Shenandoah National Park · Madison County, VA
Old Rag Mountain
The iconic VA scramble — a granite boulder field that tops out on a 3,291-ft summit with 360° views of the Blue Ridge. A $2 day-use ticket is required March 1–November 30 (cap of 800/day) on top of the park entrance pass; reserve at recreation.gov.
Live · updated
Today
Great day for hiking.
Scored for hiking
Conditions
Score by activity
Hiking
Great day for hiking.
Score breakdown
- ✓ 49°F air — Right in hiking's ideal range
- ✓ AQI 44 — Clean air
- ✓ Trail: prime — No meaningful rain in the last 48 hours. Trail surface is dry and tacky — prime traction.
Trail facts
- Distance
- 9.4 mi round-trip
- Elevation gain
- 2600 ft
- Surface
- rocky
- Difficulty
- hard
- Typical crowds
- very heavy
- Dogs
- No dogs
Trailhead
Parking
Trailhead lot · day-use fee. 7 AM on weekends; ticketed system also caps daily visitors.
Facilities
Bathrooms . Ticketed entry March 1–November 30 — reserve at recreation.gov. Photo ID checked at scan.
Coordinates
38.5717, -78.3055 — Madison County, VA.
Park
Part of Shenandoah National Park (official site →).
Notes
No dogs. Not runnable. Hand-over-hand scrambling — dangerous when wet. Bring water — there is none on the mountain.
Park advisories
Effective May 4, Shenandoah National Park will begin infrastructure enhancements at the Old Rag Trailhead main parking lot. We expect to complete work by November 2026. Until then, the main parking lot is closed to all vehicle and pedestrian traffic. Visitors can access Old Rag Trailhead via existing overflow parking lots. Day-use tickets are still required from March 1 through November 30 in addition to a park entrance fee.
On July 1, 2025, the park transitioned to a fully cashless system at our fee entrance stations. Only credit cards, debit cards, or mobile payments will be accepted.
Visitors are reminded to park in designated parking areas when accessing the park via boundary trailheads. Parking in unauthorized locations may result in your vehicle being towed at the owner's expense. Park on the right side of the road approaching Thompson Hollow. Parking is authorized up to the "No Parking" sign before a private driveway.
Sign up for Shenandoah Alerts by texting SHENALERTS to 888777. Any time there are closures, re-openings, or other important safety-related alerts, subscribers will receive a notification via text. You may unsubscribe at any time.
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