Sight · Shenandoah National Park
A quick pull-off for Old Rag and the layered eastern ridges.
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 place
Thorofare Mountain Overlook: A View to the East“Up ahead is Thorofare Mountain Overlook, the park's highest overlook and a quick stop for views to the east. Facing out from the pull-off, look for Thorofare Mountain straight ahead and Old Rag to the right.”
Plays as you drive up to Thorofare Mountain Overlook 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
Thorofare Mountain Overlook is a roadside scenic pull-off north of Skyland at 3,595 feet, the highest overlook in Shenandoah National Park. It looks east across the mountains, and you can take in the view without hiking to a summit. I’d stop for the layered panorama if you’re already on Skyline Drive, rather than expecting a summit walk.
Thorofare Mountain stands straight ahead. Hazel Mountain is farther left, with Pinnacle Ridge closer and farther left still; Old Rag fills the right side of the view. Those named shapes give the long ridge line something to read beyond its broad sweep.
The overlook faces east, making sunrise a natural time for photographs. One documented spring morning briefly lit a grove in the valley below while the surrounding ridges stayed in shadow; the sunrise point shifts with the seasons. A wide phone frame holds the layers, while a tighter view can isolate the grove when the light catches it.
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
EasyStony Man Hike1.6 mi · 1.5 hr · 1 mi awayA short loop to greenstone ledges and wide valley views.
ModeratePassamaquoddy Loop3.4 mi · 3 hr · 1 mi awayA wooded Skyland circuit with rocky clearings and valley views.
ModerateWhiteoak Falls (Upper)4.6 mi · 3.5 hr · 1.3 mi awayA waterfall overlook with a steep climb back to Skyline Drive.
EasyCrescent Rock Overlook via Limberlost3.4 mi · 2 hr · 1.3 mi awayA shady forest climb opens onto a rocky Massanutten view.
ModerateStony Man and Little Stony Man Hike3 mi · 2 hr · 1.3 mi awayTwo rocky viewpoints and a Skyline Drive view in three miles.
EasyLimberlost Trail1.3 mi · 1.5 hr · 1.3 mi awayAn accessible forest loop with a rare columnar-jointing formation.EasyLittle Stony Man Hike1 mi · 1 hr · 1.3 mi awayA short climb to open views across Page Valley.
EasyMillers Head Trail1.6 mi · 2 hr · 1.3 mi awayRocky climb to a former fire-tower site with wide valley views.
Scenic pullout · 0.7 mi awayHemlock Springs OverlookA quick overlook with a mountain view and a hemlock story.
Sight · 1.1 mi awayStony Man SummitA short climb ends at a rocky, west-facing valley panorama.
Sight · 1.2 mi awayLittle Stony Man CliffsA short rocky climb opens over Skyline Drive and Page Valley.
Sight · 1.2 mi awaySkylandA historic Skyline Drive resort with valley-view dining and nearby hikes.
Sight · 1.3 mi awayMassanutten LodgeA cottage museum about Skyland's early years and its women.
Lodging · 1.3 mi awayCorbin CabinA restored farm cabin at the end of a river-valley hike.
Sight · 1.3 mi awaySkyland StablesA slow, wooded ride past an old apple orchard.
Sight · 1.5 mi awayRobertson MountainA full-day summit hike with a view across to Old Rag.Parkwolf’s Shenandoah ranking
The audio tour guide for the drive, plus offline maps, trails, and wildlife heatmaps for when the signal drops.
