Best Tent Camping: Virginia by Randy Porter takes outdoor enthusiasts to the most beautiful, yet lesser known, of the state's campsites, guaranteeing a peaceful retreat. Each entry provides the latest maps of the grounds and alerts readers to the best sites within the facility to ensure a rewarding and relaxing visit. Campsite ratings for beauty, privacy, spaciousness, quietness, security, and cleanliness help campers pick the perfect campground for any trip. In addition, each site entry has complete contact and registration information, operating hours, and a list of restrictions. Directions to the site come complete with GPS coordinates to put travelers right at the main gate. For beginning adventurers and seasoned veterans alike, Best Tent Camping: Virginia makes any trip more gratifying and is the key to enjoying the great natural beauty of the Virginia landscape. From the storied coastline along the Atlantic Ocean and Chesapeake Bay to the majestic mountains of the Appalachians in the west and the Shenandoah Valley below, the Old Dominion provides a spectacular backdrop for some of the most scenic campgrounds in the country. Hundreds of miles of trails and rivers lace the countryside around these forest hideaways, opening the door to endless adventure. In Best Tent Camping: Virginia , outdoors writer and enthusiast Randy Porter has complied the most up-to-date research to steer you straight to the safe and scenic treasure spot you had in mind. From the storied coastline along the Atlantic Ocean and Chesapeake Bay to the majestic mountains of the Appalachians in the west and the Shenandoah Valley below, the Old Dominion provides a spectacular backdrop for some of the most scenic campgrounds in the country. Hundreds of miles of trails and rivers lace the countryside around these forest hideaways, opening the door to endless adventure. In Best Tent Camping: Virginia , outdoors writer and enthusiast Randy Porter has complied the most up-to-date research to steer you straight to the safe and scenic treasure spot you had in mind. Randy Porter has been tromping around Virginia's nooks and crannies for more than 40 years and is an avid cyclist, hiker, camper, and sea kayaker. The author of Mountain Bike! Virginia , he lives in Charlottesville, VA. BIG MEADOWS CAMPGROUND Beauty - 4 Site Privacy - 4 Spaciousness - 4 Quiet - 4 Security - 4 Cleanliness - 5 Big Meadows is Shenandoah National Park's largest treeless area, encompassing a barren plateau that is approximately 640 acres. It's believed that Native Americans cleared the area to create favorable grazing conditions. European settlers overgrazed this site with beef cattle, especially during the Civil War. Park officials have waged an ongoing battle against the growth of black locust and blackberry that would, if left unchecked, take over the meadow. In the past, Park Service officials used combinations of burning and mowing to hold back the growth of invasive vegetation, but eventually realized that the burning actually helped the black locust and blackberry spread. New strategies have aided in the establishment of meadow grasses. Today the dominant shrub growth in the meadow is blueberry with swamp varieties such as marsh marigold, swamp fern, and Canadian burnet growing in wetter areas with some 270 species of vascular plants. In addition to the white-tailed deer taht wander seemingly carefree through the meadow, you're also likely to see song sparrows, meadowlarks, grouse, foxes, and skunks. The park's dedication was held at Big Meadows, the spiritual center of Skyline Drive, on July 3, 1936. President Franklin D. Roosevelt himself was on hand to formally open the facilities at Shenandoah National Park. The meadow is located across from Skyline Drive from the Harry F. Byrd Visitor Center, which houses informative exhibits, a library, an auditorium, interpretive programs, and an array of literature pertaining to Shenandoah National Park that is on sale in the small gift shop. Big Meadows, with its visitor center, lodge, restaurant, and campground, is located in the central section of the park at mile 51.2. After pulling off Skyline Drive near the Byrd Visitor Center, follow the signs to the registration station for Big Meadows Campground. Its 217 sites are situated on two large loops, the front one comprising loops P through T and the rear section containing U through Y, which are designated as RV sites despite the lack of hookups. Of the 178 non-RV sites, 144 are traditional drive-in campsites and 35 are walk-in tent sites. The drive-in sites are spacious and separated by considerable foliage. Park officials did a good job of placing a large number of sites close to each other without sacrificing seclusion. This is, of course, relative; those fo you who relish your oslitude will accept the slight inconvenience of walking 10-20 yards and opt for one of the walk-in sites. The walk-in sites are set off in the wooded edge of Big Meadows Cam