National Park Guide: Virginia's Shenandoah

— -- About four or five times a year, Ronald Pierce, 71, of Bridgewater, Va., visits Shenandoah National Park, where he enjoys photographing the park's scenery and wildlife such as deer and songbirds.

"Occasionally, if you get very lucky, you might see a bear," Pierce says.

In the park he calls "peaceful and serene," Pierce says he likes to photograph the shadowy mountains on a partly cloudy day as well as animals in the open Big Meadows area where they are easier to spot.

Pierce also is struck by Skyline Drive, the park's only public road, which winds mostly along the tops of the Blue Ridge Mountains, and its many overlooks. The road is all the more remarkable, he says, because it was constructed in large part by manual labor in the 1930s.

"It's amazing to me that this is even here," he says.

The 105-mile Skyline Drive does not disappoint as it hoists visitors above the treetops to offer a perspective of the Shenandoah Valley and the Virginia Piedmont.

When the road was first used, it provided a unique viewpoint, says Karen Beck-Herzog, the park's public affairs officer, and it remains the "No. 1 reason" people visit the park.

"It was pretty special to be able to look down on things," Beck-Herzog says.

The park's nearly 200,000 acres, which include about 80,000 acres of designated wilderness, can be traversed along roughly 500 miles of hiking and horseback-riding trails. The land is home to turkeys, songbirds, deer, black bears and bobcats.

Popular hikes include those on Old Rag Mountain (which includes a rock scramble and a 360-degree view of the area), Hawksbill Mountain (with the park's highest peak) and the Dark Hollow Falls Trail, which leads to the park's most popular waterfall of the same name.

Campers can choose from four campgrounds or the opportunity to pick a backcountry site.

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About the park

Size: About 197,000 acres

Visitors: 1,209,883 in 2011

Established: 1935

History: The idea for the park was developed as Stephen Mather, the first National Park Service director, sought to create parks in the eastern U.S. after the success of national parks in the West. The park was once segregated, offering only one facility for African Americans, at Lewis Mountain, starting in 1939, though the park was fully integrated by 1950. The park is home to Rapidan Camp, which President Hoover used as a summer retreat where he would work as well as fish and ride horseback. "The Brown House," the cabin designated for the president, has been restored to its 1929 appearance.

When visiting: Headquarters located at 3655 U.S. Highway 211 E, Luray, Va. 22835; Harry F. Byrd Sr. Visitor Center at Milepost 51 on Skyline Drive; Dickey Ridge Visitor Center at Milepost 4.6 on Skyline Drive. Visitor info: 540-999-2170 or 540-999-3500.

Of note: The park contains 101 miles of the Appalachian Trail, the longest stretch of the 2,175-mile trail on public land.