Shenandoah road trip: Washington, DC to Skyline Drive and Charlottesville

From Washington, DC to Front Royal, along Skyline Drive through Shenandoah National Park, to Charlottesville. The Blue Ridge Parkway starts where Skyline Drive ends.

Stops
4
Nights
4
Driving
155 mi
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A wide green valley and distant blue ridges seen over a stone wall beside a road.

The route by road

Point at a leg of the route, or tap it, for its drive time.
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The stops, in order

  1. Washington, District of Columbia

    1 night

    Start here.

  2. 1 h 14 min · 69 mi from Washington

    Front Royal, Virginia

    1 night

    The northern entrance to Skyline Drive.

  3. 29 min · 24 mi from Front Royal

    Luray, Virginia

    1 night

    Luray Caverns, near the middle of the park.

  4. 1 h 18 min · 62 mi from Luray

    Charlottesville, Virginia

    1 night

    Monticello and the University of Virginia.

Day by day

4 days with the nights above. Drive times are for a car without traffic; a day over six hours is flagged.

  1. Day 1: In Washington

    No driving

  2. Day 2: Washington to Front Royal

    Night in Front Royal

    1 h 14 min · 69 mi

  3. Day 3: Front Royal to Luray

    Night in Luray

    29 min · 24 mi

  4. Day 4: Luray to Charlottesville

    Night in Charlottesville

    1 h 18 min · 62 mi
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Photo: View from an overlook on Skyline Drive, Virginia. “Skyline Drive overlook view” by APK, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons. “Blue Ridge Parkway October 2022 1 (Stoney Fork Overlook)” by Michael Barera, CC BY-SA 4.0. “Newfound Gap - October 2023 - Sarah Stierch 03” by Missvain, CC BY 4.0. “Kancamagus Scenic Byway - Fall Foliage Along the Kancamagus Highway” by Unknown author, Public domain.