Parking
The route guide locates a pullout on the west side of Skyline Drive just inside the North Entrance at mile 0.05; the trail starts at a marker post beside it. Current parking capacity was not found.
Overview
About Dickey Ridge Trail
Why go
- A short, easy route with a bridge, stream and stone homestead traces.
Heads up
- The marked turnaround comes before a steeper climb farther along the ridge.
Map & elevation
The route
Loading the Shenandoah map
Full mapElevation608–991 ft
Plan your hike
Before you go
Parking
Safety
2 active Shenandoah alerts
- ClosureOld Rag Trailhead main lot closedThe Old Rag Trailhead main parking lot is closed to vehicles and pedestrians for infrastructure improvements; use the existing overflow lots. - Work is expected to be completed by November 2026.Official details
- ClosureBackcountry camping and zone closuresBackcountry camping is prohibited on the Appalachian Trail from Lewis Mountain to Big Meadows, and the Naked Creek backcountry zone is closed.Official details
The highest, rockiest slopes around here are a summer buffet for grizzly bears.
Shenandoah Tour Guide
Your drive to Dickey Ridge Trail, narrated.
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
Three River Systems, One Bay0:00 / 0:34
“A little mountain stream here has a long journey ahead of it. The park’s streams feed three major river systems: the Shenandoah, the Rappahannock, and the James.”
Plays on the road 0.7 mi from the trailhead in the Parkwolf Shenandoah Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
- The Vulture's Wobble
- Shenandoah Valley Overlook: Signal Knob and Front Royal
- Dickey Ridge: Maps, Lodge History and a Short Walk
- Signal Knob Overlook: River Bends and a Wartime Lookout
- 146 audio storiesacross Shenandoah’s roads, triggered by GPS as you drive
- Wildlife heatmapsfor Black Bear, Bald Eagle, White-tailed Deer, and 13 more
- Works offlinemaps, 163 trails, 142 places, and audio download before you lose signal
- CarPlay readysimple controls built for the drive
“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!!!!”
Trail guide
Hiking Dickey Ridge Trail
Take the short north-end sectionDickey Ridge Trail continues for miles, but this easy outing is the 2.
Dickey Ridge Trail continues for miles, but this easy outing is the 2.7-mile out-and-back from the North Entrance to a concrete marker post, then back the same way. Allow about 2 hours 10 minutes and roughly 440 feet of climbing. You get a small stream, a wooden bridge and signs of earlier homes. Turn around at the marker; the trail climbs more steeply beyond it.
Follow the streamStart at the trail marker beside the mile 0.05 pullout.
Start at the trail marker beside the mile 0.05 pullout. The path crosses old pasture now grown over with young black locust and other pioneer trees. It follows a streambed that can be dry at first, then crosses on a simple wooden bridge. Two old-road side paths appear before the bridge, so keep to the blue blazes. Skyline Drive stays close enough to hear in this opening stretch.
Look for the old homesitesStone piles and low walls begin after the bridge, along with traces of old roads.
Stone piles and low walls begin after the bridge, along with traces of old roads. A filled-in stone chimney marks a former mountaineer home. Tall young sycamores grow by the stream, which is unusual in the park at this elevation. About three-quarters of a mile beyond the bridge, the path leaves the stream and reaches the concrete post that makes a natural turnaround for this short hike. Keep going and you add a steeper half-mile climb toward Skyline Drive.
Start and park rulesThe trail starts just inside Skyline Drive’s North Entrance, at the mile 0.05 access.
The trail starts just inside Skyline Drive’s North Entrance, at the mile 0.05 access. Shenandoah requires an entrance pass even if you walk in from the park boundary. Dogs are allowed on this trail on a physical leash no longer than six feet. The current capacity of the north-end parking area was not found.
Wildlife
Wildlife in Shenandoah
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.
