Shenandoah National Park is a family favorite and we travel there often. My husband, Eric, and I love it so much that we got married in the park - right off Skyline Drive at Timber Hollow Outlook.  As you see in the photos, I got married in a gray wool suit. I am not very “girly” and it was late November.

With about 80,000 acres of protected wilderness, Shenandoah National Park gives you a true feeling of “getting away from it all." Of course, there are tons of great hikes and beautiful views, but my favorite thing to do there is just sit and be still with the quiet.

If you go, be sure to stay at or visit Skyland - the hotel “resort” taken over by the National Park Service in the 1930s. The cabins are small and offer beautiful views, but there haven't been many updates to the rooms which adds to fun for me. Skyland’s dining hall offers tables with incredible views as well as “Roosevelt Fried Chicken” and “New Deal Turkey and Dressing.”

We visited Shenandoah earlier this month for the first time since moving to Boone in 2011. I was nervous that it would not seem nearly as magical now that I live in the mountains of Western North Carolina and can see Grandfather Mountain from every room in my house – including the bathroom! Not a chance, though. Driving up Skyline Drive, I knew it would feel as special as it has in the past. An enormous calm settles over you the moment you get there. Time spent here connects you to something greater than yourself and fills you with peace.

I think that the creation of the National Park Service is one of the greatest things we have done as a country. I hope we continue to protect these majestic places. Happy Birthday NPS!

- Teresa, Mast Store Home Office
 

For more of our Mast Family National Park Service adventures and recommendations, click HERE