Elkwallow: Cultural Landscapes Inventory, Shenandoah National Park
Crosbie A, Killion J, Commisso M. 2025. Elkwallow: Cultural Landscapes Inventory, Shenandoah National Park. Cultural Landscapes Inventory Report. 300123. National Park Service. NPS Northeast Regional Office, Boston, Massachusetts / CRIS-CL Database
Elkwallow is a recreation and visitor service area within the boundaries of the 196,000-acre Shenandoah National Park (NP) in Virginia. The site encompasses around twenty-one acres and is located at Mile Post 24.0 along the 105-mile Skyline Drive, a designated National Historic Landmark District that traces the park’s ridgeline and offers panoramic views of the Piedmont Plain to the east and Shenandoah Valley to the west. In addition to the beauty offered by the Skyline Drive views, Elkwallow serves as a popular trailhead to the Appalachian Trail that passes nearby. Elkwallow is comprised of two distinct but adjacent areas—a picnic area and a wayside station—connected by a path and located on the north side of the Skyline Drive. The picnic grounds are situated on a picturesque knoll that rises to an elevation of around 2,440 feet and slopes gently to the east, north, and west. The surrounding forest extends into the area and provides a mature canopy of trees overhead, but admits enough sunlight to support some areas of grass and scattered masses of shrubs. The picnic spots are accessed by a one-way loop road and series of parking lots that connect to winding asphalt paths. A one-story log comfort station built in 1935 by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) is located at the north end of the picnic grounds, and nearby is smaller non-historic year-round privy. Historic stone water fountains are located along the paths, around which are the familiar elements of a picnic area, including picnic tables and grills. The wayside station is centered around a one-and-a-half-story wayside building, constructed by the park concessioner in 1938. Designed by Marcellus Wright, Jr., the building represents the rustic style developed by the National Park Service (NPS) that blended new construction into the landscape using native materials and traditional construction methods. To the northwest of the wayside building is a former guest cabin moved from Dickey Ridge that now serves as a concessioner office. Nearby are gasoline pumps, a gas station office, and a restroom building. Parking lots are located northeast and west of the wayside building, and next to the gas station. Travelers can still purchase meals, camp supplies, and gifts in the wayside building, and relax on a sunny patio and lawn on its south side or in shady picnic spots on the north side. The wayside area also offers ice, vending machines, and a public telephone.
- Type
- Published Report
- Authors
- Crosbie, Allison; Killion, Jeff; Commisso, Michael
- Date of Issue
- 2025
- Publisher
- National Park Service
- Units
- NER , SHEN
- Keywords
- Architecture, Campground/Picnic Area, Carriage Roads, Comfort Station (Latrine), Concession, Conservation of Natural Resources, Creating Social Institutions and Movements, Developing the American Economy, Elk Wallow, Elkwallow, Entertainment – Recreation, Expressing Cultural Values, General Recreation, Historic Designed Landscape, Landscape Architecture, Leisure-Passive (Park), NPS Class III Special Purpose Road, Parking Area, Politics – Government, Recreation, The 1930's: Era Of Public Works, The Great Depression And Conservation, Touring Roads and Parkways, Transforming the Environment, Transportation by Land and Air