The Trails Forever Fund
In December 2022, winter storms brought down over 600 trees across Skyline Drive, closing the Park for nearly two months. Volunteer crews joined Park staff…
Core to the SNP Trust’s mission is to help preserve and protect the outstanding natural beauty, ecological vitality and distinctive cultural resources of Shenandoah National Park for the inspiration and enjoyment of all generations.
Featured Projects
Shenandoah has a robust bear population, but it takes all of us to keep them safe and healthy. Improperly stored or disposed of food attracts bears, putting visitors and bears in potentially harmful situations. Bears learn where to find easy food sources, and they will return time and time again. This behavior can force the park to label them “nuisance” bears. Nuisance bears must be trapped and relocated to remote regions. Nuisance bears that find their way back to humans’ food or trash may face more dire consequences.
Built in 1911, Boulder Cabin was part of the original Skyland Resort. When Congress established Shenandoah National Park in 1926, most of the Skyland buildings were torn down. But Boulder Cabin remained and became a Park Ranger office. However, as federal funding for national parks decreased, Shenandoah National Park’s workforce contracted and Boulder Cabin was abandoned. It has stood vacant for over 20 years. But now…
SNP Trust supports the Education Program operation at Shenandoah National Park to provide a broad range of recreational, educational, and service-learning experiences in Shenandoah National Park for youth through adult audiences.
The goals of Play, Learn, Serve is to provide meaningful national park experiences for audiences of all ages that instill a love and appreciation for Shenandoah National Park and national parks in general.
SNP Trust works to make sure all visitors to the park have the experience of a lifetime, especially from the park’s highest peak: Hawksbill Mountain.
Hawksbill Mountain is home to many plant and animal species – some that are found nowhere else in the world. An example is the Shenandoah salamander, a rare and endangered species unique to the park’s highest peaks. It can live only in certain environments, such as the relatively cool, moist, high elevation of Hawksbill Mountain.
Current Projects
Media Liaison Intern
Project Title: Media Liaison Intern Project Purpose: to increase brand awareness for the Trust, highlight donor impact on Shenandoah, and coordinate messaging between the Trust…
Cold Water in a Warming World: Protecting Native Brook Trout
Project Title: Cold Water in a Warming World: Protecting Native Brook Trout Project Purpose: to inform Park resource management decisions and protect native brook trout. …
Nipping it in the Bud
Project Title: Nipping it in the Bud – Support for Invasive Plant Early Detection/Rapid Response in Shenandoah National Park Project Purpose: To mitigate the threat…
Hanging On – Saving the Park’s Hemlock and Ash Trees
Project Title: Hanging On – Saving the Park’s Hemlock and Ash Trees Project Purpose: to protect and preserve Hemlock and Ash trees from the serious…
Trailer Pad Upgrades
Project Title: Trailer Pad Upgrades Project Purpose: To upgrade at least four trailer pads at various locations in Shenandoah National Park to provide full-service hookups…
Maintaining Shenandoah’s Roads & Trails
Keeping trails in top condition not only keeps hikers happy, but it’s good for the environment! Donor-funded trail maintenance crews makes for happy hikers, bikers,…
Track Trails
The Limberlost Trail in Shenandoah is a flat, 1.3-mile loop trail that is accessible to people of all ages and abilities. Thanks to donors of…
Youth Conservation Corps
Project Title: Shenandoah Youth Corps Project Purpose: to prepare the next generation of Park stewards and accomplish much-needed work Project Goals: to create opportunities for…
Internships at Shenandoah
Anyone who has worked with or managed interns knows it is an investment of time and resources. But, if the internship is well-structured and the…
Play, Learn, Serve
SNP Trust supports Shenandoah National Park’s Education Programming, providing a broad range of recreational, educational, and service-learning experiences in Shenandoah National Park for youth and…
Volunteer Coordinator
The Natural and Cultural Resources Volunteer Coordinator is funded to be the project facilitator in the Park’s Natural and Cultural Resources Division. This position allowed…
Keeping Bears Wild
Shenandoah has a robust bear population, but it takes all of us to keep them safe and healthy. Your donations support park employees whose job…
Artists-In-Residence
The Hudson River School painters of the mid-1800s were instrumental in the birth of national parks. Until this time, American artists had focused primarily on…
Boulder Cabin
Built in 1911, Boulder Cabin was part of the original Skyland Resort. It was used as a rental cabin for over 90 years until the early…
Past Projects
Big Meadows Air Quality Monitoring
Many visitors to Shenandoah National Park are unaware of its chronic air quality issues. Particulates and toxins from power plants and other industrial facilities blow…
Bike Repair Stations
BIKE REPAIR STATIONS in Shenandoah National Park are made possible by the generosity of donors to the Shenandoah National Park Trust, including lead gifts from…
Robert Jacobsen Employee Development Fund
Named for a beloved retired superintendent of Shenandoah National Park, the Robert Jacobsen Employee Development Fund supports park employee participation in leadership and other career-enhancing…
Expert in Residence Fund
This fund allows park managers to engage outside experts in natural resource protection, cultural resource preservation, and other park-related goals for short- to mid-term projects.…
Electric Car Charging Stations
Donors like you have supported electric charging stations currently in operation at Byrd Visitor Center. Over 1.5 million people visit Shenandoah each year simply to…
Old Rag Parking Lot + Archaeological Dig
SNP Trust was able to purchase the property from the Potomac Appalachian Trail Club and donated it to the park. We funded an archaeological study…
Hawksbill Observation Platform
In celebration of the National Park Service Centennial, the Trust committed to restore the stone observation platform at Hawksbill, along with the trails leading up…
Pinnacles Research Facility
Improving the Historic Pinnacles Research Facility The Shenandoah National Park Trust requested a $20,000 grant from the Oak Hill Fund to support improvements to the…
Research Fellowships
The National Park Service faces a number of increasingly complex issues that threaten the integrity of natural ecosystems, cultural resources, and visitor experiences at Shenandoah…