Picnic area · Shenandoah National Park
A quiet picnic stop with a history worth knowing.
Overview
Map
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
Lewis Mountain: A Picnic Stop with Important History“Up ahead is Lewis Mountain, with wooded picnic grounds, cabins and the park's smallest campground.”
Plays as you drive up to Lewis Mountain 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
Lewis Mountain Picnic Grounds is a wooded picnic area at mile 57.5 of Skyline Drive, with tables and grills under the trees. It’s a quiet place to stop for lunch and stretch your legs between overlooks. If you’re looking for a big view or a hike, keep driving; the draw here is a simple meal in the woods.
The grounds have a restroom and potable water, and are listed as wheelchair accessible. Exact route and restroom details aren’t specified. The grills make this a good stop for a meal you’ve brought with you; the nearby cabins and campstore are separate facilities.
Lewis Mountain’s picnic grounds were planned as part of Shenandoah’s segregated facilities for Black visitors. The park expanded the site after Black travelers sought places to eat and rest, adding a campground, cabins and restaurant nearby. In 1940, Lewis Mountain became a site for an experimental desegregation effort; integration began in 1947, and Shenandoah was fully integrated by 1950.
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
EasyLewis Mountain Nature Trail1.1 mi · 36 min · 0.3 mi awayA short stair climb through mountain laurel to a small rocky summit.
ChallengingSlaughter Ridge and Conway River Backcountry Route15 mi · 11 hr · 0.7 mi awayA 15-mile ridge-to-river out-and-back with a long climb back.
ModerateMeadows School Trail2.8 mi · 2.3 hr · 0.8 mi awayA 1.4-mile descent to the former Meadows School site.
EasyBearfence Viewpoint Hike1.1 mi · 45 min · 1.1 mi awayShort out-and-back for a Shenandoah Valley view without scrambling.
EasyPocosin Mission Trail2 mi · 1.5 hr · 1.9 mi awayA gravel road through woods ends at a mountain mission's remains.
ChallengingPowell Mountain Trail7 mi · 5 hr · 2.2 mi awayA long, rocky climb to Powell Mountain's unmarked summit.
ChallengingBear Church Rock via Bootens Gap9.7 mi · 5.5 hr · 2.3 mi awayLong forest miles end at a rock ledge above the Rapidan Valley.
ModerateEntry Run and Rosser Lamb Loop2.6 mi · 1.5 hr · 4.2 mi awayA short wooded loop with a steep climb and a streamside return.
Lodging · 0.2 mi awayLewis Mountain CabinsA wooded cabin stay with outdoor meals and important history.
Campground · 0.2 mi awayLewis Mountain CampgroundA small campground with a defining place in Shenandoah's integration story.
Sight · 0.9 mi awayBearfence MountainA short summit scramble opens a full-circle Blue Ridge panorama.
Scenic pullout · 1.4 mi awayThe Oaks OverlookA narrow westward window onto the valley's working landscape.
Sight · 1.9 mi awayThe Point OverlookA short, steep path opens onto sunset views across the Blue Ridge.
Lodging · 2.1 mi awayPocosin CabinA historic log cabin stay, a short walk from Skyline Drive.
Sight · 2.6 mi awayUpper Pocosin Mission RuinsA Blue Ridge mission ruin reached beyond Pocosin Cabin.
Scenic pullout · 3 mi awayHazeltop Ridge OverlookBeldore Hollow opens a clear-day look toward distant southern peaks.Parkwolf’s Shenandoah ranking
The audio tour guide for the drive, plus offline maps, trails, and wildlife heatmaps for when the signal drops.
