Camping Along the Appalachian Trail at Big Meadows

The view from the Lewis Falls overlook near the Big Meadows campground in the Shenandoah National Park: Glynn Wilson

SECRET VISTAS –
By Glynn Wilson –

BIG MEADOWS CAMPGROUND, Va. — We pulled into this largest campground in the Shenandoah National Park on Sunday afternoon late, and without knowing it, picked a campsite right on the Appalachian Trail.

The view Monday morning at dawn was stunning, and we found out from hikers it was the AT and that a waterfall was nearby. So we hiked to Lewis Falls and back and got these shots along the way.

On Tuesday, I conducted a video interview with one National Park Service ranger for a story on the effects of global warming and climate change on the environment in the national park, and talked to another about the history of the first negro campground in the national park system. We camped at Lewis Mountain Tuesday night and I’m now working on that story as well.

Posting from the community center in Elkton, Virginia, and headed over to the George Washington National Forest for a few days to scout the campgrounds and free sites over there. See you as soon as we can find another good Internet connection. It has been difficult to find in the mountains.

PS. Don’t tell anybody, but the E-Loop at Big Meadows is one of the sweetest places we’ve found to camp ever. It is right on the AT. We ran an iPhone photo on Facebook of two young deer watching a black bear amble through the woods from the trail right by the campsite. The photo is not good enough to use here, but you can see it on my Facebook page.