Shenandoah National Park
Shenandoah is a national park in the United States, in the state of Virginia. The park is bordered by rivers on the west side, and Piedmont Mountains on the east. The park was founded in 1935 on an area of 805 km2, and the highest point of the area is Mount Hawksbill (1235 meters).
Before the establishment of Shenandoah Park, there were many farms in this area and the authorities had to forcibly buy the property from the farmers. Therefore, the remains of ancient farms are often found in the park. Almost all farmers who work in orchards and grow cereals resisted eviction to the last, they were not even stopped by crop failures in the 1930s and were subsequently forcibly relocated. Nevertheless, some were allowed to stay in the national park until they died.
Shortly after the park was founded, it was decided to ban blacks from visiting the park, but then they were allowed, but after allocating places for whites and blacks. In the 1930s, private hotels operated, but only whites were allowed to spend the night in them. By 1939, a hotel for blacks was opened, which had a tent camp and picnic areas. In 1945, the leadership of Shenandoah Park called for the abolition of white racial dominance in the park, but it was not until 1950 that the blacks finally eliminated this inconvenience.
The local waterfalls are the pride of Shenandoah National Park. Overall Run, with a drop height of 29 meters, is the tallest and most beautiful of all. But to get to it, you will have to get off the road and walk about 5 km to it.
Pine trees grow on the southwestern and southern slopes, and cactus can be found on the hills. In the northeastern slope, there are hemlock forests favored by moss. There are also oaks, cottonwoods, hickories, maples, tulip lyriodendrons, chestnuts, mountain laurels, and ferns.
Deer, black bears, lynxes, raccoons, skunks, possums, woodchucks, gray foxes, and rabbits are often found among the animals. The park is home to over two hundred species of birds. And rivers and lakes are favored by 32 species of fish.
There is a highway running along the ridge in the park. Observation points have been built along the entire road, and hiking trails leading along the slope of the ridge branch off from them. There are 5 camping sites and 3 hotels on the grounds of Shenandoah Park, as well as horseback riding and cycling trails. Although it is allowed to set up tents in the park, it is worth considering that you can not leave traces behind (garbage, it is forbidden to build a campfire). In addition, you can meet bears in the park who are not averse to eating unattended food.
