Pinnacles Picnic Grounds: Cultural Landscapes Inventory, Shenandoah National Park
Brown NJ. 2025. Pinnacles Picnic Grounds: Cultural Landscapes Inventory, Shenandoah National Park. Cultural Landscapes Inventory Report. 300121. National Park Service. NPS Northeast Regional Office, Boston, Massachusetts / CRIS-CL Database
The Pinnacles Picnic Grounds are located on a ridge west of Skyline Drive at mile 36.7. The area was designed and built by the Civilian Conservation Corps in 1935‑1936. It is open for use year round, and features a square shelter, whose central chimney has four fireplaces facing out. There is a rustic comfort station with stone retaining wall open in season. A loop road with diagonal pull‑in parking allows easy access. The Appalachian Trail skirts the western side of the site. The entrance drive of the Pinnacles Picnic Grounds creates a loop road with pull‑off parking. Various sized boulders are randomly spaced along the road at several places. The rustic, picnic shelter with four fireplaces is located in the middle of the picnic grounds loop. Outside of the loop there is a comfort station with a stone retaining wall. Paths connect various destinations within the site, and lead to the overlook to the southeast. The picnic grounds have a high tree canopy and around the area there is a dense understory. The planted vegetation within the picnic grounds dates to the CCC plantings or was replanted in kind. The features that do not date to the CCC era are pit toilet and small‑scale features such as picnic tables, newer grills, trash and recycling cans, and signage.
- Type
- Published Report
- Authors
- Brown, Nancy
- Date of Issue
- 2025
- Publisher
- National Park Service
- Units
- NER , SHEN
- Keywords
- Architecture, Civilian Conservation Corps, Entertainment, hiking trail, Historic Designed Landscape, Landscape architecture, Museum, Pedestrian-Related, Recreation, Rustic style, Sexton Knoll Picnic Grounds, Skyline Drive, The 1930s: Era of Public Works, The Great Depression, The New Deal, Transportation, Virginia, Water Storage, Water Works