Dickey Ridge Visitor Center

We actually didn’t go inside since we did the drive in the winter and the centers are only open Fri-​Sat and holiday Mondays during winter.
However it looked awesome, and everything around it was very nice. I can see it being a busy and fun place in the warm months.

The rangers here were very helpful and provided us with a trail map and detailed information on the length of each trail in close proximately to the visitor center. The visitor center had well maintained bathrooms with soap, which was a definite plus as this is not common at many NPS parks facilities I’ve been to. As for the trails, the first one fox hollow was advertised as having a cemetery on its path. I was a little nervous about heading there as I believe in respecting the dead and allowing them to peacefully rest. To my surprise and also delight it was rather small and easily avoidable as it was adjacent to the main trail. After leaving the 1.4 mile trail we headed to the dickey trail and farm hill trails which allowed you to venture further into the forest. I really enjoyed this part of the trip as it was less trafficked and provided nice surroundings for calming thoughts and self reflection.

The Dickey Ridge Visitor Center is one of three Visitor Centers in Shenandoah National Park (SNP). It’s located very close to the North entrance in the Northern District at Mile 4.7.
There are a lot of interpretive exhibits at Dickey Ridge — covering ecological, geological, cultural, and historical aspects of SNP. There is a room at one of the Visitor’s Center full of chairs where park rangers give talks on various subjects. There is also an information desk manned by a couple of rangers, and a small gift shop.
I stopped to chat with the rangers — couple of nice guys. Also picked up some gifts as Christmas presents from the gift store. I really like this Visitor Center!