Red Gate Cabin

Another 5 star review ⭐️

Love these rocks!

Volcanic rock? In Virginia?

Although Virginia no longer has volcanoes, hundreds of millions of years ago this place experienced intense volcanic activity. More than 500 million years ago, as the supercontinent Rodinia broke apart, lava spilled out between the tectonic plates and helped form the rock that composes the Blue Ridge Mountains today. This lava solidified into an igneous rock called basalt. Basalt crystalizes, forming hexagonal columns. Devil's Tower National Monument consists of the same material. You can see this crystal formation, known as columnar jointing, on the Compton Peak Trail (mile 10.4 on Skyline Drive) and a smaller example appears on the Limberlost Trail (mile 43). Deep burial underground once covered this rock, but tectonic plate collisions during the formation of Pangea pushed it up and shaped it into mountains.

You can still see the columns, but this rock no longer consists of basalt. Millions of years of heat and pressure buried the rock underground and transformed it into metabasalt, a type of metamorphic rock. Specifically, geologists call this metabasalt Catoctin Greenstone, which stretches as far north as Pennsylvania. Although basalt doesn't really exist here anymore, the columnar jointing reveals much about the geologic history of Shenandoah National Park.

Image: The underside of a large rock formation made of hexagonal green columns.

Fawn at the cabin tonight!

(Yes they are that close to the cabin’s deck!)

From out guest Tammy on June 5, 2026: This was the perfect location for a girl friend’s getaway. It checks all the boxes! Pristine clean, well furnished, quiet and private location, pet and smoke free. The host is extremely organized, professional and responds quickly. The beds are comfortable and the towels and bed linens are high quality. You can tell that a lot of thought went into the curating of all the features of this home. The view is spectacular! We identified 27 different bird species and watched deer at the edge of the woods. This will definitely warrant a return visit! Thank you for hosting us!

5 stars from Ana - May 2026

WOW. We stayed here for 1 night and it was not enough!!! We were visiting Shenandoah National Park and booked the cabin be closer to the park and only about 20 mins to Luray Caverns. So many amenities, so peaceful, so clean, so many things to say. The cabin was an experience in itself and is the perfect getaway. Hoping to be back in the fall to experience the fall foliage.

Another guest loved the cabin!

Another 5 star review!

We absolutely loved our stay here! It was clear the hosts truly thought of everything. The space was beautiful, peaceful, and had everything we needed to feel right at home. Every detail made the stay feel so comfortable and effortless. The hosts were incredibly communicative and made the entire process a breeze from start to finish. We genuinely loved everything about this place and would absolutely stay again! Vanessa - May 2026

We had an excellent stay at Red Gate Cabin. The views from the porch are spectacular! It rained for most of the time that we were there so we were unable to do all of the hikes that we had planned in Shenandoah National Park. We were so thankful to have a comfy cabin to hang out in and watch the rain. We ended up just cooking meals and watching movies. The kitchen is well stocked and the cabin in general feels very homey.

Love the wildflowers at the cabin!

Spring brings an abundance of wildflowers! Shenandoah National Park offers wonderful opportunities to see them.

People refer to many spring wildflowers "spring ephemerals." Ephemeral describes something temporary and short-lived, which perfectly describes these wildflowers. Spring ephemerals bloom in the early part of the season. You can catch their display for only a short time before they disappear for another year.

Trilliums , especially trillium grandiflorum (Great White Trillium), rank among the most common spring ephemerals in the park. These flowers feature three large white petals. As the flowers age, their petals may turn pink. Sometimes they bloom alone, but you can often spot them in large colonies throughout the woods. Each seed requires several years to bloom, making these flowers particularly special.

To see trilliums firsthand, try Upper Hawksbill Trail or the Skyland-Big Meadows Horse Trail, though you can find trilliums along many wooded trails in the park.

Image: A flower in the woods with three large, white petals, yellow stamens, and two wide dark-green leaves.

Stars: 5
Guest: Walter
Date: May 2026
Review: Beautiful well thought out location. it was a last minute shift in our vacation and turned out very nice.