Shenandoah National Park, VA
A 5.8-mile wooded loop with a few seasonal valley glimpses.
Overview
Map & elevation
Plan your hike
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
The Newt's Years on Land“A tiny orange-red salamander on a damp woodland path may be a young eastern newt, called a red eft. It can spend several years on land before returning to water to breed.”
Plays on the road 0.5 mi from the trailhead 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!!!!”
Trail guide
Saddleback Mountain Loop is a 5.8-mile circuit from the Appalachian Trail crossing at Swift Run Gap. It follows the AT north to the blue-blazed Saddleback Mountain Trail, crosses the mountain shoulder, takes a short fire-road connector back to the AT, then returns to the same crossing. Expect roughly 1,100 feet of climbing and about 3 to 3.5 hours on the trail. The first 1.5 miles on the AT are shared with the return, so this is a wooded loop with a repeated approach rather than a separate path all the way around.
This is a good choice for a steady forest walk with some route variety. The summit itself is covered in trees, so choose it for the walk, not for a summit panorama.
Head north on the AT from the boundary crossing. It climbs steadily. Within the first few tenths, a short unmarked spur turns right to a small family cemetery; return to the AT to continue the loop. The remaining headstones include dates around the turn of the twentieth century, a small trace of the families who once lived on these slopes.
At about 1.5 miles, turn right onto the blue-blazed Saddleback Mountain Trail. This middle section is gentler than the AT climb and skirts the mountain shoulder. A few filtered views reach the valley and Skyline Drive through the trees; they are easiest to see when the leaves are down.
The Saddleback trail passes a Potomac Appalachian Trail Club maintenance hut. A spring nearby was reported mostly dry on one visit, so do not count on it as a water stop. Continue along the short fire-road connector to rejoin the AT, then head south to finish the loop.
The high point on the AT is wooded and has no view. Expect rocky footing and a few steeper pitches on the AT sections. Leashed dogs are allowed on this route.
The route begins at a park-boundary crossing on U.S. 33 near Swift Run Gap. A Shenandoah entrance pass is required even when hiking in from the boundary. Some boundary trailheads are unsigned, so carry a map. Current legal parking at this crossing has not been confirmed; an older route report describes parking across from the entrance station, but verify where you can leave a car before setting out.
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
ModerateHightop Summit3 mi · 3 hr · 1 mi awayA shaded Appalachian Trail climb ends at a west-facing rock viewpoint.
ModerateLewis Mountain and Laurel Prong Traverse17.3 mi · 15 hr · 2.2 mi awayA three-day traverse through Rapidan Camp to Lewis Falls
ChallengingPocosin, Laurel Prong & Slaughter Loop28.9 mi · 22 hr · 2.2 mi awayA four-day loop links a tall waterfall, mission ruins, and Hoover's camp.
ModeratePocosin & Dry Run Backcountry Trip7.4 mi · 5.5 hr · 2.2 mi awayAn 83-foot waterfall anchors a flexible two-night backcountry loop.ChallengingSouth River and Pocosin Loop8.4 mi · 8 hr · 2.2 mi awayA two-day backpack loop to South River Falls and Pocosin country.
ModerateSouth River Falls Base Loop4.6 mi · 3.5 hr · 2.2 mi awayGo beyond the overlook to stand beneath an 83-foot, two-chute waterfall.
ModerateSouth River Falls Circuit3.3 mi · 2.3 hr · 2.2 mi awayWaterfall overlook, then a loop back by fire road and the A.T.ModerateSouth River Falls Observation Point2.6 mi · 1.5 hr · 2.2 mi awayAn 83-foot waterfall overlook caps this 2.6-mile out-and-back.
Entrance station · 0.1 mi awaySwift Run EntranceChoose north for Big Meadows; south is quieter.
Scenic pullout · 0.8 mi awayHensley Hollow OverlookLook north past Hensley Ridge toward Elkton.
Sight · 1.4 mi awaySwift Run OverlookA roadside orientation stop when the valley view opens up.
Sight · 1.5 mi awayHightop SummitA rocky ledge and layered ridges reward the uphill climb.
Scenic pullout · 1.9 mi awaySandy Bottom OverlookA quick westward look over the Shenandoah Valley
Picnic area · 2.2 mi awaySouth River Picnic GroundsA shaded picnic stop that doubles as a South River Falls trailhead.
Scenic pullout · 2.4 mi awaySouth River OverlookA field-framed southeast view, right on Skyline Drive.Sight · 2.9 mi awaySouth River FallsAn 83-foot waterfall, reached by a steep wooded loop.Parkwolf’s Shenandoah ranking
The audio tour guide for the drive, plus offline maps, trails, and wildlife heatmaps for when the signal drops.
