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The final part of the ascent is a rocky scramble. Bearfence Loop Trail is steep but short, and after just over a mile, I’m clinging to a tree root as I pull myself up to the highest point – and from there Shenandoah National Park is spread out before me. The early morning light picks out the rich late summer colours across the Virginia Piedmont plateau and in the distance, chestnut-covered mountains rise above the Shenandoah Valley. Peregrine falcons swoop below, and a light wind ruffles the leaves of the red oak forests.
I’m on my way out of the park after three days of exploring, but I couldn’t resist pulling off the Skyline Drive for one last hike. Because, despite the fact that this trip through Virginia would take me all the way from mountains to coast, that's how I had decided to travel: slow, un-rushed and opting for the scenic route over the highways.
The Skyline Drive feels like it was made for this type of travel. The 105-mile road runs through the Shenandoah National Park north to south, cresting the Blue Ridge Mountains as it winds among untamed wilderness, up past rocky outcrops, vast panoramas of forest-blanketed mountains and gently curving valleys. During early morning drives and horse riding along forest trails, I had watched white-tailed deer wandering across the road, and it’s not uncommon to spot black bears in the undergrowth.
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I had picked up my rental car in Washington DC, which is the obvious starting point for this road trip, with the plan to do a loop that would take in sea and sky. From the capital, it is roughly 75 miles to the entrance of the park, with the drive taking less than two hours, passing through wine country scattered with pretty towns, horse barns and rolling green hills. Middleburg is a good choice to stop for lunch and a stroll down the quaint main street lined with boutique stores, local art galleries, antique shops and cafes.
There are three major lodging options in the Shenandoah National Park, including Skyland Resort, Big Meadows Lodge and Lewis Mountain Cabins, as well as various camping options. I opted for Skyland Resort, a series of cabins, suites and cosy rooms, which at 3,680 feet, sit perched at the highest point of the Skyline Drive.
The nearby hikes include the only wheelchair accessible trail in the park – Limberlost Trail is a 1.3-mile loop winding through lush foliage – as well as Stony Man Hike, which is a short, family-friendly stroll of around two miles with a sweeping view at the top. For a slightly different perspective, the beautiful horses at Skyland Stables will take you for a gentle amble along the trails.
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From the mountains, it’s a relatively straight swoop down to the coast (you could cover both peaks and beach in a day), but I took the meandering route, staying on Skyline Drive as long as possible and then spending a couple of hours exploring Charlottesville en route. This liberal university city has a “mall” which is actually a bustling main street with a retro cinema, quirky boutiques, independent bookstores and hipster cafes (try Petite Mariebette for coffee and pastries).
Back on the road, I skirted past Richmond, but made a brief pit stop just outside the city for a grilled cheese at SB’s Love Shack, filled with knick-knacks and a fun crowd, before rolling onto Virginia Beach.
The city has that slightly faded seaside charm you find at the likes of Blackpool and Margate in the UK. The boardwalk is lively, with music filling the streets and shore long into the evening, but it feels slightly dated in a rather nostalgic way. Once a thriving vacation spot in the 1920s, Virginia Beach became increasingly rundown in the 50s and 60s, with residents moving away and tourists looking elsewhere, leaving hotels empty and storefronts vacant. But now art and community have breathed new life into the area, with the Creative ViBe district at the heart of this regeneration.
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In this neighbourhood, which was established in 2015, murals adorn the walls, public art is scattered through the streets, community projects run throughout the week, and a farmers' and arts market is held at the weekend. This area also offers the best restaurants, coffee shops and bakeries in the city, with Esoteric, Commune and Bad Ass Coffee just a few great options.
Affordable hotels, motels and holiday rentals line the boardwalk, but set back from the main drag, you’ll find the grand Cavalier Hotel, steeped in American history. This is where the rich and famous partied during the Roaring Twenties; where the likes of Elizabeth Taylor, Frank Sinatra, Judy Garland and Muhammad Ali once wandered through the Crystal Ballroom; and a long line of presidents – including Jimmy Carter, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Dwight D. Eisenhower, and John F. Kennedy – all vacationed. It’s even rumoured that President Nixon burned the White House tapes in the fireplace of the hotel’s Hunt Room lounge during the Watergate Scandal.
While the main strip of Virginia Beach is bustling, if you head north for less than 10 miles, you’ll reach First Landing State Park. The beach here is quieter (it’s more of a locals’ beach) and there are miles of trails winding through salt marsh, cypress swamp, freshwater wetlands and pine trees.
Virginia Beach is only 3.5 hours or so from DC, but again, I took the long road hugging the coast, stopping briefly in the sleepy little town of Cape Charles and heading for the island of Chincoteague. This leg of the journey begins with the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel that stretches a rather incredible 17.5 miles (the vast majority of this is bridge rather than tunnel), making it a slightly hair-raising, yet exhilarating, start to the drive, with the deep blue of the Atlantic stretching out beneath.
Pretty pastel houses greet you as you pass over the much smaller bridge that leads into Chincoteague, a beachside vacation town that feels a world away from Virginia Beach. Here, there are no high-rises, little traffic and a laidback vibe. Drive a little further along to Assateague Island and you’ll discover windswept beaches with startling white sands flanked by reed-filled salt marshes, where there’s an incredible range of birdlife, as well as the famous wild horses that roam across the island.
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From Chincoteague, it’s an almost straight road into Washington DC passing through Maryland before easing into the east of the city. If you do stay in the capital at either the start or finish of your trip, head to Adams Morgan, a hipster neighbourhood with an anti-establishment legacy that’s filled with street art, independent bookshops, local galleries and quite possibly the best restaurants in the city (we’re talking everything from Nepalese to Afghan).
Virginia is a state that surprised me. Not only due to the rugged beauty of the national park, the sweeping white beaches of Chincoteague and the wildlife-filled marshlands along the shoreline. But also the liberalism of Charlottesville, the thriving arts scene at Virginia Beach and the open-minded discussions I’d had sitting in a rustic oyster bar by Chesapeake Bay. Like so much of America, you have to dig a little deeper to get to the heart of the place – and that’s always done best on the slow road.
How to get there
Airlines including British Airways, Virgin Atlantic, Delta and American Airlines fly direct to Washington DC from London. Flight time is around 7 hours 30 minutes.
Annabel’s trip was supported by Virginia Tourism and Travel South USA.
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