Shenandoah, Seneca Rocks & Dolly Sods

Enter through Skyline Drive's central section and hike the Stony Man Trail — a 1.6-mile circuit to the second-highest peak in Shenandoah (4,011 feet) through old-growth spruce opening onto exposed cliff-top views of Page Valley and the full arc of the Shenandoah Valley. The summit rocks are 1.1-billion-year-old greenstone lava flows, among the oldest exposed rock in the eastern US.

Grab a burger, pulled pork sandwich, or milkshake at the iconic park wayside at Big Meadows — a classic NPS quick-service stop at the park's largest open meadow, where deer reliably graze the grass edge at midday.

Descend through old-growth hemlocks to Dark Hollow Falls — a 70-foot cascade of Hogcamp Branch pouring over greenstone ledges into a dark pool. The 1.4-mile out-and-back is Shenandoah's most popular waterfall trail: steep enough to feel like a genuine descent but short enough to leave energy for the drive to Skyland.

Dinner at Skyland's main lodge dining room — Virginia trout, venison, and Appalachian-influenced dishes with a west-facing terrace that surveys the entire Shenandoah Valley at dusk.

Sleep at the park's highest-elevation lodge at milepost 41.7 on Skyline Drive — rustic cabins and lodge rooms on the crest of the Blue Ridge, with the West Virginia Highlands a 130-minute drive through the mountains tomorrow morning.

Hike to the observation platform near the top of Seneca Rocks — a 900-foot Tuscarora quartzite fin rising dramatically from the confluence of the North Fork of the South Branch Potomac River. The 1.3-mile trail to the North Peak Observation Deck gains 1,000 feet through switchbacks and stone steps, finishing at a platform with views across the Potomac Highlands reaching into Virginia and Maryland.

Lunch at the visitor center area restaurant in Seneca Rocks — soups, sandwiches, and burgers with a porch view of the quartzite fins you just descended.

Walk the Whispering Spruce Trail around the wind-sculpted summit of West Virginia's highest point at 4,863 feet — a half-mile loop through krummholz spruce flagged one-sided by prevailing winds, past a stone observation tower with 360-degree views reaching 75 miles in clear conditions across the Allegheny Mountains.

Dinner in Elkins at this West Virginia craft brewery — rotating seasonals, hearty pub food, and a convivial taproom after two days in the backcountry.

Sleep at this boutique inn on the campus of Davis & Elkins College — a Victorian-era estate house with period rooms, 10 minutes from the Blackwater Falls State Park entrance for an early morning departure.

Walk to the base of Blackwater Falls — a 57-foot plunge of the Blackwater River over a ledge of Pottsville sandstone, stained amber by tannic acids from the surrounding spruce-hemlock forest and framed by a canyon 400 feet deep. The Balanced Rock Trail and Pendleton Overlook add additional canyon perspectives; the morning mist in the gorge is best seen early.

Lunch at this beloved folk music café in Thomas, WV — a 5-minute drive from Blackwater Falls, serving sandwiches, soups, and local beer in a room where live mountain music plays most evenings. A genuine regional institution and the social center of this Canaan Valley arts community.

Walk the open plateau of Dolly Sods — a 17,000-acre sub-alpine wilderness on the Allegheny Front where the terrain looks more like Hudson Bay than West Virginia: heath meadows of blueberry and Labrador tea, wind-flagged spruce krummholz, and unobstructed views east across the Shenandoah Valley all the way to Virginia. The Bear Rocks area is accessible by car at the northern end; its moonscape of exposed sandstone boulders and 360-degree visibility is one of the most otherworldly landscapes in the eastern US.