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About
Lewis Mountain - Shenandoah National Park
Situated off of mile 57.5 of Skyline Drive, Lewis Mountain Campground is a popular option for Shenandoah campers who prefer a quiet, remote feel at their campsite. It is important to arrive to Lewis Mountain early in order to secure one of the 31 first-come, first-served sites, but campers promise the effort will be worth it. Once your site is secured, you are just minutes away from some of the best gems in the Virginia wilderness including hikes at Bearfence Mountain and Dark Hollow Falls.
Shenandoah National Park is home to over 500 miles of trails, including 180 miles which are open to horse use and 105 miles of the Appalachian Trail. As you make your way through the protected wilderness, designated overlooks provide sweeping views of the Shenandoah Valley. Keep your eyes peeled for over 200 species of birds as you travel through the park, many of whom are native to the area.
After a long day of adventure, return to the campground to unwind. Though Lewis Mountain has space for RVs the campground is predominantly occupied by tent campers, meaning there are strictly enforced quiet hours. Shenandoah campers requiring more privacy will be pleased to find 15 camping cabins available at Lewis Mountain, which are closer to the picnic area and the famous Skyline Drive. With so many options, the toughest decision will be deciding how long to stay!
Access
Drive In, Hike In
Operator
National Park Service
Contact
Location
Lewis Mountain - Shenandoah National Park
is located in
Shenandoah National Park
in
Virginia
15 Reviews of Lewis Mountain - Shenandoah National Park
favorite
Great location for hiking. The campground is almost on the summit of the mountain, making it cold and windy during the fall/winter months.
Private campground even though there are lots of spots!
We did a drop in on this campground this month and I was amazed that they had availability in July. This campground has a lot of sites but they've spaced them so that they can be pretty private and quiet. If you get in early there a lot of really choice sites. But even the non choice sites are great. Quiet time starts at 10 and is enforced. We didn't hear a soul all night. It is really close to one of the entrances to Skyline drive and really inexpensive at $15 a night. Really close to the Appalachian trail among other hikes and it has a great little camp store. Only down side was a lot of the campsites didn't have grills to put over the fire. We loved this site and will be going back!
Awesome wildlife and hiking!
Has awesome pull offs along the Skyline drive, which is great for pictures! Saw a lot of wildlife there including bucks and bears.
Shenandoah Camping
This campground on Skyline Drive is first come first serve. We arrived on an early Friday afternoon in July and there were still a good amounts of sites left. Bring your bug spray! There are lots of hikes nearby. We drove to hike Dark Hollow falls and it is a good easy/moderate one. I hiked while pregnant and our two young sons made it up and back(while catching a ride on the way back up). I gave it 4 stars because the camp hosts were a bit nosy and intrusive and there was an incident with a family nearby that seemed to be a misunderstanding but the park rangers and everyone got involved and it was a big ordeal. It seemed like it was an isolated thing but it was uncomfortable to have to witness.
Friendly and accommodating
Lewis mountain has all the amenities of home within walking distance if you just can’t live without them; bathrooms,showers, kitchen sink, fire pit, small store and 2 personal vehicle parking spots steps away from the tent. They also offer cabins if tents aren’t your style. The staff are all volunteers and do daily walkabouts to ensure everything is going smoothly and to give updates on the weather and ranger programs. My husband and I brought along our 10 month old daughter and 2 German Shepherds. Needless to say we were sort of loud, especially during the quite hours, but the staff assured us that things happen and urged us to stay the full 3 nights. This campground is more secluded than the others just down skyline drive which makes it more deseriable in our books. Our tent was also nestled up against the AT so we came across numerous friendly backpackers!
Close to the AT & Potential for beautiful views
Campground was very clean and had nice showers and a camp store on site. The AT is only 150 yards away from several of the sites. They offer everything from backcountry, RV, and primitive camp sites. Try staying on outer loop around site A60 and you'll be able to see the sunset right from your site (weather permitting) We really enjoyed this campground when we stayed in May 2018, unfortunately no sunset views for us since there was dense fog and rain.
