Parking
Small gravel pull-off on the east side of Skyline Drive at milepost 59.5, by the Pocosin Fire Road sign. It reportedly fits about six cars and is easy to pass. A park entrance pass is required.
Overview
About Pocosin Mission Trail
Why go
- An easy road walk to real mission, schoolhouse and cemetery remains.
- A short, specific history stop instead of another overlook.
Heads up
- Most of the route is the same gravel fire road there and back.
- The downhill approach means a climb back to the car.
Map & elevation
The route
Loading the Shenandoah map
Full mapElevation2,822–3,225 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 Pocosin Mission 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
Pocosin Mission: A Walk to the Church Remains0:00 / 0:23
“You’re approaching the Pocosin Mission trailhead, for a history walk through the woods.”
Plays as you drive up to this trailhead in the Parkwolf Shenandoah Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
- The Argument Over Stone Walls
- Baldface Mountain Overlook: A Brief Valley Stop
- Lewis Mountain: A Picnic Stop with Important History
- South River: Picnic Grounds and the Waterfall Overlook
- 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 Pocosin Mission Trail
A short history walkPocosin Mission Trail is an about 2-mile round-trip out-and-back on a gravel fire road from…
Pocosin Mission Trail is an about 2-mile round-trip out-and-back on a gravel fire road from Skyline Drive to the Upper Pocosin Mission ruins. Allow about 1.5 to 2 hours to walk it and look around. The road drops gently through woods on the way in, then you climb back the same way. Do it for the history at the end; there are no notable overlooks along this route.
Stay on the fire roadStart at the small gravel pull-off by milepost 59.
Start at the small gravel pull-off by milepost 59.5 and walk around the chain onto Pocosin Fire Road. The route crosses the Appalachian Trail near the beginning; keep going straight on the fire road. Pocosin Cabin is about 0.2 mile in, and the mission site is roughly a mile from the parking area. At the ruins, turn around. Pocosin Trail and other roads continue from the junction, but they are separate hikes and add a much longer trip.
A cabin from the Skyline Drive yearsPocosin Cabin is a one-room log cabin built by Civilian Conservation Corps crews in 1936.
Pocosin Cabin is a one-room log cabin built by Civilian Conservation Corps crews in 1936. It was later run by the Potomac Appalachian Trail Club as a rental cabin. You can see its chimney and cabin from the road, but the porch and locked privy are for cabin guests; don't count on them as trail facilities.
What remains of the missionReverend Frederick Neve built the Episcopal mission in 1902 to serve mountain communities.
Reverend Frederick Neve built the Episcopal mission in 1902 to serve mountain communities. The settlement included a schoolhouse and housing for missionaries. Today, you can pick out church steps, foundation walls, a fallen chimney and remnants of a wooden building; a small, overgrown cemetery is across the trail. The ruins are easy to miss if you arrive without knowing what they are. Look for the surviving wall against the trees, but stay on the path and leave the stones where they are.
Access and footingMost of the walk is on dirt and gravel road, with a mild descent to the mission and roughly 400…
Most of the walk is on dirt and gravel road, with a mild descent to the mission and roughly 400 feet of climbing on the return. The access is a signed fire-road entrance on the east side of Skyline Drive, and it's easy to drive by. The small pull-off reportedly fits about six cars. A park entrance pass is required. Dogs are allowed here on a physical leash no longer than six feet.
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.
