Scenic pullout · Shenandoah National Park
A quick pause for the steep gorge and layered ridges
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The highest, rockiest slopes around here are a summer buffet for grizzly bears.
Shenandoah Tour Guide
Parkwolf is a GPS audio tour guide for Shenandoah National Park. As you drive, it chimes in with what’s ahead: hidden gems, upcoming stops, history, geology, and wildlife, right through your car’s speakers.
See the Shenandoah audio tourRecorded for this place
Little Devils Stairs Overlook: A Glimpse into the Gorge“You're nearing Little Devils Stairs Overlook, a quick south-facing view across wooded ridges toward Pignut Mountain.”
Plays as you drive up to Little Devils Stairs Overlook in the Parkwolf Shenandoah Tour Guide.
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“Fantastic app with many points of information… It’s great to just turn on while you’re driving and it gives you an audio tour of the national Park. We love it!!!!”
Guide
Little Devils Stairs Overlook is a roadside viewpoint on Skyline Drive at mile 20.1, 3,120 feet above sea level. It gives you a long south-facing view across forested Blue Ridge ridges into the steep, rocky gorge. This is an easy scenic stop, not a trailhead. Trees screen parts of the gorge, so expect a layered panorama with glimpses into its rocky folds rather than an open canyon wall.
Pignut Mountain, the high point of Pickerel Ridge, rises across the view; on a clear day, Old Rag can appear on the far horizon. The “stairs” are the gorge’s very steep rocky sections, a useful reminder that this is a rugged ravine and not just a name on the map. For a photo, keep part of the nearer wooded slope in the foreground; it gives the distant ridges some depth.
The Little Devils Stairs Loop does not start at the overlook. Its separate trailhead is at Keyser Run parking, Skyline Drive mile 19.4. NPS lists the circuit as strenuous: 7.4 miles with 1,897 feet of climbing and an estimated 8½ hours. Stop at mile 20.1 for the view; set aside a full, strenuous day for the loop.
Wildlife
325 sightingsBlack BearMost seen around 6 AMSighting map
21 sightingsBald EagleMost seen around 10 AMSighting map
1,036 sightingsWhite-tailed DeerMost seen around 7 PMSighting map
167 sightingsWild TurkeyMost seen around 7 AMSighting map
93 sightingsTimber RattlesnakeMost seen around 6 PMSighting map
24 sightingsCoyoteMost seen around 6 AMSighting mapSighting maps show where each species has been reported across Shenandoah. Wildlife moves, so no sighting is guaranteed.
Keep exploring
ChallengingHogback Mountain and Thornton River Loop18.4 mi · 21.5 hr · 0.6 mi awayAn 18.4-mile, three-day loop linking Hogback views and Thornton River.
ModerateHogback Mountain Loop6.4 mi · 4 hr · 0.6 mi awayA ridge loop with valley ledges, steep climbing, and a creek crossing.
ChallengingLittle Devils Stairs Loop7.4 mi · 8.5 hr · 0.6 mi awayA full-day gorge loop with cascades, scrambles, and a family cemetery.
ChallengingTuscarora Trail through Shenandoah8 mi · 6 hr · 0.8 mi awayAn eight-mile one-way traverse past Overall Run’s gorge and falls.
ChallengingOverall Run Falls and Heiskell Hollow Loop15.6 mi · 13 hr · 0.9 mi awayA three-day backcountry loop linking waterfalls and Heiskell Hollow.
ChallengingOverall Run, Piney Branch & Jeremys Run Loop34.2 mi · 1 day · 0.9 mi awayFour hiking days link a 93-foot waterfall and three wilderness streams.ChallengingOverall Run Falls and Piney Branch Loop22.3 mi · 18 hr · 0.9 mi awayThree-day backcountry loop past Overall Run Falls and Piney Branch.
ModerateSugarloaf Loop5 mi · 3.5 hr · 1.5 mi awayA wooded five-mile circuit to a rocky view above Hogback.
Scenic pullout · 0.3 mi awayLittle Hogback OverlookA small roadside view of Browntown Valley and the Appalachian Trail.
Sight · 0.8 mi awayHogback OverlookLayered ridges lead north toward the Alleghenies on clear days.
Scenic pullout · 0.9 mi awayMount Marshall OverlookPiedmont views from a pullout with a John Marshall land story.
Scenic pullout · 1.2 mi awayRattlesnake Point OverlookPick out six Blue Ridge peaks from a meadow-framed roadside view.
Scenic pullout · 1.3 mi awayGimlet Ridge OverlookA quick pullout for layered valleys and Signal Knob.
Sight · 1.5 mi awayPiney River CCC BuildingA modest CCC office tied to Shenandoah’s early park design
Campground · 1.7 mi awayMathews Arm CampgroundWooded campsites, an easy loop, and no showers or hookups.
Lodging · 1.8 mi awayRange View CabinA hike-in cabin with a signed stone from 1933.Parkwolf’s Shenandoah ranking
The audio tour guide for the drive, plus offline maps, trails, and wildlife heatmaps for when the signal drops.
