Hemlock Springs Overlook on Skyline Drive in Shenandoah

Hemlock Springs Overlook is an east facing overlook on Skyline Drive at Mile Marker 39.7 in Shenandoah National Park. It is generally located between the Thornton Gap Entrance Station and Skyland with the Little Stony Man Trailhead to the north and Thorofare Mountain Overlook to the south.

The grey, broken tree trunks here are remnants of hemlock trees. The eastern hemlock tree once thrived in the Appalachian mountains, but over 95 percent of the hemlocks in the park have been killed by the hemlock wooly ageldid. The trees only live about three to five years after an infestation, where the ageldid builds egg sacks at the base of the hemlock needles and it feeds on the sap and kills the needles.

The mountains in front of the overlook at Hemlock Springs make it a popular place for photographing the sunrise.