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Historic Platform Atop Hawksbill Mountain In Shenandoah National Park To Be Rehabilitated

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By NPT Staff - April 23rd, 2016
Hawksbill Mountain

Hikers who make it to the top of Hawksbill Mountain will find a renovated observation deck later this year./NPS

The historic observation platform at the summit of the tallest peak in Shenandoah National Park will receive $120,000 worth of care this spring to address vandalism and general deterioration.

The restoration work atop Hawksbill Mountain in Virginia is planned for April and May. All trails to the 4,050-foot summit will be temporarily closed for short periods of time while the work is conducted. A moderate 2.9-mile loop trail off Skyline Drive leads to the summit, and there are a couple of steeper out-and-back options.

“We are delighted to have an opportunity to partner with the Shenandoah National Park Trust in rehabilitating the historic and significant stone observation platform on the summit of the park’s tallest peak as one of our signature projects associated with the National Park Service Centennial,” park Superintendent Jim Northup said in a release. “The other, very exciting aspect of this project is that our park stone masons will be working with a Hands-on-Preservation (HOPE) Crew, a special youth crew program sponsored by the National Trust for Historic Preservation, to teach the next generation of historic preservationists.”

The project is made possible with $58,112 from the National Park Service’s Centennial Challenge Program and $62,000 in matching funds from the Shenandoah National Park Trust, the park’s official philanthropic partner.

“It’s an iconic feature of the park,” Susan Sherman, president of the Shenandoah National Park Trust, said in a release. “For the people who hike specifically to the peak each year, it’s got sentimental value.”

The stone platform was donated to Shenandoah by former Sen. Harry F. Byrd in 1962. Since then, the platform has been vandalized and has fallen into disrepair. In rehabilitating the observation deck, the park hopes to return it to its former glory, and use its symbolic significance to raise awareness about what will be needed to continue to protect and enhance Shenandoah National Park for the next century and beyond.

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