Picnic area · Shenandoah National Park
A table-and-grill break with a 1930s CCC backstory.
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Plan your stop
The highest, rockiest slopes around here are a summer buffet for grizzly bears.
Shenandoah Tour Guide
Parkwolf is a GPS audio tour guide for Shenandoah National Park. As you drive, it chimes in with what’s ahead: hidden gems, upcoming stops, history, geology, and wildlife, right through your car’s speakers.
See the Shenandoah audio tourRecorded for this place
Big Meadows Lodge: A Meal and a Short Viewpoint Walk“Big Meadows Lodge is coming up, a seasonal stop for a sit-down meal in a timber-and-stone building from nineteen thirty-nine.”
Plays as you drive up to Big Meadows Picnic Grounds in the Parkwolf Shenandoah Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
“Fantastic app with many points of information… It’s great to just turn on while you’re driving and it gives you an audio tour of the national Park. We love it!!!!”
Guide
Big Meadows Picnic Grounds is a developed picnic area beside Big Meadows Campground on Skyline Drive at mile 51.2. It’s a practical place for a table-and-grill break while you’re already in the area. The amphitheater sits at the far end of the grounds, so it’s part of the same stop.
You’ll find picnic tables, benches, charcoal grills and potable water, with wheelchair-accessible picnic sites. Restrooms are seasonal vault or composting toilets, so don’t count on them outside the warmer months. The grounds are listed as open year-round, but bad weather can temporarily close Skyline Drive and cut off vehicle access.
The Civilian Conservation Corps and National Park Service developed the picnic grounds and campground in 1937, during Big Meadows’ first years as a park destination. At Big Meadows, Camp NP-2, later Camp Fechner, housed about 200 men. Crews built trails, shelters, picnic areas and drinking fountains, and ran a native-plant nursery to help stabilize slopes. President Franklin D. Roosevelt dedicated Shenandoah National Park at Big Meadows on July 3, 1936.
The picnic grounds are one of several distinct areas in the Big Meadows historic landscape, connected by its main access road. Their rustic design reflects the 1930s and ’40s approach of fitting park facilities into a deliberately natural-looking setting.
Wildlife
325 sightingsBlack BearMost seen around 6 AMSighting map
21 sightingsBald EagleMost seen around 10 AMSighting map
1,036 sightingsWhite-tailed DeerMost seen around 7 PMSighting map
167 sightingsWild TurkeyMost seen around 7 AMSighting map
93 sightingsTimber RattlesnakeMost seen around 6 PMSighting map
24 sightingsCoyoteMost seen around 6 AMSighting mapSighting maps show where each species has been reported across Shenandoah. Wildlife moves, so no sighting is guaranteed.
Keep exploring
ModerateLewis Falls Trail2.8 mi · 4 hr · 0.1 mi awayAn 81-foot waterfall and ridge views reward this rocky loop.
EasyBlackrock at Big Meadows0.2 mi · 15 min · 0.2 mi awayA quick climb to a broad Massanutten view.
ModerateDark Hollow Falls1.4 mi · 1.5 hr · 0.9 mi awayA shady creek descent, a waterfall, and a steep climb back.
EasyStory of the Forest Trail1.8 mi · 1.5 hr · 0.9 mi awayAn easy woods loop past a stream and air-quality station.
ChallengingRapidan, Fork Mountain & Rose River Circuit22.9 mi · 16 hr · 1 mi awayAn overnight circuit through Hoover’s historic Rapidan Camp.
ModerateRose River Falls Loop4 mi · 4.5 hr · 1 mi awayRocky streamside loop to a waterfall, with an uphill finish.
ChallengingBig Meadows and Laurel Prong Loop19 mi · 15 hr · 1 mi awayA two-night loop links Big Meadows, Lewis Falls, and Hoover’s retreat.
EasyAppalachian Trail - Tanners Ridge Road2.1 mi · 1.5 hr · 2.1 mi awayAn easy A.T. walk to old farm traces and a family cemetery.
Lodging · 0.1 mi awayBig Meadows LodgeA rustic Skyline Drive stay, with dinner and valley views.
Campground · 0.2 mi awayBig Meadows CampgroundA leafy base near the meadow, waterfalls, and visitor center.
Sight · 0.3 mi awayBlackrock at Big MeadowsA short climb for a long look along Massanutten Mountain.
Visitor center · 0.9 mi awayHarry F. Byrd Sr. Visitor CenterSee how the park was made before you head out exploring.
Food · 0.9 mi awayBig Meadows WaysideA practical food and supply stop on the park's central stretch.Sight · 0.9 mi awayLewis FallsA steep, rocky loop to an 81-foot waterfall.
Scenic pullout · 0.9 mi awayFishers Gap OverlookA narrow valley view frames New Market Gap's Civil War story.
Sight · 1 mi awayBig MeadowsAn open break from the forest, rich in wildlife and rare wetlands.Parkwolf’s Shenandoah ranking
The audio tour guide for the drive, plus offline maps, trails, and wildlife heatmaps for when the signal drops.
