Outdoors · Park/Natural Area
Big Meadows and Byrd Visitor Center
- Address
- Syria, Madison County, VA
A rare high-elevation open meadow at Skyline Drive mile 51, with the Harry F. Byrd Sr. Visitor Center, a campground, a lodge, a wayside, and easy meadow walking paths. Deer and black bear are commonly seen at dawn and dusk.
From the Journal
- Dark Hollow Falls: Madison County's Skyline Drive Cascade
Dark Hollow Falls is a 70-foot cascade at the end of a steep 1.4-mile round-trip walk, the closest waterfall to Skyline Drive in Madison County.
- Hightop Mountain Hike: A Fall Climb on Skyline Drive
Hightop Mountain is a continuous 1.5-mile Appalachian Trail climb from Skyline Drive mile 66.7 to the highest summit in its stretch of Shenandoah National Park.
- Skyline Drive in Late October: Big Meadows and Dark Hollow Falls
A late-October plan for the central district of Skyline Drive: the Byrd Visitor Center and Big Meadows at mile 51, Dark Hollow Falls, Hightop Mountain and Swift Run Gap, plus the $30 cashless entrance fee.
- A Page County Fall Day: Caverns, Diner, and Byrd Meadows
Start with a diner breakfast in Stanley, tour Luray Caverns — open 365 days a year at a constant 54°F — by midmorning, then finish at Big Meadows on Skyline Drive as the light turns gold.