Mary's Rock
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Mary's Rock, also known as Marys Rock, is a tall mountain in
Shenandoah National Park Shenandoah National Park (often ) is an American national park that encompasses part of the Blue Ridge Mountains in the Commonwealth of Virginia. The park is long and narrow, with the Shenandoah River and its broad valley to the west, and the ...
,
Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...
, United States. The peak is just south of the
Thornton Gap Thornton Gap is a wind gap located in the Blue Ridge Mountains in Virginia separating the Shenandoah Valley from the Piedmont region of the state. History Thornton Gap was named for Francis Thornton (1711–April 14, 1749), owner of the land ...
Entrance of the park, and north of the taller Pinnacle. Mary's Rock is the eighth highest peak in Shenandoah National Park.


Hiking Mary's Rock

Two trails lead to the summit of Mary's Rock. One which starts from the Panorama Visitor Center and the other which starts from the Meadow Spring Parking Area. The trail from Panorama is somewhat longer and steeper, and is generally considered more difficult. It follows the white-blazed
Appalachian Trail The Appalachian Trail (also called the A.T.), is a hiking trail in the Eastern United States, extending almost between Springer Mountain in Georgia and Mount Katahdin in Maine, and passing through 14 states.Gailey, Chris (2006)"Appalachian Tr ...
. The other trail is shorter and somewhat less difficult. The summit of the rock offers views of the northern section of Shenandoah National Park and
Page Valley The Page Valley is a small valley geographically and culturally associated with the Shenandoah Valley. The valley is located between the Massanutten and Blue Ridge mountain ranges in western Virginia. Geography The valley is approximately lo ...
.


Legends of Mary's Rock

Mary's Rock has its fair share of legends of how the rock was named. One story claims that Francis Thornton wed Mary Savage and brought her up the mountain to show her the lands they would own together. In 2017 the song Mary's Rock, written by Will Hopkins, was recorded by Terry Baucom's Dukes of Drive. The popular bluegrass group had chart success with a version of this story, suggesting Francis Thornton pushed Mary, or Mary slipped and fell off the rock to her untimely death, allowing Thornton to inherit the land. Another legend claims that Thornton had a daughter named Mary, who climbed up the mountain when she was young and came back with a bear cub under her arm. Yet another states that it was named after the wife of William Randolph Barbee.


Marys Rock Tunnel

Marys Rock Tunnel is a long tunnel blasted through the mountain that
Skyline Drive Skyline Drive is a National Parkway that runs the entire length of the National Park Service's Shenandoah National Park in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia, generally along the ridge of the mountains. The drive's northern terminus is at a ...
passes through. Constructed in 1932, it is considered one of the engineering feats of Skyline Drive.


References


External links




Mary's Rock on PeakBagger
{{Mountains of Virginia Mountains of Shenandoah National Park Blue Ridge Mountains Mountains of Page County, Virginia Mountains of Rappahannock County, Virginia Mountains on the Appalachian Trail