White
Oak
Canyon holds a surprise for you:
six waterfalls, varying in height from 86 to 35 feet, with a total drop of
over 350 feet. Even without the promise of these splendid waterfalls, the
canyon is a sight to behold. Deep and narrow like a knife slit in the rock.
Trees growing, seemingly out of solid rock (my, they're stubborn),
embellishing the stark walls with green whiskers.
White
Oak Falls,
at milepost 42.6 of the Skyline Parkway, is about 10 miles south of US-211.
Take exit 264 of I-81 and follow US-211 east to the Parkway. (There is a $10
toll for entrance to the Parkway). Turn right (south) on the Parkway and
proceed to the paved parking lot (on your left) for White Oak Canyon at
milepost 42.6. The trailhead for White Oak Canyon Trail is at the north end
of the parking lot. It is a good, easy trail of about 2.3 miles to the
uppermost waterfall. After that, however, it gets steeper and rockier. Going
all the way to the last waterfall adds almost 1½ miles to your journey but
increases the time it takes from about four to seven hours. And, remember,
you have to climb back up the 2,150 feet. But it is well worth it if you
have the stamina.
Other web sites
about White Oak Falls:
Note:
Three miles south of here is the Hawksbill Gap parking area from which you
can hike to the Cedar Run waterfall.
More
information about this and the other more frequented trails in Shenandoah
National Park is available in a $2 guide, Hikes to Waterfalls in Shenandoah National
Park, which can be purchased at any of the Park visitor's Centers, or
on-line at www.snpbooks.org.
This guide is third in a series published by the Shenandoah National Park
Association, a not-for-profit organization established in 1950 to
support the Park's interpretive and educational programs. We have found
their guides very useful.
Addendum: We received the
following suggestion. "...by taking the trail from bottom upward, and there
is a good parking area at the bottom on VA route 600, hikers will be less
likely to get in trouble underestimating the hike back up the mountain. I
made the very nice 9.6-mile circuit up White Oak Canyon across, on the
Appalachian Trail, to
Cedar Run and down Cedar Run..." (contributed by
James Hertsch, Jr.)
One more Addendum: We seem to
receive an e-mail every few months objecting to the way we have spelled
'white oak'. We've had it both ways and, quite frankly, are tired of
changing it to suit the latest 'expert'. It is spelled both ways on the
government maps, a Forest Service ranger said it doesn't know which way you
spell it, "Everybody knows you are talking about this spot." So be it.
