Old Rag day-use ticket: how to get one

Old Rag is one of the best-known hikes in Shenandoah National Park in Virginia, and one of the hardest: a 9.4-mile (15.1 km) circuit with a long granite rock scramble near the summit. To ease crowding, improve safety and protect the mountain, the National Park Service (NPS) requires a day-use ticket for the Old Rag area for most of the year. Here's how the system works and how to plan around it.

Checked October 2026: everything below is the system as NPS and Recreation.gov publish it for the 2026 season. NPS made Old Rag ticketing permanent in 2024 after a two-year pilot, but as of October 2026 it hasn't announced anything specific to the 2027 season. Check nps.gov/shen for 2027 details before you book.

When you need a ticket

Tickets are required from March 1 through November 30, at any time of day, to hike the Saddle, Ridge and Ridge Access trails and the ticketed area shown on the park's map. Every person needs their own ticket, whatever their age. Free lifetime passes such as the Access Pass don't exempt you, and backcountry campers need a ticket for each day they're in the ticketed area. Trails and roads outside that area, including the Weakley Hollow Fire Road, don't need a ticket.

The ticket comes on top of the park entrance pass, not instead of it. They're separate purchases, and the dates have to match. NPS says you can buy an entrance pass online in advance or at an entrance station, and the entrance fee can also be paid at the Old Rag Ranger Station.

Where and when to book

Tickets are sold only through Recreation.gov, online or by phone at 877-444-6777, and you need a Recreation.gov account. They are not sold at the Old Rag entrance station, where NPS notes that cell and internet service are unreliable. Recreation.gov and the NPS Old Rag FAQ list the ticket at $2 per person, with no fee waivers.

NPS releases 800 tickets for each day on a rolling window: 400 go on sale 30 days ahead and the other 400 five days ahead, both at 10 a.m. Eastern time. Any tickets left over can be reserved on the day itself, but that isn't guaranteed, and you'd need a signal to do it. One person can reserve up to four tickets per day, so a bigger group needs a second person to book the rest. The person who made the reservation must show a photo ID, along with the confirmation, printed or saved on a phone.

“Set a reminder for 10 a.m. Eastern, 30 days before your date, and keep the five-day release as your backup.”

— Great Hikes team

Changes, cancellations and parking

You can cancel or change a reservation on Recreation.gov until noon the day before your ticket date. NPS says refunds are not issued for any reason, so read the current cancellation terms on Recreation.gov before you pay. Tickets are valid only on the reservation date and can't be transferred.

A ticket doesn't guarantee a parking spot. Parking at the NPS lot near the park boundary is free, but space is limited, especially on October weekends and above all on Saturdays, and NPS recommends carpooling. In 2026 the main Old Rag trailhead lot closed on May 4 for an infrastructure project (paving, new toilets and a new entrance station) that NPS expected to finish by November 2026. During the work, hikers used Lot 2 and the overflow lot on Nethers Road, which can fill on Saturdays and holiday weekends. Paying a private landowner to park doesn't replace the park entrance fee.

What the hike is like

NPS lists the Old Rag Circuit as 9.4 miles (15.1 km) with 2,348 feet (716 m) of elevation gain, rated very strenuous, with about 7 to 8 hours of hiking time. From the parking area at the park boundary, the blue-blazed Ridge Trail climbs to the rock scramble and the summit. You come down on the blue-blazed Saddle Trail, which becomes a fire road past Old Rag Shelter, then follow the yellow-blazed Weakley Hollow Fire Road and the Ridge Access Trail back to the Ridge Trail and your start.

Pets aren't allowed on the Ridge, Saddle and Ridge Access trails, or between Post Office Junction and Old Rag Shelter. Service animals are welcome.

Safety on the rock scramble

NPS describes the climb as very physically demanding and warns that it can be dangerous if you haven't planned properly. The scramble requires good upper-body strength, and young children and shorter adults often need help getting through it. Make sure everyone in your group can handle the full distance and the elevation change before you commit.

Bring plenty of water, food and sun protection, and pack as light as you can. In winter, the park advises microspikes or other traction, since trails can be icy and snow-covered. Cell and GPS service is unreliable, so download the map area before you leave home. The numbers under the trail blazes are search-and-rescue reference points: if you need to report an incident, give the nearest one.

No ticket? Other Shenandoah hikes

Didn't get a ticket? Shenandoah has shorter summits along Skyline Drive that only need the park entrance pass. Here are the NPS figures:

Hawksbill Summit: Shenandoah's highest peak. From the Hawksbill Gap parking area at Skyline Drive mile 45.5, it's 1.7 miles (2.7 km) round trip with 690 feet (210 m) of gain, rated moderate, about 1 to 2 hours, to a viewing platform with 360-degree views.

Stony Man: from the Stony Man parking area at mile 41.7, it's 1.6 miles (2.6 km) round trip with 340 feet (104 m) of gain, rated easiest, about 1 to 2 hours. Pets aren't allowed on this trail.

Bearfence Rock Scramble: if it's the scrambling you're after, start at the Bearfence parking area at mile 56.4. It's 1.4 miles (2.3 km) round trip with 311 feet (95 m) of gain, rated moderate, with a rock scramble to a 360-degree view. NPS says it isn't for anyone with a fear of heights, and it isn't safe when wet or icy. Pets aren't allowed.

Ticket rules, prices, dates and parking can change. Before you book, and again before you drive out, check current conditions and regulations with Shenandoah National Park at nps.gov/shen and the Old Rag ticket page on Recreation.gov.