Shenandoah tentsites

[smithjv]

Planning on SOBO of Shenandoah park before Loft Mountain Campsite is open in May. Are there any tentable sites within a couple miles of Loft Mountain to the south?? Hopefully they will be far enough away from the road for park rules . . .

[NJH]

There was one before Ivy Creek, one after after Ivy Creek and one maybe halfway between Ivy Creek and Loft Mountain. All away from the road. The AT goes by the edge of the campground next to walk in sites. They are far enough down not to be seen and I doubt any one would bother you if you camped there.

[smithjv]

There was one before Ivy Creek, one after after Ivy Creek and one maybe halfway between Ivy Creek and Loft Mountain. All away from the road. The AT goes by the edge of the campground next to walk in sites. They are far enough down not to be seen and I doubt any one would bother you if you camped there.

Thanks, but those are to the North side of campground. I am hoping for something to South nearer Doyles River/Big Run Loop trail. . .. It may be too close to Skyline Drive though.

[smkymtns]

I think you are correct that the trail is too close to Skyline Drive. I wish I was more familiar with the area, but I’d be willing to bet that you will find campsites down side trails as soon as you are far enough away from SD. Another option is some backcountry glamping. You could rent the Doyles River cabin if it was available.

https://www.patc.net/PATC/Cabins/Ind...les_River.aspx

[Kaptainkriz]

When I sectioned this area, I ended up staying at Blackrock hut area. It’s 0.6 up up up to the trail from the Wayside and then 8.6 miles south to the next hut. There’s no legal spots to tent that I saw along the way. That being said, ~1.7 miles down the Doyles River trailhead is this site at 38°14'06.5"N 78°41'34.0"W The falls are worth seeing if you’re into that.
IMG_7015_Original.jpeg

[Kaptainkriz]

I did this as a loop, going down to the falls on the way out and staying up top on the way back.
https://photos.app.goo.gl/bimUE9ye8S1Rix1I3

[HankIV]

Headed southbound, about .25-.5 past Skyline drive crossing at 1311.8 there is a stealth site of reasonable quality. That’s about 10 miles south of Loft Mtn campground.

[johnnybgood]

As I remember there are very nice campsites down the Big Run Portal area. Of course it's downhill from the AT a mile.
Park Regs advocate backcountry campers camp at least one half mile from Skyline Drive so there's that.

There's a new backcountry camping reservation system being implemented. beginning in 2024.
https://parkplanning.nps.gov/SHEN-Backcountry...

[DougWise]

I hiked all of the park this past spring. If there are leaves on the trees, you can camp just about anywhere. You can easily see where there have been campers along the trail - I was hiking SOBO about the time a busy NOBO bubble was passing through - the ridge runners in the area seemed to accept that people were stealth camping along the trail as long as everyone left the sites clean and did not make fires.

[Daybreak]

• I realize you are looking for an exact spot. Can't help you there. My 3 cents. Background music: https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=jv9sDn_2XkI

FWIW current regulations indicate you only have to be 1/4 mile (1320 ft) from a road.

The SNP Loft Mountain area map is a nice scaled overview. https://www.nps.gov/shen/planyourvis..._RoadTrail.pdf
If you zoom in on this map from Postholer's AT databook https://www.postholer.com/map/Appala...6804/14/other#
then you can you see (if not already known) that most (some?)of the route SOBO between the AT intersection with the western end of the Loft Mountain Campground Trail 2 and the AT crossing of the Doyles River Trail meets this criteria. Give yourself some time and look/hike due south from the trail. Tarps/bivy sacks/hammocks open up more true LNT camping. A bear cannister or a very good hang would be needed in this area.

Consider:

Take an alternative route down Doyles River trail and up another trail or fire road as an alternative to the AT with the bonus of those beautiful spots pictured by Kaptainkris. Waterfalls are a highlight of the park frequently missed my AT hikers.

Instead of camping at your planned site before Loft Mountain, maybe add a few miles there. Then go to Blackrock Hut.

Hitching is legal in the Park and commonly done. Either skip a few miles or hitch to an easily reachable hut/campground and hitch back. Use hitching as a backup if you can't find a suitable campsite.