What is Shenandoah? A river? A valley? A national park? The answer is all of these. We’ve updated this tour to start at the northern end of the state of Virginia, close to a large airport to cut down on your traveling expenses. We’ll start our biking in the valley, exploring winding country roads. Then we’ll have a glorious two-day ride through Shenandoah National Park. Each day of this tour serves up bucolic scenes of farms and pastures with spectacular mountain backdrops.
Tour Itinerary:
Day 1: Meet at the special Marriott Ranch in Hume, VA at 3:00pm for a rental bike fitting, 5:30pm for an orientation and 6:30pm for dinner. The founder of Marriott purchased the property in 1951 as a respite for his family. Today, this 4,200-acre working ranch is nestled in the beautiful Blue Ridge foothills and serves as the perfect starting point for our tour. From our hilltop perch, our hosts will point out Skyline Drive where we’ll soon sbe heading on our bikes.
Day 2: We start our tour by winding through quiet back roads with such great names as Happy Creek and Dismal Hollow Roads. We’ll be the only one on most of the roads as we pass miles of stone-walled horse farms. Then we’ll overnight at the historic Hotel Strasburg in the heart of Shenandoah Valley’s oldest settlement. The inn’s lobby will make you feel as if you’re back in a Victorian drawing room of the 1900s. 37 or 55 miles.
Day 3: We continue our ride through Fort Valley and into million-acre George Washington National Forest. We do our first climb today as we ascend Cat Back Mountain. Then it’s down to an optional tour of one of the country’s largest limestone caverns. Luray Caverns’ underground rooms have ceilings ten stories high. It also has the world’s only stalacpipe organ that booms out haunting sounds. 45 miles.
Day 4: We continue cycling through gently rolling terrain to Waynesboro today. Along the way, you’ll ride beside the lovely Shenandoah River. You’ll love our home for the evening – the beautiful Iris Inn, nestled in the mountainside on 21 wooded acres. The outdoor hot tub will await you. 25 or 65 miles.
Day 5: After a hearty breakfast, we’ll offer an optional shuttle to the entrance of Skyline Drive and Shenandoah National Park. Take the time today to view the roadside wildflowers, the quietly grazing deer and the spectacular vistas that will open up before your eyes, as you make your way up the parkway. Thankfully, our country had the foresight to establish this beautiful park in 1935 and release these mountains back to nature. We’ll overnight in the park at the historic Big Meadows Lodge. Built in 1939, the lodge boasts massive beams made of native oak and chestnut trees. Sit in a rocking chair on the back porch and stair down at the Shenandoah River winding below you. 34 or 59 miles.
Day 6: After a couple more short climbs, most of today’s ride is downhill as we complete our tour of Skyline Drive. Along the way, you’ll probably come across hikers on the 2,174-mile Appalachian Trail making their way between Georgia and Maine. They will make our day’s ride seem easy! After two days without stop lights or stop signs, it will be hard to leave the park behind. We’ll overnight in Front Royal, just outside the northern end of the park. 33 or 54 miles.
Day 7: We’ll end the tour with one last beautiful, winding ride along quiet back roads, back to Hume and a picnic lunch. Here you can pick up your car or we’ll shuttle you back to the airport by 2:00pm. 33 miles.
Notes:
Airfare is not included in the tour price.
Price Includes:
- 6 nights lodging
- 6 breakfasts, 4 picnic lunches, 6 dinners, snacks
- park entrance fees
- detailed cue sheets
- van support and trained guides.
Also see tour packages in:
USA
Virginia
Women Tours
Bicycle Touring
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