Sight · Shenandoah National Park
A broad meadow view over the valley, especially near sunset.
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
Spitler Knoll Overlook: Meadow and Mountain Views“You're nearing Spitler Knoll Overlook, with a grassy foreground and a broad view across the Shenandoah Valley to Massanutten Mountain. It's an easy stop without a hike, though the turnout is narrow.”
Plays as you drive up to Spitler Knoll Overlook 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
Spitler Knoll is a roadside overlook on Skyline Drive at 3,285 feet, facing west-northwest across a grassy meadow toward the Shenandoah Valley. It’s an easy pullout stop for a broad panorama without setting off on a hike. The parking area is a long, narrow turnout, so there isn’t much room for cars.
The meadow slopes down toward forest and a line of ridges. Look for Dovel Mountain, Dog Slaughter Ridge, and Roundhead Ridge; Stanley sits in the valley to the right, with Massanutten Mountain on the horizon.
The west-northwest view makes this a good sunset stop when the sky cooperates. Keep some of the meadow in the foreground: its slope gives the layers of hills depth, instead of leaving the photo as only a strip of distant horizon.
Before the park was established, this was the site of Spitler Ranch. Mountain land here was used to graze cattle and other livestock, while the valley below was more focused on crops, a reminder that the open view looks across a working landscape as well as a mountain one.
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
ChallengingBig Meadows and Laurel Prong Loop19 mi · 15 hr · 1 mi awayA two-night loop links Big Meadows, Lewis Falls, and Hoover’s retreat.
ModerateRose River Falls Loop4 mi · 4.5 hr · 1 mi awayRocky streamside loop to a waterfall, with an uphill finish.
EasyHawksbill Summit via Upper Hawksbill2.1 mi · 1.5 hr · 1.2 mi awayA short climb to Shenandoah’s high point and its stone-walled panorama.ModerateHawksbill Loop2.9 mi · 2.5 hr · 1.6 mi awayA rocky 2.9-mile loop to Hawksbill’s 360-degree summit views.
ModerateHawksbill Summit via Lower Hawksbill Trail1.7 mi · 1.5 hr · 1.7 mi awayA short, steep climb to Shenandoah's highest summit.
EasyHawksbill to Swift Run via Laurel Prong25.6 mi · 4 days · 1.7 mi awayFour days from the highest summit to Swift Run Gap, with waterfalls.
ChallengingCedar Run - Whiteoak Circuit8.1 mi · 7 hr · 1.7 mi awaySix waterfalls reward a very hard, creekside loop.
ChallengingCedar Run Falls3.4 mi · 3.5 hr · 1.7 mi awaySteep streamside miles lead to a narrow gorge and natural waterslide.
Lodging · 0.6 mi awayRock Spring CabinSpend the night in a 1936 cabin above the Page Valley.
Scenic pullout · 0.7 mi awayFranklin Cliffs OverlookA quick pull-off for a focused valley view and colorful volcanic rock.
Scenic pullout · 1 mi awayFishers Gap OverlookA narrow valley view frames New Market Gap's Civil War story.Sight · 1.1 mi awayRose River FallsA 67-foot waterfall with cascades along its four-mile approach.Sight · 1.2 mi awayHawksbill SummitA rocky summit and a full-circle view worth hiking for.
Sight · 1.3 mi awayOld Rag View OverlookA three-mile view of Old Rag from Skyline Drive.
Campground · 1.8 mi awayBig Meadows CampgroundA leafy base near the meadow, waterfalls, and visitor center.
Picnic area · 1.8 mi awayBig Meadows Picnic GroundsA table-and-grill break with a 1930s CCC backstory.Parkwolf’s Shenandoah ranking
The audio tour guide for the drive, plus offline maps, trails, and wildlife heatmaps for when the signal drops.
