My good friend Rob is heading out East for a family vacation and heading to Shenandoah NP for several days and is looking for some hiking suggestions (if you have read very many of my TRs, you know Rob well..http://www.summitpost.org/the-narrows/476038). I'm not that familiar with the park...but I know a number of SPers are, so here goes...

He has 3 daughters aged 7-9. Something in the 5-6 mile range is what he is looking for. Good summit hikes or waterfalls would be ideal...something with decent views so the girls can feel rewarded for their efforts! The girls have done some hiking...Abram Falls in GSMNP and some hiking around Seneca Rocks last year. I know that one of the girls is interested in some scrambling, so if there is a good hike with some introductory scrambling that would be good to know.

They will be entering the park from the north and spending two days up that way. The end of their trip will take them out via the south end of the park. So 2 hikes up north...1 down south. Thanks is advance...

Old Rag, Bear Fence, Panther falls are the first few. Humpback rocks also falls into the kid friendly zone. Bear fence by far has the best bang for the buck. 360 degree summit views from a rocky summit that stretch for miles every direction....and maybe 1.5 miles round trip. I grew up in the area. Another great area is Hone Quarry and Hidden rocks which start in the same hone quarry parking area. Both have great toprope climbing from 30-80ft routes along with nice hikes. I'll be headed back there this Fri for a family vacation. Bear Fence, Old Rag, and Humpback all have introductory scrambling....if not on the main trail in abundance just off of it.

First off, Panther Falls and Humpback Rocks are not in SNP, although they are somewhat close by. Old Rag is a great hike, but it is 9 miles. My daughter did it when she was 7, but you could start closer back then, so it was only a 7 mile hike at that time. Another problem with Old Rag is that it does not start from Skyline Drive, which can be a problem for some.

Bear Fence is a great suggestion for scrambling, but it is a short hike and I second it as a suggestion. Another possibility would be to go up to Mary's Rock from the Meadow Spring parking area and then do a bit of scrambling up at Mary's Rock - Mary's Rock from Panorama would be a shorter (but steeper) alternative. Hawksbill and Stony Man offer great views and are reasonable hikes, but they don't offer any scrambling. All in the central section.

For a hike in the northern part of the park, North Marshall via the AT from the south would be a good short hike with great views. Another possibility in the northern section is to go out the Bluff Trail from Gravel Springs to the Big Devil's Stairs Trail and out it to the first viewpoint. You want to have a good map and be good at following a map to do that one - there are a bunch of confusing trails at the start of it.

Back to the central section. Dark Hollow Falls is nice, but draws crowds; Lewis Spring Falls is also nice and less crowded. White Oak Canyon has some of the best falls in the park, but would have to be approached from outside the park to keep the length of the hike reasonable. South River Falls is at the southern end of the central section and is a nice hike that probably fits the criteria.

In the southern section, Doyle's River - Jones Run has nice waterfalls and a bit of history (Stonewall Jackson marched his army through the mountains on the Brown's Gap Road). Turk Mountain is another possibility for the southern section. Most of the other great hikes in the southern section tend to be a bit longer than what you are looking for - but you won't run into many (if any) people on them.

Here is the SNP webpage which provides a lot of info on hikes and other activities for adults & kids throughout the park.

http://www.nps.gov/shen/index.htm

In addition, there is a visitor center about one mile from the north entrance to the park. The Rangers are very helpful and several maps and guide booklets are available there.

A second hand trip report here. First off, Rob says thanks to all of you for your suggestions. They got three hikes in, and he said he pretty much followed what was suggested here. Overall it was a good hiking experience for his girls! They got in one waterfall hike, although I don't recall the name, as well as Mary's Rock and most of the hike to Bear Fence. Apparently Mom got a little worried about the exposure and wouldn't let the girls finish. Rob did finish Bear Fence and after the fact realized that his girls would have been fine, so he is already planning a follow up trip. Thanks again for all your suggestions. SP really is a great place!

Good to hear. I was just out there myself and took my 2,4, and 6 yr olds on a 4 miler in St Marys wilderness....loved it! Glad your friend had a good time with his family.

Glad they had a good time and glad we could help. We've had plenty of rain so I'd bet the waterfall that they saw was at its best (other than seeing it frozen).

One suggestion for a second trip might be to do a couple of really great hikes - Old Rag Mountain and White Oak Canyon. They start on the boundary of the park (unless you want to do an extremely long hike) which makes accommodations a bit of a conundrum as there are none near either trailhead unless you want to do backcountry camping. The Little Devil's Stairs is also a great hike (almost scramble) and can be done by going down a fire road or trail from Skyline Drive and then hiking up it to where you started (you definitely want to do it in the up direction).

In the last couple of weeks, I've done two long circuit hikes (14 & 16 miles) in the northern section of the SNP. On both occasions, I was surprised at how low the water levels were at major stream crossings despite our rainy Spring and early Summer.

On one of these hikes, a week ago, I had two separate bear sightings! I sometimes hike with friends but on long solo hikes such as that one I often see more wildlife undoubtedly because lone hikers make far less noise than does a group.

It's great to be retired!!!!

Congrats on the retirement! I've got to pull the plug real soon.

I've been down to the central section several times over the past few weeks (mostly cutting the weeds on Robertson Mtn. Trail) and the streams there seem to be running a bit high, although not as high as a month ago.

Old Rag is/was a favorite with my kids, for what it's worth

Can't go wrong with Old Rag. In 30 degree weather, there were young children ~7-9 on the summit having a good time. Most memorable climb in the park and definitely worth getting off of Skyline.