Hiking Shenandoah: Whiteoak Canyon Hike to Upper Falls
Shenandoah National Park stretches over 100 miles through the center of Virginia. There are dozens of hiking trails. One of the best is hiking along the waterfalls of Whiteoak Canyon. This is my hike from Skyland Lodge to the Upper Falls at Whiteoak Canyon.
The heart of Shenandoah National Park is the Skyline Drive. Shenandoah is a long, skinny park that runs about 105 miles from north to south. The Skyline Drive is the primary road running through the park. Attractions in Shenandoah are labeled by what mile marker they are on starting from the north entrance at Front Royal.
- Starting Point: Skyline Dr and Skyland Upper Loop at mile marker 43 on Skyline Drive
- Length: about 5 miles
- Elevation: 1,000 ft gain and loss
- Type: out-and-back
Whiteoak Canyon starts from the Skyland area around mile marker 43. There is a parking lot right where Skyland Upper Loop Dr meets the Skyline Drive.
The speed limit on Skyline Drive is 35 MPH so it is over an hour from the north Front Royal entrance. The closest entrance to Shenandoah National Park is actually Thornton Gap at mile marker 31.5.
There is also an option to hike up Whiteoak from outside the park at the bottom of the valley. You can find a full, albeit somewhat confusing map here. The hike I did was the 4.6 mile hike out-and-back labeled Skyline Drive to Upper Whiteoak Falls.
The official hike is labeled as 4.6 miles. However, I hiked further down the trail for a total of 5.6 miles. I also did the short, flat Limberlost Trail near the top.
For a longer hike you can start at Hawksbill and hike down the Cedar Run Trail to the Whiteoak Canyon Trail. This is a 7.3 mile hike with a 2,800 foot elevation gain so it is very strenuous. My hike was just a little over 1,000 feet in elevation gain. Later in the day I climbed Hawksbill Mountain so that helped make up the difference.
This hike starts from the top of Shenandoah and goes down into Whiteoak Canyon. Of course, this means coming back will be the uphill portion.
We spent the night at Skyland so I started my hike at 6 am on a rainy August morning. I had the trail to myself and literally did not see another person until I got back to the upper part of the trail. There is a parking lot at the start of the trail. It was empty when I started but several cars were there when I returned.
The trail starts directly across Skyline Drive from Skyland. The first part of the trail is a gradual downhill walk through the forest. You will start to see streams and some bridge crossings.
Shortly into the hike you will come to the Limberlost Trail. This is 1.4 mile, mostly flat accessible gravel loop. I did this on my way back.
As you head down the trail becomes steeper and the water flow in the streams increases. The trail goes right along the stream.
As you get to the upper falls several trails start to merge. The Whiteoak Canyon Fire Road goes off to the right to the Hawksbill area. The Skyland-Big Meadows Horse Trail heads back to Skyland.
The Upper Falls is 86 feet high. There are several observation points. You can continue beyond to another 5 waterfalls. Note this will add another 1,000 feet downhill and up back uphill. I headed a short ways down but it started raining heavily so I headed back.
Whiteoak Canyon is a great hike but I use the word “I” versus “we.” I did this hike along because I was worried the rest of the family would complain about the elevation gain. It is not so much the uphill climb but the fact that the climb is at the end of the hike.
Later in the day the entire family did the climb up Hawksbill Mountain. This is an elevation gain of about 700 feet that is steeper than Whiteoak Canyon. However, it makes a big difference that the uphill climb is at the start.
Next time we go to Shenandoah I plan to take the entire family down Whiteoak Canyon. The waterfalls will make it worth it and I really did not think the climb up was that bad.
Be sure and see our full guide to our Shenandoah visit here.
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