I have been itching to get out to Shenandoah National Park with the opening of campgrounds this past month. We have been keeping an eye on the weather to find the ideal camping weekend. But each weekend we had been disappointed with high rain & storm predictions. We finally decided to seize the moment this past weekend when it was anticipated to be overcast. The temperatures were still anticipated to be cold, but were not expected to drop below freezing. We even continued to check the weather up until Friday evening to ensure no significant changes would impact our trip.
With the excitement of our first camping trip in Virginia, we invited friends to join in! We packed up all our gear and got the dogs excited for the trip the entire week. We headed out early Saturday morning to get a spot at Big Meadows Campground. At this time of the year, the Big Meadows and Lewis Mountain are the only campgrounds open and they are on a first-come first-served basis. With this in mind, we made sure to reach the park early to secure a site.
Saturday Weather Update
We reached the Park around 11:00 AM, and were surprised to find some snow in the surrounding area but didn’t think much of it – assuming it was left over from a previous heavy snowfall. We found plenty of spots to choose from and picked one with plenty of space for our crew. As we began to set up our tent, it began to hail (though very small and soft).
At this point, we did not have any service to check our phones for an update for the weather, but the Ranger station did have updated temperatures at 27 – 40 degrees (more than 10-degree below what we had anticipated). We told ourselves that the snow/hail storm would surely pass as quickly as it started – unfortunately that was not the case! For the remainder of the day and night – it continued to snow & hail intermittently.
Despite the weather, we kept smiles on our faces, bundled up in all the clothes and blankets we got and enjoyed some short hikes with the dogs and laughter by the fire.
We are excited to return to Shenandoah again – hopefully with better weather next time – to try out more hikes and some backcountry camping!
More Information:
Want more information on camping at Shenandoah? Check out the NPS website.
Want to reserve a spot at one of Shenandoah’s campgrounds? Check out the Reservation site.
Want to read about my experience with a black bear in another national park? Check out my post.
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