Skyline Drive, Virginia, USA

Skyline Drive in Virginia is a 105-mile scenic highway running along the crest of the Blue Ridge Mountains through Shenandoah National Park. 1100

Harry F. Byrd, Sr. Visitor Center: Skyline Drive Milepost 51, Stanley, VA 22851
Date Picture Taken: July 2025

It offers sweeping views of the Shenandoah Valley and Piedmont hills, with over 70 overlooks, hiking trail access—including parts of the Appalachian Trail—and abundant wildlife. Built in the 1930s as a Depression-era project, it’s famous for its fall foliage drives and peaceful mountain scenery.

I drove along Skyline Drive from the Thornton Gap Entrance Station to the Swift Run Gap Entrance Station.

I stopped at many overlooks along the drive

At another viewpoint area

At Old Man viewpoint

Do you see the old man’s face?

At another overlooks

From another viewpoint, the scenery looked much the same—lush and green—but I imagine it would be far more beautiful in autumn.

At another viewpoint

Harry F. Byrd, Sr. Visitor Center

Inside the visitor center is a well-sized museum that explains how Skyline Drive was created.

The creation of Shenandoah National Park and Skyline Drive came after years of competition among regions in the eastern U.S. to host a new national park.

In the 1920s, the National Park Service sought to establish a major park east of the Mississippi. Several states, including North Carolina and Virginia, vied for the designation.

Skyline Drive was built during the 1930s as part of President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal programs to provide jobs and boost the economy during the Great Depression.

Construction began in 1931 and was completed in stages by 1939, with much of the work done by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC).

It was designed to showcase the natural beauty of the Blue Ridge Mountains and became the main scenic route through Shenandoah National Park, which was officially established in 1935. Many overlooks, stone walls, and picnic areas along the drive were hand-built by CCC workers