I couldn’t make to Stony Man, so I made detour to Big Meadows near Skyland Drive. It is located near the center of the park and the largest developed area of Shenandoah National Park (SNP). It is near the park’s Harry F. Byrd Visitor Center, as is a lodge, camp store, and camping area. A wildlife and plant observation log is kept at the Byrd Visitor Center desk, you are encouraged to add your sightings to the list.
Big Meadows was the site of the dedication of Shenandoah National Park and Skyline Drive by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt in 1936. The meadows area has the highest concentration of rare plants in SNP. Big Meadows is also the most visible and studied wetland at SNP. It also supports an abundance of mammals, birds, amphibians, reptiles, and insects, some of which are not found elsewhere in the Park. A state listed snake, a rare insect, and several salamander and bird species are among the animals that occupy the Big Meadows wetland areas.