SNP closing Old Rag lot

The area on and around Old Rag Mountain is one of rich natural beauty and is a magnet for hiking enthusiasts. But as hundreds of hikers flock to the Madison County peak on good weather days, the parking situation is not so beautiful.

Officials with Shenandoah National Park, which controls Old Rag access, announced last week the imminent closing of the parking lot closet to the trailhead in Madison’s Nethers community. They cited ongoing problems with hikers trespassing on Nethers residents’ private lands and “resource impacts.”

The lot in question is the smaller of two Nethers lots, the 12-space “upper” parking lot at the western terminus of Nethers Road (Route 600). The second, larger lot -- .8 miles east on Nethers Road – will remain open for now, although its lease runs out in a few years.

A gate is slated to be installed at the smaller upper lot either sometime this month or in April, SNP Public Affairs Officer Karen Beck-Herzog said, adding that the exact date is unknown because staff are currently busy preparing the park to reopen for the season. The upper lot will be reserved for emergency vehicles and trail volunteers once the gate is installed.

“It is anticipated that the closure of the upper lot will substantially reduce the conflict and congestion of shared visitor vehicle traffic and pedestrian use,” SNP Superintendent Martha Bogle said in the park news release announcing the closure. “(This) will minimize road shoulder parking, trespass on adjacent private land and should potentially reduce crowding and resource impacts.”

After the gating of the smaller lot, construction of a new lot is anticipated. This new parking lot has not yet been designed, said Beck-Herzog. The park is currently working on finding funding for the project as the primary concern. The site for the lot will likely be on the Potomac Appalachian Trail group’s land. Reportedly, the group has offered it for a long-term, 99-year, lease.

“I don’t have that information – for the cost or the design of the new parking lot, I don’t know of anybody working on it (yet),” Beck-Herzog said. “They are starting with the funding.”

The proposed lot will offer around 160 spaces and is projected to be between the two current parking lots on the south side of Nethers Road. As the new lot is constructed and becomes available for public use, the number of parking spaces in the current lower lot will be reduced.

“We know where the new lot is going to be,” Beck-Herzog said. “It’s basically a gravel parking (on the) south side of Route 600 (Nethers Road) – closer to the upper lot, between the lower lot and small lot.”

Currently, the two lots offer around 260 spaces and the goal, Beck-Herzog said, is to have that number remain constant.

“Alternative B (has us) construct a new lot of between 140-160 spaces and the leased lot (will be used) to hold balance – the new lot and leased lot (would have) no more than 260 spaces,” Beck-Herzog said. “That’s the intent, that (the lower lot) would remain open as an overflow (with signs) directing people into the new lot.”

The new lot will also bring a change in habit for visitors as it will likely include the need to reserve a spot, Beck-Herzog said. That system will be phased in as the lot is constructed.

Many of the reasons behind the new procedures and planned changes have to do with limiting the number of people who visit the mountain at a given time, Beck-Herzog said. This could allow for a better experience, Beck-Herzog said, and a safer one as it is designed to end parking on the sides of the roads and traffic congestion on Nethers Road.

More than 500 people often visit Old Rag per day on weekends, according to information released by the park. The number of visitors throughout the year may be more than 50,000. The high volume of traffic was apparently damaging the trail and the condition of the mountain, the parking regulations, including the possible future need for reservations, were suggested to help maintain the mountain environment.

“The environmental assessment was looking at those impacts (of a new lot) and what are the alternatives,” Beck-Herzog said. “Once that was completed we could start working on (the new lot) but what the full timeline is I just don’t know – we don’t have the timeline at this point.”