Big Meadows Campground

Big Meadows Campground is a 221-site, wooded frontcountry campground at mile 51.2 on Skyline Drive. It makes a practical base for central walks: Big Meadows and nearby waterfalls are within walking distance, and the Byrd Visitor Center is about a mile away. All sites require reservations. Standard sites take a tent or RV, but have no electrical hookups.

Of the 221 sites, 51 are tent-only and two are group sites for 7 to 15 people. The other standard sites accept tents or RVs and are nonelectric. Standard sites allow up to six people (or one immediate family) and one RV. Shade, spacing, level ground and views vary from site to site, so check the map and dimensions before booking. Seven accessible sites are available, with accessible showers and laundry.

Deer, bears, raccoons and skunks live around the campground; deer are often seen moving between campsites, though sightings aren't guaranteed. Keep food, garbage and scented items in a locked vehicle or food-storage locker when you're not using them. Campsite character changes by loop: some are wooded and quiet, while others are closer together or uneven, so the site map helps set expectations.

Big Meadows is a designed cultural landscape developed between 1931 and 1952, with the meadow, campground, lodge, visitor center and wayside linked by a main access road. A Civilian Conservation Corps camp at Big Meadows, first called Camp NP-2 and later Camp Fechner, housed about 200 men. CCC crews built trails, shelters and picnic areas and worked on erosion control and native vegetation.

The nearby meadow also holds two mafic fens with globally rare plant communities and eight plant species rare in Virginia. That wetland life is part of what makes this area more than a place to sleep between hikes.