With this feeling like the hottest summer of my lifetime, it’s about time to highlight one of my favorite waterfall hikes in Shenandoah National Park: Rose River Falls. This is a beautifully wooded loop trail that leads to a (you guessed it) waterfall. It’s a fantastic hike brimming with pools of crystal-clear water.
Being in Shenandoah National Park, it has an entrance fee, or you can get a Park Pass that’s good for one year. Shenandoah National Park no longer accepts cash, so with cell service being rather poor, make sure you’ve got a debit/credit card with you (and money in your account, since you probably won’t be able to log into your banking app either). However, this hike is pet-friendly, so leash up your pups and bring them along with you. With all the recent rain, the falls are probably quite full making this a great time to hike this.
At roughly 4 miles, this is quite a very popular hike. So, if you’re looking to avoid crowds, you’ll need to get up with the sun or try your luck on a weekday. I enjoy this hike during the fall, but it’s pretty crowded all year (except perhaps in the middle of a blizzard – but this would be a great hike to do when the falls are frozen).
Like most trails in Shenandoah National Park, this trail is well marked and easy to follow. If you’re feeling extra adventurous you can add Dark Hollow Falls to your hike for about half a mile. This hike has a lot of great places to dip your toes into the water, but due to how rocky it is it’s not the greatest spot for actual swimming. So, if you’re training for the Olympics, you’re probably better off swimming elsewhere.
The first time I hiked this my friend and I opted to do it counterclockwise, which is to begin on the fire road and end on the horse trail. I would not recommend this at all since this means the last bit of the hike was quite steep. Going clockwise means returning on the fire road, which is far gentler incline. Conversely, I’ve seen people doing this as an out-and-back too, which shaves off about two miles. So, it’s really a sort of “choose-your-own” adventure trail.
Happy Hiking!
