Picnic area · Shenandoah National Park
A shaded picnic stop that doubles as a South River Falls trailhead.
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
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 as you drive up to South River Picnic Grounds in the Parkwolf Shenandoah Tour Guide.
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Guide
South River Picnic Grounds is an approximately 15-acre picnic area at Skyline Drive mile 62.8, laid out around a wooded knoll. A loop road winds past parking areas, open lawns, shade trees and paved paths. It is a convenient place to stop for a meal or start toward South River Falls.
Picnic tables and a vault toilet are available, but there is no drinking water, and fires and grills are not allowed. Bring water and food with you. The grounds are listed open year-round, though Skyline Drive can close in bad weather. The South River Falls Trail begins here; after about 0.1 mile it meets the Appalachian Trail.
Luther Dean ran a stave mill here from about 1850 to 1930, making barrel staves used by local apple growers. Chestnut blight helped end the trade by killing the trees needed for the staves. The Civilian Conservation Corps began building the picnic grounds in 1935, shaping the paths and stone steps around the knoll; a permanent log comfort station followed in 1937.
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 Mountain and Laurel Prong Traverse17.3 mi · 15 hr · At the trailheadA three-day traverse through Rapidan Camp to Lewis Falls
ChallengingPocosin, Laurel Prong & Slaughter Loop28.9 mi · 22 hr · At the trailheadA four-day loop links a tall waterfall, mission ruins, and Hoover's camp.
ModerateSouth River Falls Base Loop4.6 mi · 3.5 hr · 0.1 mi awayGo beyond the overlook to stand beneath an 83-foot, two-chute waterfall.
ModerateSouth River Falls Circuit3.3 mi · 2.3 hr · 0.1 mi awayWaterfall overlook, then a loop back by fire road and the A.T.
ModerateSouth River Falls Observation Point2.6 mi · 1.5 hr · 0.1 mi awayAn 83-foot waterfall overlook caps this 2.6-mile out-and-back.
ChallengingPocosin Hollow and Slaughter Ridge Loop19.3 mi · 14 hr · 0.1 mi awayThree-day loop past South River Falls, Pocosin ruins and a long ridgeChallengingPocosin, Laurel Prong, Staunton River & Slaughter Loop35 mi · 20 hr · 0.1 mi awayFour nights link waterfalls, mission ruins, and remote river trails.ModeratePocosin, Dry Run, and Saddleback Circuit12.8 mi · 10 hr · 0.1 mi awayFour days from an 83-foot waterfall to wooded backcountry trails.
Scenic pullout · 0.2 mi awaySouth River OverlookA field-framed southeast view, right on Skyline Drive.Sight · 1 mi awaySouth River FallsAn 83-foot waterfall, reached by a steep wooded loop.
Sight · 1.3 mi awayBaldface Mountain OverlookA quick stop for a ledge view over the Shenandoah Valley.
Scenic pullout · 1.4 mi awayHensley Hollow OverlookLook north past Hensley Ridge toward Elkton.
Entrance station · 2.2 mi awaySwift Run EntranceChoose north for Big Meadows; south is quieter.
Sight · 2.4 mi awayUpper Pocosin Mission RuinsA Blue Ridge mission ruin reached beyond Pocosin Cabin.
Lodging · 2.6 mi awayPocosin CabinA historic log cabin stay, a short walk from Skyline Drive.
Scenic pullout · 3.1 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.
