Skyline Drive - The Most Scenic Drives in America: 120 Spectacular Road Trips - page 1028

the west. At mile 46.7 (the Upper Hawksbill parking area), a one-mile trail leads to the
4,051-foot-tallsummit.Therewardthatawaitsvisitorsthereisthreefold:apanoramicview
oftheBlueRidgeMountains,whichfadeintorollingfarmlandtothewestandgreenhillsto
theeast;aglimpseofahigh-elevationforestdominatedbybalsamfirsandrareredspruces;
and the best vantage point in the park for spotting broad-winged hawks and other birds of
prey during their annual fall migration.
10. Dark Hollow Falls
ContinuingsouthonSkylineDrive,theroadwindsthroughahardwoodforestbeforereach-
ing the Dark Hollow Falls parking area at mile 50.7. There a short but steep trail leads
to the head of the falls—a series of cascades that drop 70 feet through a wooded ravine.
Amongthefalls'admirerswasThomasJefferson,whowassofondofthisregionthatwhen
he built his home, Monticello (located a bit to the east of the park near Charlottesville), he
was careful not to let any of its outbuildings block his view of the mountains.
Big Meadows, a startling visual change from the rest of the landscape, holds the densest population of wildflowers in the
entire Shenandoah National Park.