Mary’s Rock has an elevation of 3,514 feet (1,071 m) located in the central section of the Shenandoah National Park. The peak is just south of the Thornton Gap (Shenandoah National Park Entrance) and north of the taller Pinnacles Overlook. Mary’s Rock is the eighth highest peak in Shenandoah National Park.
There are 2 trails that leads to up the summit of Mary’s Rock. The difficult trail starts from the Panorama Visitor Center and the other one starts from the Meadow Spring Parking Area. The trail from the Panorama is steeper, more difficult and longer around 3.7 miles. It follows the white-blazed Appalachian Trail. The other trail from the Meadow Spring Parking Area is shorter (2.8 miles) and somewhat less difficult. Mary’s Rock summit offers a great view of the northern section of Shenandoah National Park and Shenandoah Valley.
Mary’s Rock Tunnel is a 610 feet (190 m) long tunnel blasted through the mountain on Skyline Drive. It was constructed in 1932 was considered one of the engineering feats of Skyline Drive. Skyline Drive is a 105-mile (169-km) road that runs the entire length of the National Park Service’s Shenandoah National Park in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia.
Mary’s Rock Legend
There are 3 different stories/legend how Mary’s Rock was named. One story claims that Francis Thornton married Mary Savage and brought her up the mountain to show her the lands they would own together. The second legend that claims Thornton had a daughter named Mary, who climbed up the mountain when she was young and came back with a bear cub under her arm. The third story was that it was named after Mary Barbee who was the wife of William Randolph Barbee (a famous American sculptor) who lived and was born in the park.
Shenandoah National Park
Panorama Area Road and Trail Map
Park Information recording: (540) 999-3500
www.nps.gov/shen
Map
Panorama Area
