Entrance station · Shenandoah National Park
Start at mile 105 for Skyline Drive's quieter southern stretch.
Overview
Map
Plan your stop
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 area
Bears in the Oak Trees“If you spot a black bear high in an oak tree in fall, it may be there for the acorns. Autumn is a busy feeding season, when bears build up fat before spending the winter in a den.”
Plays on the road 0.4 mi from Rockfish Gap Entrance 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
Rockfish Gap Entrance is Shenandoah National Park’s staffed southern vehicle entrance, where Skyline Drive starts off US 250 near I-64 Exit 99. The covered drive-through station has a ranger window on the driver’s side; it’s a practical checkpoint rather than a scenic overlook. The entrance is at mile 104.6, usually rounded to 105, and mileposts count down as you head north.
Skyline Drive follows the Blue Ridge crest for 105 miles; a clear-day drive end to end takes about three hours before stops. The first roughly 20 miles north are among the park’s quietest and include vistas over federally designated wilderness. At Loft Mountain, mile 79.5, you’ll find food, restrooms, and souvenirs, so plan those farther along the drive.
The station you pass now is not the original Civilian Conservation Corps entrance. That rustic, board-and-batten building had concrete shingles; a new station opened about a mile south in 2010. The final Skyline Drive section from Jarman Gap to Rockfish Gap was completed in 1939, bringing the road to the gap on its way toward the planned Blue Ridge Parkway.
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
ModerateCalf Mountain via Appalachian Trail3.2 mi · 1.8 hr · 4.2 mi awayA meadow view before the Appalachian Trail’s wooded summit.
EasyBear Den Mountain via Appalachian Trail1.2 mi · 45 min · 4.2 mi awayA short climb to radio towers, tractor seats, and broad ridge views.
EasyLittle Calf Mountain via Appalachian Trail1.7 mi · 1 hr · 4.2 mi awayA short Appalachian Trail climb to a grassy meadow with ridge views
Scenic pullout · 2.5 mi awayMcCormick Gap OverlookA quick pullout for wide views toward the southern Shenandoah Valley.
Scenic pullout · 4 mi awayCalf Mountain OverlookA west-facing pullout above Waynesboro and Jarman’s Gap.
Scenic pullout · 4.2 mi awayBeagle Gap OverlookAn east-facing Piedmont view and a place to scan for fall hawks.
Sight · 4.4 mi awayLittle Calf MountainA meadow summit rewards a short walk on the Appalachian Trail.Parkwolf’s Shenandoah ranking
The audio tour guide for the drive, plus offline maps, trails, and wildlife heatmaps for when the signal drops.
