RE: Shenandoah National Park... a few questions

[Zooey]

 
We are planning a trip there this spring.  We have some concerns about towing - we have been there before without the PU and coming down those mountains was really hard on our brakes.  We didn t have our current tow vehicle then, but we are concerned about towing with our 1996 Jeep Cherokee.  Does anyone have any input on this?
 
 Also- there is no electricity up there, we don t have a battery and know nothing about them.  Any information would help.
 
 Thanks!!!
 
 Zooey[&:]

[springer02]

 Zooey
To help save on the brakes, put the Jeep in low gear (1 or 2 on your gearshift) to use the engine s compression to help keep you slow. If the RPMs still go up too high, you may still have to brake some, but not as much.
 
 If you were doing this on a loose surface and wanted to go really slow, and since you have a Jeep, you could go into four-low. That s really s-l-o-w, but not appropriate for this particular use.
 
 Dave
 
 

[Gone-Camping]

 Zooey
If you gain access to Shenandoah from Rockfish Gap (where I-64 crosses over Afton Moutain), the grade is such that you won t have to do a lot of hard braking. The above advice about using a lower gear will help greatly too.
 
 If you want an electric site, you might consider staying at Sherando Lake Campground. This is not in Shenandoah NP, it s located about 16 miles south of the SNP southern terminus, you just contiune on down the Blue Ridge Parkway (BRP) until you see the signs for Sherando Lake. This is a NFS campground, and they do have two loops (B & C) with electric hook-up s only (no water hook-up s avail). Sites are nice and level, the whole thing is actually down inside the Shenandoah Valley instead of up on the mountain itself, and has a great lake for swimming (though spring may be too early for that), it s also stocked and has great fishing potential.
 
 From this campground, you can make day trips north in to & through Shenandoah NP, and day trips south on the BRP through the George Washington and Jefferson National Forest s... They don t take reservations, it s stictly first come first serve, and that time of year shouldn t be a problem finding an open site.
 
 Pictures of Sherando Lake Campground are [link=http://www.gonecamping.net/reviews/va/va.html]available here...[/link]

[greyhounds4me]

 Zooey
[font=" Comic Sans MS" ] I don t know my geography out there too well but we tent camped at the Shenandoah Acres Resort in Stuarts Draft a couple of years ago and loved it there. [/font]

[whitestar505]

 Zooey
Believe you will be fine as long as your car breakes are fine. Can you make reservations up there?

[Zooey]

 Zooey
Yes, you can make reservations at Big Meadows Campground only.  They have 3 or 4 others, but they do not accept them.
 
 http://www.nps.gov/shen/
 
 Zooey[&:]