Picnic area · Shenandoah National Park
A historic picnic loop with Appalachian Trail access.
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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
Pinnacles Picnic Grounds: Lunch and a Four-Sided Fireplace“The entrance to Pinnacles Picnic Grounds is coming up, a good place to eat a lunch you've brought. Tables are scattered around the loop rather than gathered in one spot.”
Plays as you drive up to Pinnacles Picnic Grounds in the Parkwolf Shenandoah Tour Guide.
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Guide
Pinnacles Picnic Grounds is a developed picnic area at mile 36.7 of Skyline Drive. Enter on the west side of the road and follow the long, narrow loop, with picnic tables and fire grates scattered inside and around its edge. It's a handy place to stop for a meal or start a walk on the Appalachian Trail. Pinnacles Overlook is a separate stop. The grounds are open year-round, though Skyline Drive can close in severe weather.
The tables and grills are spread around the grounds rather than gathered in one place. Drinking water and restrooms are available. The restroom setup changes with the season: a comfort station serves the main season, with a pit toilet available after it. The grounds are listed as wheelchair accessible, though the accessible routes aren't described in detail.
The Appalachian Trail skirts the west edge of the grounds. From the far end, it's about 0.9 mile each way to a broad flat rock with a view toward Nicholson Hollow and Old Rag Mountain. The first stretch is mostly level, and two overhanging cliffs stand along the way. Turn around at the rock for about 1.8 miles round trip.
The Civilian Conservation Corps designed and built the grounds in 1935–36, as Skyline Drive was taking shape. The grounds sit high in the Blue Ridge, at about 3,350 feet. Its loop road, paths, shelter, and other features still reflect that early design. The square shelter's central chimney has four fireplaces facing outward, one toward each side.
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
ModerateThe Pinnacle via Appalachian Trail2.4 mi · 1.8 hr · 0.1 mi awayA short AT climb to a broad summit and valley views.
ChallengingLeading Ridge Trail2.7 mi · 2.8 hr · 0.2 mi awayA short ridge hike with a punishing climb and steep return
ModerateCorbin Cabin and Nicholson Hollow Loop4.2 mi · 3.5 hr · 0.8 mi awayA steep hollow loop to a historic cabin and river crossings.
ModerateCorbin Cabin via Corbin Cabin Cutoff2.8 mi · 2.5 hr · 0.8 mi awayA steep, wooded walk to a historic hollow cabin.
ChallengingHannah, Hot-Short, and Catlett Loop9.1 mi · 7.5 hr · 1 mi awayA strenuous loop past cascades, stone walls, and mining traces.
ChallengingNicholson Hollow - Corbin Mountain Loop11.6 mi · 9 hr · 1.3 mi awayA hard 11.6-mile loop through Nicholson Hollow and Corbin Mountain.
ChallengingCrusher Ridge Trail4.7 mi · 4.5 hr · 1.3 mi awayA wooded ridge hike with a steep climb back to the AT.
ChallengingNicholson and Hazel Wilderness Circuit25.2 mi · 20 hr · 1.7 mi awayFour days of river valleys, cabin history, and backcountry miles.
Scenic pullout · 0.2 mi awayJewell Hollow OverlookMorning Star Lake sits just left of layered Blue Ridge ridges.
Sight · 0.6 mi awayThe PinnacleA short AT climb opens onto views across Shenandoah Valley.
Sight · 1 mi awayPinnacles OverlookA roadside view puts Old Rag across Hannah Run.
Sight · 1.6 mi awayStony Man Mountain OverlookA roadside pause for a broad north-facing ridge view.Lodging · 1.6 mi awayCorbin CabinA restored farm cabin at the end of a river-valley hike.
Sight · 2.1 mi awayHazel Mountain OverlookA tree-topped rock anchors this layered Blue Ridge view.
Sight · 2.1 mi awayLittle Stony Man CliffsA short rocky climb opens over Skyline Drive and Page Valley.
Sight · 2.1 mi awayMarys RockA boulder summit rewards the hike with a sweeping valley-and-ridge view.Parkwolf’s Shenandoah ranking
The audio tour guide for the drive, plus offline maps, trails, and wildlife heatmaps for when the signal drops.
