Shenandoah National Park Details

Shenandoah National Park is a long meandering park in the Blue Ridge Mountains located in the state of Virginia. The western border of the park is the Shenandoah River & river valley and the eastern border runs along the rolling hills of the Virginia Piedmont. Much of the park consists of the Blue Ridge Mountains which contain the highest mountains in eastern North America.

The park's almost 200,000 acres is divided by the very scenic Skyline Drive. This quaint road travels 105 miles between the north entrance of the park at Front Royal, Virginia and the south entrance at Rockfish Gap, Virginia. This path is thought to be an old Monacan Indian tribe trail and is like the backbone to Shenandoah National Park.

Due to Shenandoah's “outstanding opportunities for solitude,” almost 80,000 acres have been designated as Wilderness. The Shenandoah Valley is a gorgeous get-away from the hustle of everyday life.

Flora

The deciduous hardwood forests are what the east coast is so well known for. When these green plants and trees photosynthesize, they give off water in the form of mist. This process, as seen from a distance, gives the mountains a bluish haze, hence the Blue Ridge Mountains. When winter is over and the trees are budding with life, the green leaves can be seen climbing up the mountain ridges at a steady 100 feet per day.

Fauna

Wildlife in Shenandoah National Park resonates with typical mid-Atlantic woodlands of the east. Whitetail deer, bobcat, black bear, skunk, raccoon, gray fox, opossum, groundhog, and eastern cottontail rabbit are all common to Shenandoah.

Shenandoah National Park is recorded as having one of the highest per capita black bear populations in the United States. Estimates range from 300-500 black bears living in Shenandoah National Park. Black bears are the largest of the over 50 species of mammals in the park and the smallest mammals are shrews.

Well over 200 bird species live or travel through the park. About 25 amphibian species reside in Shenandoah, including 10 types of toads and frogs and 14 salamander or newt species. There is one federally endangered species in the park, the Shenandoah Salamander.

There are more than 25 unique reptile species which also live inside the park with five types of turtles, 18 varieties of snakes, three species of skinks and one lizard species.

The waters of Shenandoah National Park are teeming with 30 types of fish species, making Shenandoah a true anglers paradise.

Despite the biodiversity of Shenandoah National Park today, there are a few animals worth noting that don't have representation in the park anymore. American Bison was the first to be eliminated in the late 1700s. 1855 was the first year that no elk could be found. River otter and beaver vanished near the late 1800s. Some other species saw eradication or severe declines in population in the past 100 years. The eastern timber wolf, white-tailed deer, eastern cougar, black bear, and turkey are either gone from the park or have dwindled. The black bear has seen improvements in recent years after almost complete extirpation.