Stony Man: The Appalachian Trail
in Virginia · centroid 75 mi from Washington
Since you left the parking lot, you have been hiking along a section of the Appalachian Trail -- a 2,190 mile long jaunt that stretches from Georgia to Maine. If you're here in late spring you may see some hikers with large backpacks, hiking north on the Appalachian Trail at a brisk pace. These are "thru-hikers", people that attempt to hike the entire length of the trail in a single year.
They each have unique stories. It generally takes 4-6 months to complete a thru-hike. Think about what it would be like to spend that amount of time, often alone, in the Wilderness. Another building block of Stony Man, and the Park, is the recreation we experience here.
The Appalachian Trail predates Shenandoah National Park, with it first being dreamt up by Benton MacKaye in 1925, and the trail being installed in what is now the National Park in 1931. The construction of Skyline Drive actually halted and altered the A.T. in several areas, causing it to be relocated further down the slope.
- States
- Virginia
- Trail type
- National Park trail
- Centroid nearest city
- Washington, DC · 75 mi · ~2.2 hr drive
- Centroid coords
- 38.5956°, -78.3704°
About Shenandoah National Park
This trail is inside Shenandoah National Park, a national park managed by the U.S. National Park Service. Conditions, road status, trail closures, and reservation requirements are published on the park's NPS page — check it before driving in, especially in winter or during major weather events.
Entrance fee: $30 per vehicle (verify current rate on the park page). An America the Beautiful annual pass ($80) covers entrance to all NPS units.
Official NPS trail page: https://www.nps.gov/places/000/stony-man-the-appalachian-trail.htm
Park homepage: https://www.nps.gov/shen/index.htm
Plan your hike
Maps + permits: long-distance trails like this often require permits for through-hiking, backcountry camping, or specific sections (especially in National Parks). Check with the maintaining organisation listed above and the relevant land manager before booking travel.
Water + supplies: water sources vary seasonally on most U.S. trails. Carry a filter and consult current trail-condition reports — through-hiker journals (PCT-L, AT Reddit, etc.) and the maintaining organisation publish regular updates.
When to go: hiking seasons vary widely with elevation, latitude, and snowpack. Through-hikers traditionally start the AT in March-April (Springer northbound) and the PCT in late April (Campo northbound). High-elevation western trails (CDT, JMT, Wonderland) generally aren't passable until July.
If you've hiked Stony Man: The Appalachian Trail and have current notes (water sources, trail closures, permit changes), tell us at /contact — we update pages as we learn.
Stay nearby
Other trails within 50 miles
Limberlost TRACK Trail - Kids' Activity
1 miles from this trail's centroid
Old Rag Fire Rd. - Limberlost Trail Junction
1 miles from this trail's centroid
Whiteoak Trail - Limberlost Trail Junction
1 miles from this trail's centroid
Massanutten South Trail
16 miles from this trail's centroid
Massanutten Trail
16 miles from this trail's centroid
Fox Hollow Third Trail Post: Out in the Clearing
21 miles from this trail's centroid
Sources
Trail data on this page is compiled from OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), the maintaining organisation's public-facing materials, and Wikipedia (CC BY-SA where excerpts are quoted). Distance, terminus, and descriptive text for nationally-designated trails are hand-curated from federal land-manager websites and trail-association sources. We do not modify the underlying data; this page presents what is already publicly recorded. To suggest corrections, see our methodology page.