I’ve wanted to visit a few ACW sites in the VA/WV area and thought I might combine it with a visit to one of the US’s iconic parks, Shenandoah NP.
Can anyone shed light on possible hiking conditions to peaks off of Skyline Drive such as W4V/SH-027 (Dickey) plus the others driving south that have been suggested on other posts about Shenandoah NP SOTA?
Paul
W6PNG/M0SNA
www.nomadic.blog
Hi Paul,
The weather will be very difficult to predict. We currently have a warm spell with recent daily highs at or near 70F / 21C. However there might be snow in mid-March (it seems unlikely). In recent years I have felt some guilt taking many winter bonus points in this area while siting activating wearing only a light base layer, sometimes just a t-shirt.
The shorter approach to Compton Peak W4V/SH-016 tends to be icy as it is on the shady north side.
My biggest recommendation for peaks off Skyline Drive, especially in colder months, is to subscribe to their SMS message alert system as sections of the road will close surprisingly often. An ice storm around Christmas had huge sections closed for long periods of time, presumably to clear fallen limbs from the roadway. Just text SHENALERTS to 888777 from a US cell number. You will want to become familiar with the mile numbering system with numbers increasing from north to south.
73,
Roy
In addition to what @WN3F said, trail conditions can vary considerably from one summit to the next. A week ago Friday I activated 4 summits on the southern end of Skyline, working my way north. The first three were clear, but the last one was covered in ice and snow.
BTW, in a week’s time we went from temps in the 50s to the 20s and back up to the 70s. Weather is unpredictable here. 
A hiking pole can be handy (not necessary for Dickey though) to deal with icy conditions or some of the particularly rocky trails. Ice spikes for your shoes are also a good idea in the winter.
Chris
Chris and Roy
Thank you both for responding and that’s the kind of advice I was looking for.
I’ll probably finalize plans 7 days ahead of leaving but based on your feedback maybe mid April might be a better bet or later in the year. I was looking at the Antietam Battlefield WX back in Nov ‘22 and found many days that it was seemingly uncharacteristically in the 60s.
Paul
It’s early Feb and not unexpected, but while it’s currently 45deg here in Manassas (about 45 miles east of the Front Royal entrance to Skyline), I just got a text that they’re closing it at 6:30 due to expected snow and ice.
FWIW 2mFM is very productive in this region and at many of the popular summits on Skyline. An HT with a halfwave whip or j-pole/slim-jim is all you need.
Also, while not on Skyline, there are a number of interesting and not heavily hiked summits in the vicinity if Skyline is closed for some reason (often these are accessible when Skyline is closed).
Chris