Skyland is where Skyline Drive reaches its highest point, at about 3,680 feet, and also where the story of the park really began. Long before there was a national park, a man named George Freeman Pollock ran a mountain resort here, with cabins, a dining hall and entertainments for city folk escaping the summer heat of Washington, and he became one of the most vocal campaigners for creating a national park in the Blue Ridge. Today Skyland is a lodge with rooms, a restaurant and a taproom, and its dining room windows look straight out over the Shenandoah Valley.
Just north of the lodge, Stony Man mountain rises to more than 4,000 feet, and a short and easy trail leads to its summit, a rocky outcrop with one of the best views in the park: the valley below, the town of Luray, the long ridge of Massanutten Mountain in the middle of the valley, and the Alleghenies on the horizon. From certain angles, the cliffs of the mountain are said to look like the profile of a bearded man, hence the name. Hawks and ravens ride the updrafts along the cliffs, and in the evening the sunset over the valley is spectacular.
The drive here is at its most dramatic, with the road running along the crest and overlooks on both sides. The curves are smooth and gentle, the surface good, and the speed limit of thirty-five miles per hour means you have plenty of time to enjoy the views. Watch for black bears, which are common in this part of the park, especially in late summer and autumn when they are feeding on acorns and berries, and for deer, which seem to have no fear of traffic. Weather at this height can be cooler and wetter than in the valley, with fog, rain and wind, and the temperature can drop quickly in the evening.
Down in the valley, about ten kilometres away, the town of Luray is famous for its caverns, the largest in the eastern United States, with huge chambers of stalactites and stalagmites and a so-called Great Stalacpipe Organ, which produces musical tones by tapping the formations with rubber mallets. Luray has fuel, motels, restaurants and shops. To reach it, leave the drive at Thornton Gap and follow US 211 down the mountain, a winding descent through the forest. Inside the park, Skyland has food and lodging, but fuel is limited, so plan accordingly.