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Cyclists Will Have Right Of Way In Shenandoah National Park On April 23

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Published Date

March 10, 2017

A stretch of Skyline Drive in Shenandoah National Park will be closed to vehicles in April for cyclists/NPS, Ed Knepley

Cyclists will have the right-of-way - quite a bit, in fact - on Skyline Drive through the northern district of Shenandoah National Park in Virginia on April 23, when motorized vehicles will be restricted.

On that day, the park will open the north district of Skyline Drive to only non-motorized vehicles to celebrate National ParkRx Day and National Park Week. During this event, Skyline Drive will be closed to motorized vehicles from the Front Royal Entrance Station at mile 0 to the Thornton Gap Entrance Station at mile 31.5. The rest of Skyline Drive will remain open to all vehicles. In honor of National Park Week, April 22 and 23 are fee-free days and all entrance fees into the park are waived.

Ride the Drive is a pilot event to promote opportunities for alternative modes of transportation and recreation, promote health and well-being, and enhance the visitor experience by providing an opportunity to access the park in a unique way.

Ride the Drive is open to bicycles and other non-motorized vehicles. Registration opens March 10 and is required but does not guarantee a parking space. Registration information can be found on the park website. The event begins at 7 a.m. and ends at 5 p.m. Parking will be in Front Royal at Skyline High School (151 Skyline Vista Drive, Front Royal). There will also be limited parking at Panorama Comfort Station (mile 31.6 Skyline Drive) with overflow at Hearthstone School (11576 Lee Highway, Sperryville). The park will not be offering a shuttle service.

To ensure a safe event, all participants are expected to obey the rules of the road, maintain control of their bicycle or non-motorized vehicle at all times, abide by the 35-mile-per-hour speed limit, stay in their lane of traffic, and follow all other park regulations and policies (i.e., lights in foggy and rainy conditions, etc).

Facilities will be limited:

  • Dickey Ridge Visitor Center (mile 4.6) – restrooms and water
  • Browntown Overlook (mile 14.9) - restrooms
  • Elkwallow Wayside (mile 24) – restrooms, water, and food
  • Elkwallow Picnic Grounds (mile 24) – restrooms
  • Panorama Comfort Station (mile 35.5) – restrooms and water

To prepare for the event, the north district of the park (mile 0 to 31.5 Skyline Drive) will close to motorized vehicles beginning at 10 p.m. April 22 and will reopen to motorized vehicles at 7 p.m. April 23.

National ParkRx Day is celebrated across the United States to promote the growing movement of prescribing parks and nature to patients to improve human health. It encourages everyone to envision their visits to parks and public lands as very important parts of their physical and mental health.

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Comments

Submitted by Gary Wilson on March 10, 2017 - 10:00pm.

I think this is great, and I wish more parks would do things like this.  I think bicycle days or non-motorized days should be set aside at least a few days each year at a variety of parks.  Some of my favorite times of experiencing Cades Cove in the Smokies was on bike well before the traffic sets out, and it is such a great way to see a park.  

I would love to bike quite a few National Park roads, but I would never do many of them just because of the danger involved with automobile traffic.  If Glacier ever had this sort of event, or the Trail road in Rocky Mountain, I would personally make a plan to visit the parks during those periods just to huff it up and go down those roads on bike.  But I think it's foolish to attempt those on bikes with automobile traffic, when tourists don't have full attention on the road to begin with..  I would never attempt Newfound Gap road in the smokies during most days, unless I knew traffic was prohibited.  I've already seen a few close calls with bikes and vehicles in my time in the park..  

So, hopefully this becomes a trend, and more parks follow suit.  


Submitted by drew hanson on March 14, 2017 - 1:56pm.

Well said, Gary Wilson. I agree.


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