Hiker FAQs

We’re fortunate that the Shenandoah Valley is such a great area for people who love the outdoors. Here are a few links to local organizations we like and support.

Disclaimer & Terms of Use

Forest Service Rules for George Washington and Jefferson National Forests

Special Information for McAfee Knob, Dragons Tooth, and Tinker Cliffs

Backcountry Regulations for Shenandoah National Park

Potomac Appalachian Trail Club
The Potomac Appalachian Trail Club manages more than 1,200 miles of hiking trails in the Mid-Atlantic region, along with cabins, shelters, and hundreds of acres of conserved land. We learned a lot of our early backpacking lessons in one of their workshops: Backpacking 101.

• PATC – Charlottesville Chapter
  The PATC – Charlottesville Chapter hosts Saturday hikes in Shenandoah National Park, GWNF, and in other regional areas. Club members also help maintain trails.
• PATC – South Shenandoah District
  PATC members who lend their volunteer efforts to  hikers and trails in the South District of Shenandoah National Park.
• PATC – Southern Shenandoah Valley Chapter
  SSVC is a chapter of PATC based in the Southern Shenandoah Valley. Many members are from the Harrisonburg-Staunton-Waynesboro area. 

Old Dominion Appalachian Trail Club
The Old Dominion Appalachian Trail Club (ODATC) is an organization of individuals and trail-related organizations who meet to recreate in the outdoors in various ways as well as act as stewards of a portion of the Appalachian Trail and the public lands it runs through.  Our recreational  endeavors focus on hiking in Virginia but includes biking, paddling and touring as well.

Roanoke Appalachian Trail Club
RATC’s goal is to open, develop, extend and maintain trails for walkers, mountain climbers and nature students in wooded and mountain regions accessible from Roanoke, Virginia, more particularly a trail along the crest line of the mountains of southern Virginia

Natural Bridge Appalachian Trail Club
NBATC is a Class A member of the Appalachian Trail Conservancy and an affiliate member of the American Hiking Society. Ninety miles of the Appalachian Trail in Nelson, Amherst, Rockbridge, Botetourt, and Bedford counties, from Tye River to Black Horse Gap are maintained by NBATC volunteers. Individual club members assume responsibility for small trail sections and work crews handle more difficult maintenance tasks.

Guide to Shenandoah National Park
The roots of this guide trace back to the above book written by Henry Heatwole which was first published in 1978. Four editions and several reprints occurred until 1999. Almost 75,000 copies were sold.

Shenandoah National Park Trust
As the official philanthropic partner of Shenandoah National Park, the Trust invests in programs and initiatives which help ensure that Shenandoah remains a crown jewel of the Park Service, an economic driver for the region, and a national treasure for all to enjoy, for generations to come.

Friends of Shenandoah Mountain
Friends of Shenandoah Mountain is a group of concerned citizens consisting of local residents, businesses, faith communities, wilderness advocates, mountain bikers, hikers, hunters, and other forest users who would like to see the wild heritage of Shenandoah Mountain protected to benefit this and future generations.

Shenandoah Group of the Sierra Club
Founded by John Muir, the Sierra Club is the largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization in the United States.  Our local group is very active!

Blue Ridge Outdoors
For more than 19 years, Blue Ridge Outdoors magazine has been the definitive guide to outdoor sports, health, and adventure travel in the Southeast and Mid-Atlantic. Distributed every month from Baltimore to Atlanta, BRO has established itself as the nation’s top regional outdoor publication.

A Few of Our Favorite Local Outfitters

• Rockfish Gap
• Walkabout