The Park is in the northern part of the state. Park Headquarters is four miles west of Thornton Gap and four miles east of Luray on Highway US 211. The Park's Front Royal (North) Entrance is on Highway US 340. The Rockfish (South) Entrance is on I-64. The Thornton Gap Entrance is on Highway US 211. The Swift Run Gap Entrance is on Highway US 33.
WHEN TO VISIT
Open year round. Skyline Drive may be intermittently closed in Winter due to snow storms. Most concession-operated facilities close in Winter. Dickey Ridge Visitor Center open March through November. Byrd Visitor Center at Big Meadows open daily, March through December, and weekdays, January and February. Peak visitor month is August, but over 400,000 people visit the Park in October when the Autumn foliage is at the height of color. Climate: Winter, 22 to 48 degrees F; Summer, 75 to 88 degrees F.
POINTS OF INTEREST
Skyline Drive winds 105 miles through hardwood forests along the crest of this outstanding portion of the Blue Ridge Mountains, with spectacular vistas of the Shenandoah Valley and the Piedmont. The Drive follows ridge trails walked by Indians and early settlers. People lived here for a long time, and to create the Park, Virginia state acquired 3,870 privately-owned tracts and donated the land to the nation. Some 2,000 mountain people moved from their homes and resettled outside the Park boundaries. A few mountaineers stayed and lived out their lives in the Park. The Park now encompasses over 196,000 acres.
The Park contains about 500 miles of trails that crisscross Skyline Drive and along the Appalachian Trail that can be enjoyed year round. As you're driving along sightseeing, Park at an overlook and walk a trail, even if only for a few hundred feet. For information about lodging available, call 1-800-999-4714. For campground reservations, call MISTIX Reservations 1-800-365-2267. The Big Meadows area has groomed cross-country ski trails. Food, supplies and overnight accommodations are available at various areas inside the Park. They are also available in communities and areas along the highways outside the Park, and in Front Royal, Sperryville, and Stanley.