Big Meadows, an area of Shenandoah National Park in Virginia, offers a large campground at the midway point of the scenic and popular Skyline Drive. The campground also provides easy access to a variety of hiking trails, including the Appalachian Trail and a path that leads to U.S. President Herbert Hoover’s fishing retreat.
Fundamentals
Big Meadows includes a visitor center, lodge and store as well as a 200-site campground at the Big Meadows Wayside area. Located at mile marker 51.2 along the Skyline Drive, the area is an easy drive from Washington, D.C. and Richmond, Virginia, and a popular weekend getaway for residents of those areas. It gained National Register of Historic Places designation in 1985, according to the Shenandoah National Park website.
Camping
The Big Meadows Wayside campground includes 200 campsites, a shower building, wood storage, laundry and office that sells supplies. The campground is one of just four in all of Shenandoah National Park. It opens in mid-March and closes for winter in late November, according to the park website.
Many of the spacious sites within the campground sit along a north-facing ridge offering panoramic valley and mountain views, according to the Eastern Trails website. Some sites are large and open while others are secluded and shaded by trees. Wildlife, especially deer, often wander around the campground at dawn and dusk.
Big Meadows includes pull-through or back-in campsites for recreational vehicles. While there are dump stations and water pumps, the campground offers no electric or water hookups. The campground limits each campsite use to no more than two tents, six people and two vehicles. More secluded campsites located around the campground’s perimeter, a short walk from the main area, are reserved for tents only. The campground prohibits generator use in the tent-only camping area. Two larger campsites accommodate groups.
Reservations
Big Meadows requires advance camping reservations during its busiest summer period. The park reservations system accepts reservations as much as six months in advance. In early spring and late autumn, the park issues campground permits on a first-come, first-served basis. In 2010, campsite permit fees were $20 during the peak season and $17 in early spring and late fall, according to the campground reservations website page.
Activities
Several major trails skirt the campground, including the Appalachia trail, which offers an easy 1.5-mile hike to the Lewis Springs Falls overlook. Big Meadows is within quick walking distance of two other waterfalls, according to the park website.
The park allows bicycling only on Skyline Drive and paved areas, but not on trails, dirt roads or open areas. The Shenandoah National Park website cautions that Skyline Drive includes steep hills and blind curves requiring cyclists to use “extreme caution.”
Considerations
The campground’s location just two hours from major metropolitan areas means it fills up quickly on weekends, often with recreational vehicles with generators and radios. The Eastern Trails website recommends visiting Big Meadows during the week or the off-season for a less noisy and crowded experience.
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