Shenandoah National Park in Virginia is an amazing piece of the natural world to explore. Including over 100 miles of the Appalachian Trail, the activities and sites here are outstanding. A perfect place to find nature, learn about the environment, and, of course, earn a Junior Ranger Badge.
This post was in partnership with GoRVing, all thoughts and opinions are my own.
Shenandoah National Park
Shenandoah National Park opened on July 3, 1936 in the midst of the Great Depression. Under the direction of the Civilian Conservation Corps, nearly 1,000 men and boys worked on the construction of Skyline Drive. In Shenandoah Park, CCC crews also removed large numbers of the dead chestnut trees to open up views and vistas. They constructed trails and facilities, making the park accessible to the public.
How to Get to Shenandoah National Park
About 75 miles south of Washington DC, Shenandoah National Park is located to the east of Interstate 81 in Western Virginia. There are several exits leading to park entrances along the 105 miles of Skyline Drive. All of these provide full access to the park. You can pick up your Junior Ranger Booklet at Byrd Visitor Center (mile 51), Dickey Ridge Visitor Center (mile 4.6), or the Park Headquarters on Route 211 near Luray. Staying at Big Meadows, we visited the Byrd Visitor Center during our trip.
Camping at Shenandoah National Park
There are five major campgrounds in Shenandoah National Park. Which site you stay at will determine what Ranger Programs you are able to attend easily, as it can take several hours to drive the length of Skyline Drive. All have centralized places to fill water and dispose of waste and garbage. There are tent, RV and camper sites available in most, just make sure to reserve ahead of time. Even in campgrounds you will find yourself a little bit more in the wild than at many other parks. We had deer cropping the grass and bushes right in the tent site, and they are not terribly skittish of people. And there are bears. We did not see any, but this is important to keep in mind. Any food that you do not have properly secured and/or hung will bring them by. A cooler sitting on the ground is an easy buffet stop for a black bear, raccoons, or skunks.
Big Meadows & Byrd Visitor Center
We stayed at Shenandoah National Park’s Big Meadows Campground while working on our Junior Ranger Badges. Right in the middle of the Skyline Drive, it was the perfect centralized location to park the RV and set up camp for a few days. While we stayed in an RV, there are abundant tent sites as well. Big Meadows itself is a vast open field of scrub and grasses. It is visited by all types of animals, and is the perfect spot to find wildlife around dawn and dusk. Rangers lead a morning hike through the meadow from the Byrd Visitor Center four days a week.
Ranger Programs at Shenandoah
One of the requirements of the Junior Ranger Badge is to participate in a Ranger Program. While this can be as simple as visiting the Byrd Visitor Center to go through the displays there and watch a short movie about the park’s history, there are many options available. Shenandoah National Park has a large number of Ranger led hikes and presentations. Look over the Ranger Program Schedule in advance, as most of these are only offered on certain days and a specific times. By preplanning your trip, you will be able to make the most of the programs available.
Shenandoah Junior Ranger Booklet Activities
Completing the necessary 5 activities in the Shenandoah Junior Ranger book is not difficult. There are plenty to choose from, appropriate for kids of all ages. Among them are activities centered on the local wildlife, features of the park, and hiking the Appalachian Trail (my 6 year old was a little surprised to find that the gear she would need to pack weighs almost as much as her).
We completed some sections of the booklets while at the visitor center, and others while hiking and exploring the park. The kids even kept working on their books during the drive out of the park after they had already earned their badges.
Check out these other posts for more information on staying at Shenandoah National Park, and how you can get a Free Park Pass!
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Takes me back a few years when we spent a year traveling with our 2 children in an RV. We used the National Parks Ranger program as part our home schooling. The best.