Trail Review: Story of the Forest Trail, Shenandoah National Park

Trailhead: Story of the Forest Trail, Stanley, VA 22851

Parking: There is a free parking lot for the Harry F. Byrd Sr. Visitor Center at the trailhead. Shenandoah National Park does require a park pass. The Shenandoah park pass is $30 and more information can be found HERE.

Distance: 1.6 miles out & back

Difficulty: Easy

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Looking for a nice leisurely trail in Shenandoah National Park? Then Story of the Forest is a good pick for you. The trail is a fairly flat, fairly short path in the woods next to the Harry F. Byrd Sr./Big Meadows Visitor Center. With the visitor center near by, you won't be too far from bathrooms and food (and a gift shop).

There is plenty of parking in the lots next to the visitor center and the trailhead is just across the street on Big Meadows Visitor Road. There will be a sign pointing the way:

The edges of the trail were filled with yellow wildflowers, especially at the beginning. We were visiting at the end of May so the Spring bloom was in full effect.

After about 0.3 miles and a slight downslope of the trail. you'll come to a stone bridge that crosses a small stream. On the other side is a three-way intersection. If you go to the right, you'll quickly end up on Skyline Drive, the main road through the park. To continue the trail, head to the left.

You'll cross the stream again, this time with a wooden bridge. And then shortly after, there will be a four way intersection with a horse trail that connects Big Meadows with Skyland (the two main visitor centers in the park). There is signage indicating which paths are the horse trail and which are not. To continue, just go straight (which is the trail that says "No Horses").

Another tenth of a mile and you'll come upon a clearing with some fenced off equipment to the left of the trail. At first glance, it kind of looks like a power station, but the sign on the trail informed us that it is an air quality station that takes measurements and reports on air quality within the park, which I found interesting!

The last 0.3 miles of the trail is a continuation of the flat, leisurely walk through the woods. We saw less than 10 people the whole time so it's definitely a quiet journey. We turned around at the last intersection before hitting Big Meadows Campground. There was a cement post indicating the turn off for the lodge to the left or the campgrounds straight ahead. If you wanted to keep going, the campgrounds are only about 400 feet away.

On the way back, we saw two deer! This is one of them:

Bottom Line: A short, quiet, easy trail next to one of the visitor centers in Shenandoah National Park.