Shenandoah National Park · Virginia

Overall Run Trail

0.7 mi of trail, end to end · Overall Run Falls: 5.1 mi round trip in the Service's write-up · 200 ft of descent · 783 ft–996 ft · earth surface · trail class Developed · hiking

996 ft 783 ft · 0.6 mi high 996 ft

Overall Run Falls 5.1 mi round trip · the Park Service's write-up

4-5 Hours · dogs allowed

Start North District (Mile 22.2)

A viewpoint down into a small canyon lined with green trees with a valley beyond.

A hike into federally designated Wilderness to a view of the highest waterfall in the Park at 93 feet. Unless rain is plentiful, Overall Run Falls may have minimal to no water flow.

Note that closures are in effect in an effort to prevent further degradation of important outcrop ecosystems on Overall Run.

Distance: 5.1-mile round trip hike

Difficulty: Moderately Strenuous (explanation of our hiking difficulty scale )

Hiking Time: 4 hours

Elevation Gain: 1,291 feet

Hike Description

From the trailhead at the Mathews Arm Campground registration parking area, take Traces Trail to the yellow-blazed Mathews Arm Road.

The road becomes Mathews Arm Trail.

Stay on the right at its intersection with Beecher Ridge Trail and continue on Mathews Arm Trail following it to the intersection with Tuscarora-Overall Run Trail.

Go left and follow it about a tenth of a mile to a side trail. From here you can see the upper falls.

Continue downhill on the main trail another 1,300 feet for views of the biggest falls in Shenandoah at 93 feet.

Retrace your steps back to your starting point.

NOTE: If the campground is closed, you can park at mile 21 and take the Appalachian Trail to the Tuscarora-Overall Run Trail. This route adds another mile to your hike. If you are already in the campground, you can take the yellow-blazed Mathews Arm Road from the B-loop.

Accessibility This trail does not meet ADA accessibility guidelines.

This hike on nps.gov

On the parks map

All 317 trails in Shenandoah National ParkFind a trailOn the parks mapPark on nps.gov

About this trail's facts

The lines are the National Park Service's public trails layer, the trailheads and the waterfalls, views, peaks and historic places along them the Service's public points of interest, read 2026-10-16 and simplified for the map; the length is the line's, end to end. The write-ups are the Service's own "things to do" text, unedited. Heights come from USGS 3DEP through Terrain Tiles on AWS (Mapzen/Tilezen), read along each line and rounded; a short trail on steep ground can be off by a few tens of feet. Closures change: check the park's own site before you go.