Shenandoah National Park

For fifteen years Sue Eisenfeld hiked in Shenandoah National Park in the Virginia Blue Ridge Mountains, unaware of the tragic history behind the creation of the park. In this travel narrative, she tells the story of her on-the-ground discovery of the relics and memories a few thousand mountain residents left behind when the government used eminent domain to kick the people off their land to create the park. With historic maps and notes from hikers who explored before her, Eisenfeld and her husband hike, backpack, and bushwhack the hills and the hollows of this beloved but misbegotten place, searching for stories. Descendants recount memories of their ancestors “grieving themselves to death,” and they continue to speak of their people’s displacement from the land as an untold national tragedy. Shenandoah: A Story of Conservation and Betrayal is Eisenfeld’s personal journey into the park’s hidden past based on her off-trail explorations. She describes the turmoil of residents’ removal as well as the human face of the government officials behind the formation of the park. In this conflict between conservation for the benefit of a nation and private land ownership, she explores her own complicated personal relationship with the park—a relationship she would not have without the heartbreak of the thousands of people removed from their homes. Purchase the audio edition.

Completely updated, this edition provides detailed descriptions and maps of the best hikes in the park. From easy day hikes to strenuous backpacking trips, this guide will provide readers with all the latest information they need to plan virtually any type of hiking adventure in the park.

A history of this national park written in conjunction with its 50th anniversary.

This field guide dedicated to wildlife of Shenandoah National Park is an information-packed book that introduces park visitors to animals, plants, insects and more that reside in the Shenandoah Valley in a colorful, easy-to-use package. Including full-color photos and easy-to-understand descriptions and with full cooperation from the park association, this book will appeal to the 1.1 million visitors who travel to Shenandoah every year.

With the Commonwealth of Virginia's Public Park Condemnation Act of 1928, the state surveyed for and acquired three thousand tracts of land that would become Shenandoah National Park. The Commonwealth condemned the homes of five hundred families so that their land could be "donated" to the federal government and placed under the auspices of the National Park Service. Prompted by the condemnation of their land, the residents began writing letters to National Park and other government officials to negotiate their rights and to request various services, property, and harvests. Typically represented in the popular media as lawless, illiterate, and incompetent, these mountaineers prove themselves otherwise in this poignant collection of letters. The history told by the residents themselves both adds to and counters the story that is generally accepted about them. These letters are housed in the Shenandoah National Park archives in Luray, Virginia, which was opened briefly to the public from 2000 to 2002, but then closed due to lack of funding. This selection of roughly 150 of these letters, in their entirety, makes these documents available again not only to the public but also to scholars, researchers, and others interested in the region's history, in the politics of the park, and in the genealogy of the families. Supplementing the letters are introductory text, photographs, annotation, and oral histories that further document the lives of these individuals.

Stunning photographs celebrate the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, iconic Blue Ridge Parkway, Biltmore Estate, and Shenandoah Valley and National Park. Extending from Virginia to northern Georgia, the Blue Ridge Mountains include Great Smoky Mountains National Park, the 469-mile-long Blue Ridge Parkway, and Shenandoah National Park, which includes the 105-mile-long Skyline Drive. Within this region are the world renowned Biltmore Estate, Luray Caverns, Natural Bridge, and Grandfather Mountain. The Blue Ridge range contains the highest mountains on the East Coast, with 125 peaks above 5,000 feet in elevation. The scenic roadways, spectacular overlooks, and numerous rocky crags offer magnificent views of layer after layer of mountains rolling off into the distance. Hiking trails lead to wild mountain summits, valley streams, and waterfalls. Each season offers a fresh perspective, from fall colors and winter snow and ice to spring and summer flowers and storms. In addition, numerous homes, barns, schools, churches, and mills have been protected and preserved throughout the Blue Ridge Mountains, offering a picturesque look at Appalachian life in past centuries. To appreciate the wonders of this region through the lens of a well-known master photographer is like exploring it for the first time.

Little Michael is terrified of wild animals, particularly bears and mountain lions. His sister Emily enjoys tormenting her little brother. Wildlife can be elusive, and both are disappointed when, at first, they don't encounter many animals in the park. The kids quickly learn, however, that there are animals all around, and these creatures leave behind scat and tracks. Before long, the kids are able to recognize bat guano, distinguish deer scat from other kinds of scat, and determine what an owl has dined on recently. Fun animal facts are offered in ?The Straight Poop? fact boxes. Colorful illustrations of animals and their scat and tracks supplement this lively tale, and a quick-reference chart at the back makes field identification a breeze!

Shenandoah National Park, one of America's most frequently visited national parks, lies astride the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia. In this book, John Conners, an environmental geologist, identifies, describes and explains many of the important contributions of geology, geomorphology, weather, climate, flora, fauna and human history to the Shenandoah landscape. One chapter is devoted to contemporary environmental problems in the Park. A comprehensive road log to Skyline Drive, which passes the length of Shenandoah, guides the visitor to sites of scientific and historic significance and to the more important hiking trails in the Park.