Rockingham County is a county located in the U.S. state of Virginia. As of the 2010 census, the population was 76,314. Its county seat is the independent city of Harrisonburg.
The Shenandoah Valley is a geographic valley and cultural region of western Virginia and the Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia in the United States. The valley is bounded to the east by the Blue Ridge Mountains, to the west by the eastern front of the Ridge-and-Valley Appalachians, to the north by the Potomac River and to the south by the James River. The cultural region covers a larger area that includes all of the valley plus the Virginia highlands to the west, and the Roanoke Valley to the south. It is physiographically located within the Ridge and Valley province and is a portion of the Great Appalachian Valley.
The Blue Ridge Parkway is a National Parkway and All-American Road in the United States, noted for its scenic beauty. The parkway, which is America's longest linear park, runs for 469 miles (755 km) through 29 Virginia and North Carolina counties, linking Shenandoah National Park to Great Smoky Mountains National Park. It runs mostly along the spine of the Blue Ridge, a major mountain chain that is part of the Appalachian Mountains. Its southern terminus is at U.S. 441 on the boundary between Great Smoky Mountains National Park and the Cherokee Indian Reservation in North Carolina, from which it travels north to Shenandoah National Park in Virginia. The roadway continues through Shenandoah as Skyline Drive, a similar scenic road which is managed by a different National Park Service unit. Both Skyline Drive and the Virginia portion of the Blue Ridge Parkway are part of Virginia State Route 48, though this designation is not signed.
Old Rag Mountain is a 3,284 feet (1,001 m) mountain near Sperryville in Madison County, Virginia. A part of the Blue Ridge Mountains, the peak is located within Shenandoah National Park and is the most popular hiking destination within the park.
Hawksbill Mountain is a mountain with an elevation of 4,050 feet (1,230 m). Marking the border between Madison County and Page County in Virginia, the summit of Hawksbill Mountain is the highest point in Shenandoah National Park, as well as the highest point in both Madison and Page counties.
Rockfish Gap is a wind gap located in the Blue Ridge Mountains between Charlottesville and Waynesboro, Virginia, United States, through Afton Mountain, which is frequently used to refer to the gap.
Swift Run Gap is a wind gap in the Blue Ridge Mountains located in the U.S. state of Virginia.
Big Meadows is a recreational area of the Shenandoah National Park in Madison County and Page County, in the US state of Virginia. The meadow is located on the Skyline Drive at Milepost 51 and contains the park's Harry F. Byrd Visitor Center, a lodge, camp store, and camping area. Several hiking trails can be accessed from Big Meadows, including the Mill Prong Trail which leads to Rapidan Camp on the Rapidan River, the fishing retreat of President Herbert Hoover from 1929–1933, which is now restored to its 1930s configuration.
Sperryville is a census-designated place (CDP) in Rappahannock County, Virginia, United States. The population as of the 2010 Census was 342.
Panorama Resort was one of the early resorts that lined what is now Skyline Drive in the Shenandoah National Park (SNP) in the United States, located at Thornton Gap. Like Skyland Resort and Little Switzerland, it was one of many private mountain resorts with nature themes that predated Skyline Drive and the Blue Ridge Parkway. Once one of Virginia’s best-known resorts, Panorama most recently operated as a restaurant destination in the Shenandoah National Park and was run by Aramark Parks and Resorts, the commercial vendor inside SNP that operated sister resorts Big Meadows and Skyland Resort. It was demolished in 2008.
Pignut Mountain is a mountain in Rappahannock County, Virginia. It is part of the Blue Ridge Mountains. Its summit lies within Shenandoah National Park.
Knob Mountain is a mountain in Page County, Virginia. It is part of the Blue Ridge Mountains. Its summit lies within Shenandoah National Park at an elevation of 2,671 ft.
Neighbor Mountain is a mountain in Page and Rappahannock Counties, Virginia, near the city of Luray. It is part of the Blue Ridge Mountains. Its summit lies in Page County, within Shenandoah National Park.
High Knob is a peak of the Blue Ridge Mountains in Warren and Fauquier counties, Virginia.
Stony Man Mountain, also known as Stony Man, is a mountain in Shenandoah National Park, Virginia and is the most northerly 4,000 foot peak in the Blue Ridge Mountains. Its maximum elevation is 4,011 feet or 1,223 meters above sea level with a clean prominence of 651 feet. The mountain is co-located in Madison and Page counties and is easily accessed from Skyline Drive by hiking trails. Along with Hawksbill Mountain, it is only one of two peaks in the park higher than 4,000 feet. The shortest route to the summit is from the Skyland Resort and gains less than 400 vertical feet in about 1 kilometer. A longer, more challenging, route is from the Skyline Drive trail head at about milepost 39 of the Skyline Drive and gains almost 800 feet. The peak sits just southeast of the Appalachian Trail (AT) but the summit is accessible from the AT by previously mentioned spur trails. On the upper slopes of Stony Man one can see a few red spruce and balsam fir trees which typically grow in more northerly latitudes. The mountain is composed of ancient basalt which was metamorphosed into Greenstone through heat and pressure.
Hogback Mountain is the highest peak in the northern portion of Shenandoah National Park as well as the highest point in Warren County in northern Virginia, United States. A part of the Blue Ridge Mountains, it is located along the border of Warren and Rappahannock counties. It is easily accessible via Skyline Drive and the Appalachian Trail.
