Summer Solstice / National Hike Nak

Summer Solstice / National Hike Nak

Hiking in on Riprap trail around 11am on the 20th. Spending the night around the swimming hole and hiking to a new trail on the 21st to camp near a different swimming hole. Riprap trailhead is at mile 90 on Skyline Drive.

When

Fri, June 20 2025 11:00 am - Sun, June 22 2025 2:00 pm

Location

Shenandoah National Park
282 Skyline Drive
Waynesboro, Virginia 22980
United States

Important Details

SNP requires you to pay an access fee to drive on the parkway. Also, if you are going to camp, you have to purchase a pass from recreation.gov. Not very expensive. MAGA stickers and cock rings need not join us. Not the vibe we are going for.

What to Bring

hiking/camping gear depending on how long you plan to take part. Each day could be approached as a day hike. Riprap is about 3.5 miles to the swimming hole so you should plan on about 5 hrs of hiking if you are just going to hike in and out. It's predicted to be a bad year for ticks in VA so bring bug spray/wipes. When I was on this trail a few weeks ago I didn't get a single tick and bugs were not bad at all but as the weather warms you never know. Better to be safe than sorry. *Adding a few additional recommendations. If you have never been backcountry camping, plan your gear carefully. I started out years ago with a 50+lbs pack for a single night. Down to under 25lb for multi-night trips. Send me a message if you want some resources to check. The temp on the mountain is usually 8-10 degrees cooler than in the valley but it's going to be warm for this trip. Water is plentiful once we get to it but that will be a couple of miles. I recommend at least one water bottle filled to start and a water purification system. Again, some are heavy but there are really good ones that weigh very little. All food needs to be in either a bear container or airtight bag which you'll need to hang appropriately. This is bear country. I see them on these hikes and they don't want to mess with you but they will come into camp if your food is not stored properly. I can help with hanging a bear bag if you haven't done it but you'll need to bring at least 75' or thin paracord and a carabiner or 2. Camp fires are absolutely not allowed in SNP and I'm a big proponent of this regulation. Make sure to bring a backpack stove and fuel if you plan to heat anything. If you bring an isobutane container, you can use my extra stove. Just let me know before we head out (I'll have it in my truck). I want everyone to enjoy this trip so please ask questions if you have them. I'm not an expert but certainly experienced enough to help you figure out what you need to bring and how to plan.

Created By

MountainCamper
on Wed, May 28 2025 5:12