Big Meadows is the largest open space on Skyline Drive, a broad, grassy clearing on top of the Blue Ridge at around 3,500 feet, and on a summer evening it fills with deer, grazing quietly in the long grass while families watch from the edges. It is not a natural meadow in the strict sense: it has been kept open for centuries, first by Native Americans, who burned it to attract game, then by settlers who grazed cattle on it, and today the park mows and burns it to keep the forest from taking over. Wild blueberries grow here in late summer, and the meadow is full of wildflowers in spring and early summer.
This is the heart of Shenandoah National Park, and it was here, in 1936, that President Franklin D. Roosevelt dedicated the park in front of a large crowd. The Byrd Visitor Center, named after the Virginia senator Harry F. Byrd, has exhibits on the history of the park, including the story of the families who were moved off the land to make way for it. Nearby, Big Meadows Lodge offers rooms and meals in a stone and timber building from the 1930s, and the campground is one of the most popular in the park.
A short but steep trail leads down to Dark Hollow Falls, a pretty waterfall cascading over greenstone rocks, and another trail runs from the area to Rapidan Camp, the summer retreat of President Herbert Hoover, who fished for trout in the streams and hosted visiting dignitaries in the rustic cabins. The camp has been restored, and the park runs ranger-led tours there in season.
For riders, Big Meadows is a natural place to stop: it has food, toilets, water, shade and space to stretch out on the grass. The drive here is smooth and gently curving, with the speed limit of thirty-five miles per hour and wildlife on the road. In autumn, the trees around the meadow turn red, orange and gold, and the views from the overlooks nearby are spectacular. The nights can be cold, even in summer, so bring a warm layer if you plan to camp. For fuel, the nearest towns are Stanley and Luray in the valley to the west, or Harrisonburg further south, and services inside the park are limited and seasonal.