Sight · Shenandoah National Park
Check the 12-foot-8 ceiling before this 1932 drive-through.
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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
Tunnel Parking Overlook: A View and a Road-Building Story“You're coming up on Tunnel Parking Overlook, just south of Marys Rock Tunnel. It's a quick stop for an east-facing view toward Skinner Ridge and Oventop Mountain, with Sperryville beyond.”
Plays as you drive up to Marys Rock Tunnel in the Parkwolf Shenandoah Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
“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
Marys Rock Tunnel carries Skyline Drive through Marys Rock at mile 32.2. It is a brief drive-through landmark rather than a place to explore on foot, and its rock-cut portal is a reminder that the scenic road had to cross a real mountain ridge.
The maximum clearance is 12 ft 8 in in both lanes. Check your full vehicle height, including roof gear and any trailer, before entering Skyline Drive, and switch on your headlights as you approach. Taller vehicles cannot pass through. Keep moving through the tunnel; use the nearby Tunnel Parking Overlook, a separate stop, if you want to pull over and take in the view.
Civilian Conservation Corps crews blasted through the hillside for three months to make the passage, finishing the tunnel in 1932. Natural springs seeping through the mountainside made the work harder. The tunnel is short to drive through, but it is one of the clearest reminders of the engineering behind Skyline Drive.
Nearby Tunnel Parking Overlook is a separate photo stop, facing east from about 2,510 feet. Skinner Ridge is on the right and Oventop Mountain sits farther back on the left, with Sperryville beyond where the ridges meet. Frame both ridges and look for the town in the gap.
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
ModerateMarys Rock Summit Trail3.7 mi · 3.5 hr · 0.6 mi awayA rocky climb from Panorama earns a big west-facing view.
ModeratePass Mountain Loop3.4 mi · 2.5 hr · 0.6 mi awayA moderate loop to an Appalachian Trail shelter through open woods.
ChallengingPass Mountain & Jeremys Run Loop22.4 mi · 16 hr · 0.7 mi awayA 22.4-mile loop links the AT, Neighbor Mountain and Jeremys Run.
ModerateHazel River Falls Hike5.3 mi · 5 hr · 1.1 mi awayA 5.3-mile round trip to a shaded cave and two small falls.
ChallengingBuck Hollow and Buck Ridge Loop5.9 mi · 3.5 hr · 1.1 mi awayA streamside descent, 600 steps, and a hard climb back up.
ChallengingHazel River - White Rocks Loop8.5 mi · 6 hr · 1.1 mi awayLong loop, short spur to a cave and two falls.
ModerateHazel Mountain–Catlett Mountain Loop7.8 mi · 5 hr · 1.1 mi awayA wooded backcountry loop with old walls and stream crossings.
ModerateMarys Rock from Meadow Spring2.9 mi · 3 hr · 1.1 mi awayA shorter south-side climb to Marys Rock's westward valley view.
Sight · 0.2 mi awayTunnel Parking OverlookA quick east-facing view beside Skyline Drive's only tunnel.
Sight · 0.4 mi awayMarys RockA boulder summit rewards the hike with a sweeping valley-and-ridge view.
Scenic pullout · 0.6 mi awayBuck Hollow OverlookA sunrise stop above layered ridges and Sperryville.
Sight · 0.6 mi awayPanoramaA handy Skyline Drive stop for water, restrooms, and park information.
Sight · 0.7 mi awayHazel Mountain OverlookA tree-topped rock anchors this layered Blue Ridge view.
Entrance station · 0.8 mi awayThornton Gap EntranceA staffed Route 211 gate to the Blue Ridge’s 105-mile road.
Sight · 1.9 mi awayHazel River FallsTwo small falls tucked beneath boulders, reached by a long hike.
Sight · 1.9 mi awayPass Mountain OverlookA west-facing stop over Kemp Hollow and Luray.Parkwolf’s Shenandoah ranking
The audio tour guide for the drive, plus offline maps, trails, and wildlife heatmaps for when the signal drops.
