Parking
Park at Dickey Ridge Visitor Center on Skyline Drive at mile 4.6, then cross the drive to the marked trailhead. Restrooms are at the visitor center; a park entrance fee applies.
Overview
About Fox Hollow Trail
Why go
- Stone piles, the Fox family cemetery, and an old springbox give the short walk a story.
- A TRACK Trail brochure and signs make the history easy to explore with kids.
Heads up
- The wooded loop has little to no view.
- Rocky, rooty footing and a confusing first junction need attention.
Map & elevation
The route
Loading the Shenandoah map
Full mapElevation1,699–1,936 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 Fox Hollow 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 trailhead
Dickey Ridge: Maps, Lodge History and a Short Walk0:00 / 0:33
“Up ahead is Dickey Ridge Visitor Center, a useful stop for maps, ranger advice and valley views around the building.”
Plays as you drive up to this trailhead in the Parkwolf Shenandoah Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
- Signal Knob Overlook: River Bends and a Wartime Lookout
- Shenandoah Valley Overlook: Signal Knob and Front Royal
- The Vulture's Wobble
- Gooney Run Overlook: Follow the Valley
- 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 Fox Hollow Trail
A short history loopFox Hollow Trail is a roughly 1.
Fox Hollow Trail is a roughly 1.2-mile circuit from the trailhead across Skyline Drive from Dickey Ridge Visitor Center. It follows a short section of Dickey Ridge Trail, then turns onto Fox Hollow and circles back past the Fox family cemetery, stone piles, and an old springbox. The park calls it easiest and lists 310 feet of gain; full route measurements come out closer to 1.3 miles, so allow about an hour if you stop along the way. This is a walk for the homestead story, not a big view.
Find the right turnFrom the signed start, take Dickey Ridge Trail first, then turn right onto Fox Hollow at the…
From the signed start, take Dickey Ridge Trail first, then turn right onto Fox Hollow at the concrete marker. The kiosk has two downhill choices that can be easy to mix up. Follow the blue blazes and check the map before you leave the visitor-center lot: the park says cell and GPS service can be unreliable here.
What the stonework meansThomas and Martha Fox began farming this hollow in 1856, and their family remained into the…
Thomas and Martha Fox began farming this hollow in 1856, and their family remained into the 1930s. The low stone piles and walls are rocks cleared from fields that have since grown back into forest. The family cemetery, a springbox, and a striking three-branched sycamore are all along the route. Stay on the tread around the cemetery.
A wooded walk, not an overlookExpect roots and uneven rocks underfoot, with a small stream crossing reported on the loop.
Expect roots and uneven rocks underfoot, with a small stream crossing reported on the loop. The trail is not ADA accessible, and most of it stays under trees; the broad valley view is at the separate Dickey Ridge overlook, not along this route. Near the spring about halfway through, pickerel frogs and salamanders have been recorded. The NPS TRACK Trail brochure and signs add a kid-friendly way to explore the history.
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.
