Shenandoah National Park - Loft Mountain Campground (NPS)

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1.      Shenandoah National Park – Loft Mt Campground (NP S)

Beautiful!

             Loft Mt. Campground – Friday/Saturday May 15/16 – costs 15 (50% off with Golden Age)

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165 sites – our site moved to A16.  No hookups at all but there are restrooms and water and a campstore with laundry and showers.

             This campground is one of four on the Skyline drive in Shenandoah National Park.  There is also another one that is for groups only.  You can make reservations here for about 30 of the sites.  Most of the sites are pull through and good size even for the largest campers but there are a number of sites that are not level.  Real nice tent sites.  We moved from reserve site to a non reserve site only because it was more level but actually this site faces west so we were able to look at the views looking down on the valley and at night one can see the lights of the towns in the distance.  Great views!  The Appalachian Trail goes right around this campground so easy to get on to go hiking either way.  We arrived on opening day May 15 a Friday and it was quite interesting within 6 hours most of the sites in the campground were taken.  Lots of deer roaming through the woods and through your sites.  Very nice campground!

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      Our Day -  We headed to Waynesboro for shopping and gas then drove up the parkway stopping at every pullout there was.  No one was behind us and the drive and scenery was beautiful.  Arrived at the campground an hour before it was to open for the season at noon.  There were already about 30 sites taken and while we were there campers kept coming in to almost fill out the whole campground.  When we pulled into our site after switching sites it was kind of funny that a single girl (very pretty) that we had met at one of the pullouts because she was taking a rest hiking the Appalachian Trail was just hiking on the Appalachian Trail right by our site.  The timing could not have been better! We were abour 5 giant steps away from it.  George and I had stopped and talked to her about her hiking alone and she told us that this was the second time she has hike the trail all the way up to Maine.  God Bless Her – she knew what she was doing and did not fear anything.  I think she was planning to stop at the shelter which was six miles away.

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       Off to the laundry room we went but this was opening day and the washers were working but the men were working on everything else and we used the dryers but they were tumbling but no heat.  The men turned on the gas and worked hard to get it going for us and finally after about 2 hours we were able to dry our clothes – all three loads!

       We took some hikes and had a great dinner and fire while looking out over the valley and mountains and then watching the lights come in the distance.  What a view!  We still don’t have reception here though and George was really bummed out that is was Steph’s birthday and we didn’t talk to her.  It’s the first birthday that he hasn’t at least talk to his kids on their birthday and he felt terrible.

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     The weather forcast for the last two days and today was rain but we only had some quick showers during the night and the three days have been sunny, hot and great for hiking!  The only problem is that bears had been spotted in the park and when George and I were hiking we came upon some fresh bear droppings so that was the end of my hike and turned around we did and hiked the other way!.