What's on in Shenandoah National Park, United States through the year

Busy — Winter / Christmas break in United States, school holidays in 2 of the markets that fill it

Nothing new starts in January.

Still on: Lodges and campgrounds shut (1 Dec – 20 Mar (usually)), Skyline Drive ice closures (1 Dec – 15 Mar (usually))

Quiet — one of its worst months for weather

Nothing new starts in February.

Still on: Lodges and campgrounds shut (1 Dec – 20 Mar (usually)), Skyline Drive ice closures (1 Dec – 15 Mar (usually))

Busy — Spring break in United States

Nothing new starts in March.

Still on: Lodges and campgrounds shut (1 Dec – 20 Mar (usually)), Skyline Drive ice closures (1 Dec – 15 Mar (usually))

Busy — one of its best months for weather

• Nature

  Spring wildflowers

  5 Apr – 25 May · usuallyWildflowers & blooms

  Trillium, bloodroot and spring beauty come up the mountain as the leaves open, reaching Big Meadows and the higher trails weeks after the valley floor. The hollows below the Drive go first.

Busy — one of its best months for weather

Nothing new starts in May.

Still on: Spring wildflowers (5 Apr – 25 May (usually))

Busy — Summer break in United States, school holidays in 2 of the markets that fill it

Nothing new starts in June.

Busy — Summer break in United States, school holidays in 2 of the markets that fill it

Nothing new starts in July.

Busy — Summer break in United States, school holidays in 2 of the markets that fill it

• Nature

  Black bear season

  1 Aug – 31 Oct · usuallyWildlife seasonRisk

  Bears feed hard on acorns and berries through late summer and autumn, and this is the stretch you actually see them from the Drive. Food-storage rules at the campgrounds get enforced, not suggested.

Busy — Summer break in United States

Nothing new starts in September.

Still on: Black bear season (1 Aug – 31 Oct (usually))

Busy — Fall foliage on Skyline Drive

• Nature

  Fall foliage on Skyline Drive

  5–31 Oct · usuallyAutumn colourCrowded

  The whole of northern Virginia drives the ridge in October and the queue at the Front Royal entrance starts before nine on a colour weekend. Higher elevations turn a week or two ahead of the valley.

Still on: Black bear season (1 Aug – 31 Oct (usually))

Busy — Thanksgiving break in United States

Nothing new starts in November.

Busy — Winter / Christmas break in United States, school holidays in 2 of the markets that fill it

• Closure

  Lodges and campgrounds shut

  1 Dec – 20 Mar · usually

  Skyland, Big Meadows and the waysides run from spring to late November and everything else in between is a locked door and a long drive for food. The park itself stays open and empty. Source ↗

• Closure

  Skyline Drive ice closures

  1 Dec – 15 Mar · usuallyRisk

  The only road through the park sits on an exposed ridge and shuts in sections for ice and snow, sometimes for days. There is no alternative route inside the park, so a closure means driving round the outside. Source ↗