Shenandoah National Park, located in Virginia just 75 miles from Washington, D.C., has begun its summer season with new ranger programs, an anniversary celebration and new high-tech trekking tools.

New ranger walks and programs have been added this year, including once- or twice-daily trips to Herbert Hoover's summer White House, Rapidan Camp, which the Park Service and local college students have been researching in recent years. Reserve your spot on a free three-hour trip (12-person limit) by calling 540-999-3283 or in person at the Byrd Visitor Center. To celebrate the 75th anniversary of the founding of the Civilian Conservation Corps, the public works program created by Franklin Delano Roosevelt during the Depression for single, unemployed young men, the park features afternoon ranger walks to the CCC site in Big Meadows Thursday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday and an informational display at the Skyland Lodge.

Robin Rombach /Pittsburgh Post Gazette (ENLARGE)

Hiking and scaling mountains are part of the attractions of Shenandoah National Park.

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A high-tech addition to a low-tech park is the new GPS Ranger. Rent a GPS Ranger unit for $10 from the Byrd Visitor Center and carry it on one of four hikes: the Appalachian Trail from Milam Gap to Tanner Ridge Road, Dark Hollow Falls, Hawksbill Mountain and a Meadow Discovery Walk. The units are programmed with visual and audio information about different points on the trail; when you reach one of the programmed spots, the unit beeps. Nice to know you can have a ranger in your pocket any time you want.

For more information about Shenandoah, visit www.nps.gov/shen or call 540-999-3500.