Shenandoah National Park is open the year round. However, you may
occasionally find Skyline Drive closed for short periods because of ice,
snow, or heavy fog. Big Meadows Campground is open the year around, and
lodge and cottage accommodations are available from April through
October; exact dates depend on the weather. Entrance fees are suspended
during the winter.
_Spring._
When the buds turn red on the maple trees, you know that spring is on
the way to the Blue Ridge. Soon, the pale-green veil of new leaves
begins to creep slowly—about a hundred feet a day—up the slopes from the
valley floor until the mountainsides are painted with the color of
spring. In the woods, the violets and marsh marigolds are blooming
together in clumps beside the springs, and tiny blossoms appear
everywhere in sunny patches on the forest floor. The air is crisp and
fresh. Except for a few mild days, it is cold in the park until June.
Along the drive, the dogwood and redbud bloom early, followed by azalea
and black locust, and in early June by the delicate pink and white of
laurel.
_Summer._
These are the hazy, lazy days that often bring afternoon thunderstorms
and spectacular waves of fog that sweep across the mountaintops and hide
the valleys. Temperatures are a comfortable 15° lower than those in the
valley—mid-80’s in the daytime, mid-40’s at night. At midday, the air is
heavy with the damp, earthy smell of the woods, and the sweet scent of
wildflowers in the fields. It is a good time of year to go for a
leisurely walk in the woods, where shade is everywhere, or to pluck
blackberries and blueberries in the Big Meadows. And if a shower catches
up with you, you’ll be dry again before you get back. We suggest that
you take a short walk out to Stony Man or Crescent Rock and gaze at the
incredible patchwork of farm and field in the valley below. Field
glasses will add to your enjoyment of this view.
_Autumn._
This time of year brings the “down-flowing” of autumn color from
mountaintops to the coves and hollows. By mid-September the foliage has
begun to change, starting with the Virginia creeper. Exquisite patches
of color—the blood-red of the gum, the red and yellow of the
maple—appear in large areas of green, and soon whole mountainsides have
“caught fire.” There is a series of “color-peaks” as varied as the
different latitudes and altitudes within the park, but the most lavish
displays usually occur between October 10 and 20. This is hiking
weather, and campfire-picnic weather.
_Winter._
Do not discount the beauty of the Blue Ridge in winter when the trees
shed their leaves and open up new vistas. Now, you can see long
distances in every direction. The cold crisp days are brilliant, and the
evergreens stand out like bright-green exclamations against the snowy
white of the hillsides. After a storm, with the roads freshly cleared,
you can come up and inspect Stony Man, who will be wearing a frosty
beard. Gleaming icicles cascade over a cliff like a frozen Niagara. On
crisp winter mornings observe the ghostly fog “fingers” that protrude
from branches like ruffled white plumes.
[Illustration: _A second-growth oak forest covers Stony Man
Mountain._]