celebrated back in front royal with other hiker friends and a jug of tequila. yahoo!!!

[Jack Tarlin]

I usually skip Front Royal as it's kinda spread out and a difficult hitch from the highway. Also, it's easy to re-supply in Linden (you can blue blaze from Jim and Molly Denton shelter, 5 miles after the highway, directly to the Linden P.O. Also, a few days later, the Bears Den Hostel has great short -term re-supply to get you to Harper's Ferry.

Oh. There may well be a new hostel in Front Royal next season; will send along details as I get them.

[Moose2001]

I liked Front Royal except it seemed to be the place on the trail where the "Northern" motel prices kicked in. Even the "cheap" motels were suddenly much pricer than they had been South of Front Royal. It is spread out but easy to walk to. Great ice cream stand across Farmer Jack's supermarket. Had no trouble at all getting hitches in and out. I got a haircut while there on Main Street. Walked out of the barbershop and a passerby asked if I was going back to the trail. A quick truck ride and back to the trailhead.

[Blue Jay]

I liked Front Royal because it has a Movie Theater that was actually playing a halfway decent movie (although I can't remember what it was). There are soooo few and it is one of the few things I miss from the Money World. There's one in Lincoln NH, where I walked 5 miles to see what turned out to be a cartoon this year and one at Rangley ME where I had to watch a Britney Spears Movie (I'm sure I'm the only one in the world that liked that movie, hell I would have liked even a Star War Bore Movie by that point). Anybody know of other Theaters within 5 of the Trail. A movie jones is so hard to resupply.

[MOWGLI]

Saw Erin Brokovich in Erwin, TN in 2000. Miss Janet took several of us to the theatre. Its a stones throw from the burrito joint.

[MOWGLI]

Saw "Oh Brother Where Art Thou?" in Abingdon, VA during Trail Daze 2001. Although Abingdon is a good ride from Damascus (12 miles?), you could probably catch a ride pretty easily. I'm a movie nut, so a movie break is always nice.

Another movie angle... Some hostels have opportunities to watch video rentals. Caught a bunch of flicks at Andover Guest House in Andover, ME while recovering from a 5 day flu bug. The store across the street rented videos. Saw American Beauty there with my friend Sunnie in August 2000. Great film.

Click on the following link to check some great quotes from American Beauty;

http://www.atlyrics.com/quotes/a/americanbeauty.html

[Blue Jay]

You know Sunnie from 2000. I hiked with her and her nephew in NY. I've lost touch with her. How is she? Last I heard she was going to go on some kind of wild bike ride.

[MOWGLI]

Sunnie is Sunnie, if ya know what I mean. I'm about to move to the Chattanooga area where she lives most of the year. She is way cool.

[Skyline]

Agree with Baltimore Jack about the Linden vs. Front Royal thing--if you have a maildrop. VERY easy to get in/out of, and a brand new post office! If you need to shop or want to spend the night, FR is the place tho.

Someone asked about movie theatres near the trail. We have a 4-screen here in Luray (off the Trail at Thornton Gap, SNP, US211 West) with bargain basement prices and usually first-run movies. Luray's not the trail town that Waynesboro or Harpers Ferry is, but we certainly get a bunch of hikers here every year. The hitch in is usually easy, the hitch out not so easy, tho there are a coupla shuttle options and a cab company. YMMV.

[A-Train]

There was a new hostel here this year that I stayed at on 5/08. Not sure if It is gonna be open each year. It was a former thru-hiker who was trying it out. It was called Terapin Hostel and was located a half mile off the AT at compton gap fire road. He gave shuttles into Front Royal allowing us to skip Front Royal as a town stop and hitch.

[Jack Tarlin]

There is a new Outfitter in Front Royal, by the way, and it was well spoken of by this year's hikers. However, it'll have to be a pretty remarkable place to top the Outfitter at Harper's Ferry which is a stone's throw down the Trail; along with Mt. Rogers in Damascus; Bluff Mountain in Hot Springs; and the Walasi Center at Neels Gap, the Outfitter at Harper's is about the most thru-hiker friendly shop on the Trail

[A-Train]

Agreed. That is a very friendly and packed little shop with everything you could want. The middle aged woman who worked there was absolutely wonderful to talk to. Its a crucial outfitter as there really is not another one until Kent Ct, besides Port Clinton, but I hear Cabellas is putting Vern out of business.
I did stop briefly in the Front Royal outfitters which is in the strip mall. I didn;t need anything there, so i can't comment, however they seemed AT hiker friendly and had a hiker box there for thru's. It is in a tough spot between two very good outfitter; Waynesboro and HF.

[Jack Tarlin]

"Middle-Aged woman?" Wow, wait til Laura sees this! Fact is, she's younger than me!

[A-Train]

Egad!
Be easy on me...I'm young and stupid.
Seriously though I have a REAL problem with this womens age guessing game.
Margie at Walasi-Yi almost killed me when I thought her friend was her daughter!

[Kozmic Zian]

:cool: Yea......Front Royal. I stayed here on one hike. Motel on the corner (name eludes me) was OK. Breakfast around the corner at the diner (name eludes me) was good. Hitch back to Trail with nice folks was easy. I liked Ft Royal too, but had to do some walkin' to figure out where anything was. Stay away from the 'long walk' down the street. Everything, food, resupply, restaurants are towards the east on main drag (name eludes me). If you come in on the Parkway, you can hitch back up to Trail fairly easily the same way, back. Lots o' hiker types headin' up from town. If you don't come in on the Parkway, go to Linden, there's a PO and little store w/ STResupply. Then you can find the Blue Blaze into the Denton Shelter. Don't miss the Gov't Animal Containment (behind huge Cyclone fence). Makes you feel like you're really in the Wilderness. Easy does it up to Rt 50, Ashby Gap. KZ@

[Footslogger]

Agreed. That is a very friendly and packed little shop with everything you could want. The middle aged woman who worked there was absolutely wonderful to talk to. Its a crucial outfitter as there really is not another one until Kent Ct, besides Port Clinton, but I hear Cabellas is putting Vern out of business.
I did stop briefly in the Front Royal outfitters which is in the strip mall. I didn;t need anything there, so i can't comment, however they seemed AT hiker friendly and had a hiker box there for thru's. It is in a tough spot between two very good outfitter; Waynesboro and HF.
"Middle Age" is relative term A-Train. It all depends on how long you plan to live (my opinion). I'm 55 and haven't reached "middle age" quite yet. My former wife was "middle age" when she hit 40.

Nuff said ...

[3oz]

Although Front Royal is nothing special I had a great time there. Me and about a dozen Southbounders got stuck there during Hurricane Izabel when they closed Shannendoa. The most memorable day was sitting on the benches in front of the super market all day. It was on that day Harold and Synapse did the full gallon challenge. Both of them finished, and Synapse was able to hold down! In total I spent three days there. The town has a bowling alley, movie theatre, bar, numerous restaurants, PO, ect. It's also perfectly located for SOBO's to hit before they go into the park.

[bearbait2k4]

Front Royal was a nice town. There was a carnival when we were there!

Although I aqua-blazed that section and came in off the river, I thought it was an easy hitch to get around town. People were nice, pizza was good, and it was easy to get in and out.

[weary]

Although Front Royal is nothing special I had a great time there. ...The town has a bowling alley, movie theatre, bar, numerous restaurants, PO, ect. It's also perfectly located for SOBO's to hit before they go into the park.

Front Royal has the best book store on the entire 2,170 mile AT -- a combination of new and used -- or did through the late 90's.
I spent hours looking through nature books trying to identify trail flowers and plants from my notes, bought a copy of Walden for a trail friend who was leaving the trail at Harper's Ferry, and marvelled at the fabulous collection of new and old books.

Weary

[Jack Tarlin]

I don't usually go into Front Royal, preferring to re-supply in Linden, and then take some time off in Harper's Ferry.

For those interested in American History, there are some interesting grave markers in the town's main cemetery, including a monument to seven of Colonel John S. Mosby's men, who were murdered by their Union captor....a rather unpleasant gentleman named George Armstrong Custer.

The ammount of interesting historical stuff that took place on or near the Trail never ceases to amaze me, and if you're interested in this sort of thing, I strongly suggest you take some time off on your journey and do a bit of exploring.

[oyvay]

I was fortunate in Front Royal, spent the night at tom floyd, walked the 3 miles to the road, got a ride within five mins(reason: woman driver doesn't pick up hitchhikers, but since I was female....sorry guys!), she dropped me off at the food lion and offered to buy me lunch at the sandwich deli place she worked at (would have but it was kind of far from the market), resupplied, had lunch and did laundry then got a ride back out to the trail and the Denton shelter. I didn't see much of the town, but I did everything I needed to do and did not have to spend any money on a room.
IMHO the room prices are high probably because it's so close to a skyline drive entrance, they just want to collect as much as they can from DC-area Yuppies/families on the weekend out for a drive through the Park.

[wilconow]

I was in Front Royal today while driving to do the Signal Knob loop hike in Massanutten (range west Of Shenandoah)

Was amazed to see that at the north part of town, they built a Target, Wal-Mart, Lowes, TGIFs. DC sprawl has no limits

Anyway I guess having a Walmart and Target may help some hikers.. though it's on the total opposite end of town of the nearest road crossing

[thestin]

I did that same hike just a couple of days ago. Really enjoyable and really ROCKY!

[Terry7]

Is there a Greyhound Bus Station in front royal? At www.dexknows.com (http://www.dexknows.com) it says there is, but at the Greyhound website it not there.

[vatrader01]

Greyhound does not service Front royal or Winchester anymore. Not sure where to get on the bus near here.

[Appalachian Tater]

http://www.greyhound.com/scripts/en/TicketCenter/locations.asp?state=va
http://www.greyhound.com/locations/routemap.shtml

[Terry7]

http://www.greyhound.com/scripts/en/TicketCenter/locations.asp?state=va
http://www.greyhound.com/locations/routemap.shtml

Thanks,