Too is a folksy attraction. Talk to the locals hanging out here. You'll find them as interesting, and probably amusing, as they'll find you. About 2 million people visit the park every year, park officials say, and 100,000 of them hike Old Rag. The 7.2-mile circuit, which takes four to five hours, has a rock scramble at its top that hikers find an enticing challenge.
Parking also is a problem.
At the Old Rag trailhead, the trail to the right, an interesting alternative, leads up Nicholson Hollow, sometimes knows as Free State Hollow. You're in the real backwoods here. There are a number of roadside stands about. Turn west on U.S. 211 and you're 15 minutes from Shenandoah's Thornton Gap entrance.