For fifteen years Sue Eisenfeld hiked in Shenandoah National Park in the Virginia Blue Ridge Mountains, unaware of the tragic history behind the creation of the park. In this travel narrative, she tells the story of her on-the-ground discovery of the relics and memories a few thousand mountain residents left behind when the government used eminent domain to kick the people off their land to create the park. With historic maps and notes from hikers who explored before her, Eisenfeld and her husband hike, backpack, and bushwhack the hills and the hollows of this beloved but misbegotten place, searching for stories. Descendants recount memories of their ancestors “grieving themselves to death,” and they continue to speak of their people’s displacement from the land as an untold national tragedy. Shenandoah: A Story of Conservation and Betrayal is Eisenfeld’s personal journey into the park’s hidden past based on her off-trail explorations. She describes the turmoil of residents’ removal as well as the human face of the government officials behind the formation of the park. In this conflict between conservation for the benefit of a nation and private land ownership, she explores her own complicated personal relationship with the park—a relationship she would not have without the heartbreak of the thousands of people removed from their homes. Purchase the audio edition.

A history of this national park written in conjunction with its 50th anniversary.

First published in 1960, this is the autobiography of George Freeman Pollock, a young Washington, D.C. man who in 1895 founded, built and managed the Skyland Resort, originally called Stony Man Camp, in Virginia. “The Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia, separating the eastern or Piedmont and Tidewater sections from the Shenandoah Valley, commence at the south side of the gap at Harper’s Ferry. Thence, stretching out in a southwestwardly direction, they become substantially higher near Front Royal (at the beginning of the Shenandoah National Park) and further on in the Park, in the vicinity of Sperryville to the east and Luray to the west, they reach an apex in lofty Hawksbill Mountain and in the slightly lower though more imposing Stony Man Mountain. “In 1886, fifty years before the establishment of the Shenandoah National Park, a young man came to Stony Man Mountain and in 1894 (on one of its shoulders, a plateau) he founded a summer resort. Soon known far and wide as ‘Skyland,’ this resort was and, to a degree, still is the heart of Stony Man Mountain as well as of the area surrounding it and until 1937, the young man (he never grew old) was the soul of Skyland.”—STUART E. BROWN, JR.

Completely updated, this edition provides detailed descriptions and maps of the best hikes in the park. From easy day hikes to strenuous backpacking trips, this guide will provide readers with all the latest information they need to plan virtually any type of hiking adventure in the park.

Siblings who immigrated from Ireland to the United States find themselves on opposite sides of the Civil War and struggling to understand God's purpose in the midst of unspeakable tragedy.

After Inheriting legendary time travel skills from their Papa Lewis, Tommy "Bubba Jones," and his sister Jenny "Hug-a-Bug," embark on a Shenandoah National Park adventure to solve a family mystery. From the moment they reach the park entrance, the excitement begins. As they follow the clues, they travel back in time hundreds, thousands, and millions of years and come face to face with extinct creatures, endangered species, the areas first inhabitants, past presidents, former park residents, and some of the park founders. They travel deep down into mountain hollows, high up onto Talus mountain slopes, and discover more about the Shenandoah than they ever imagined. Explore the Shenandoah with Bubba Jones and family in a whole new way.

Reprint of the 2d, augm. ed., 1969, published by Shenandoah Pub. House, Strasburg, Va.