LEWIS MOUNTAIN

Campground - Cabins - Picnic Area

Located near Shenandoah, Virginia along Skyline Drive in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia

On Skyline Drive, Lewis Mountain features quaint, rustic Cabins, a small campground, picnic area, camp store, laundry and showers for campers and hikers on the
Appalachian Trail

Lodging Options

Lewis Mountain will let you step back in time and enjoy rustic lodging in comfortable Cabins, or Camp in a small, but clean and intimate Campground.

Lewis Mountain (mile 57.5) is a recreational area only 10 miles south of Big Meadows.  It offers a small number of rustic, but furnished Cabins at reasonable rates.  A small campground is here, that seems to mainly attract hikers on the Appalachian Trail, who find it a pleasent respite from the trail.

The centerpiece of the area is a fully stocked camp store and gift shop (you've got to have those gift shops!). It also serves as the registration and information office.

Lewis Mountain is beautiful and secluded from Skyline Drive. A sign, warning that you are in Bear-Country, greets you. The entire area is heavily wooded.

The cabins are furnished with the bare essentials, but they are clean, beautiful, and wonderfully quaint, as well as inexpensive.   There aren't many of them, so make your reservations early. Singles and Doubles are available.   Yes, they have a full bathroom, but they are very small. Don't expect a tub if you want to soak after a long day on the trail; you will only have a shower, sink and toilet.  

You do get something at Lewis Mountain Cabins that you don't get at other Lodging facilities on Skyline Drive; Outside each Cabin unit is your own, private picnic shelter complete with a Fire Pit - BBQ.

If you are on a budget, Lewis Mountain will allow you to experience a night or two in an authentic mountain Cabin, while keeping you on Skyline Drive. Even if you could find a cheap motel room in the valley, the cost in petroleum and time to get from the valley back to Skyline Drive isn't worth the few bucks you might save just to have a TV with a remote.

Rates for the cabins start at $62 --- no more than a nights' stay at a motel in the valley. Rates jump (skyrocket, actually) in the Fall.
Weekdays are less expensive, of course.

Like all Lodging on Skyline Drive, they take major credit cards.  They will also take checks unless you're from outside the U.S., in which case, you may pay your bill with Travelers Cheques, Plastic or Cash.

A lovely Cabin at Lewis Mountain; Skyline Drive

Campground

Unlike other campgrounds, Lewis Mountain camp-sites are first-come, first-served. You cannot make reservations.

The AT (Appalachian Trail) runs through the campground, and many hikers will pitch a tent here for the night.   The campground offers no RV hook-ups, and the closest dump-station is 10 miles north at Big Meadows. There just isn't a great deal of room here, as the campground is very small by the standards of places like Mathews Arm and Big Meadows. Therefore, it is not a wise choice for RV'ers. 

On the other side of coin, however, it makes for a less congested, more intimate setting for tent campers who don't mind camping close to their neighbors. You'll usually meet AT hikers here, and when you sit around the campfire at night and hear the stories of their jouneys, it really enhances the experience.

Lewis Mountain also offers tent-cabins --- a wooden lean-to with an open area and a small porch. You may pitch your tent along the front of the lean-to. Or, as the name suggests, you may put your sleeping bags (and air mattresses) on the concrete floor and sleep with an actual roof over your head. On warm Summer evenings, that cold concrete feels mighty good. In Fall, well ... that is another story.

At the well-stocked campstore here, there are also private, hot showers ($1 for 10 minutes) available, and a laundry. This is the place where you can come for more than just a day or two and still have pretty much everything you'll need for a multi-night stay.

Camping rates are $17 per night, with a 14-night maximum stay. Tent cabins are a few dollars more. There are only 32 sites. First come - First served. Expect competition for those 32 space to get intense around the holidays and late-weekends.

Cabin Duplex; Lewis Mountain; Skyline Drive