Scenic pullout · Shenandoah National Park
A field-framed southeast view, right on Skyline Drive.
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 area
South River: Picnic Grounds and the Waterfall Overlook“You're coming up on South River Picnic Grounds, the starting point for South River Falls.”
Plays on the road 0.2 mi from South River Overlook in the Parkwolf Shenandoah Tour Guide.
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“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
South River Overlook is a small scenic pullout on Skyline Drive at milepost 62, about 2,950 feet above sea level. The view faces southeast across a field toward wooded ridges, with a narrow opening to Saddleback Mountain. It's an easy quick stop on the drive; you don't need to plan a separate hike.
In late summer, the field can brighten with wildflowers. For a photo, keep a strip of it along the bottom of the frame so the distant ridges have depth; Saddleback Mountain itself is only a small feature on the horizon.
South River Picnic Grounds is a separate roadside stop about 0.7 mile farther along Skyline Drive, and that's where the South River Falls hike starts. The comfort station is at those picnic grounds, not this overlook, so keep the two stops straight when planning your visit.
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
ModerateDry Run Falls3.4 mi · 2 hr · At the trailheadA wooded fire road toward Dry Run Falls, with off-road access uncertainty.
ModerateLewis Mountain and Laurel Prong Traverse17.3 mi · 15 hr · 0.2 mi awayA three-day traverse through Rapidan Camp to Lewis Falls
ChallengingPocosin, Laurel Prong & Slaughter Loop28.9 mi · 22 hr · 0.2 mi awayA four-day loop links a tall waterfall, mission ruins, and Hoover's camp.
ModerateSouth River Falls Base Loop4.6 mi · 3.5 hr · 0.2 mi awayGo beyond the overlook to stand beneath an 83-foot, two-chute waterfall.
ModerateSouth River Falls Circuit3.3 mi · 2.3 hr · 0.2 mi awayWaterfall overlook, then a loop back by fire road and the A.T.
ModerateSouth River Falls Observation Point2.6 mi · 1.5 hr · 0.2 mi awayAn 83-foot waterfall overlook caps this 2.6-mile out-and-back.
ChallengingPocosin Hollow and Slaughter Ridge Loop19.3 mi · 14 hr · 0.2 mi awayThree-day loop past South River Falls, Pocosin ruins and a long ridgeChallengingPocosin, Laurel Prong, Staunton River & Slaughter Loop35 mi · 20 hr · 0.2 mi awayFour nights link waterfalls, mission ruins, and remote river trails.
Picnic area · 0.2 mi awaySouth River Picnic GroundsA shaded picnic stop that doubles as a South River Falls trailhead.Sight · 1 mi awaySouth River FallsAn 83-foot waterfall, reached by a steep wooded loop.
Sight · 1.1 mi awayBaldface Mountain OverlookA quick stop for a ledge view over the Shenandoah Valley.
Scenic pullout · 1.5 mi awayHensley Hollow OverlookLook north past Hensley Ridge toward Elkton.
Sight · 2.3 mi awayUpper Pocosin Mission RuinsA Blue Ridge mission ruin reached beyond Pocosin Cabin.
Entrance station · 2.4 mi awaySwift Run EntranceChoose north for Big Meadows; south is quieter.
Lodging · 2.4 mi awayPocosin CabinA historic log cabin stay, a short walk from Skyline Drive.
Scenic pullout · 3 mi awayThe Oaks OverlookA narrow westward window onto the valley's working landscape.Parkwolf’s Shenandoah ranking
The audio tour guide for the drive, plus offline maps, trails, and wildlife heatmaps for when the signal drops.
