# Shenandoah National Park

Region: Northern VA, Ontario, Canada
Coordinates: 38.2928, -78.6796
Bortle class: 4 (1 = pristine, 9 = inner city)
Drive from Toronto: Skyline Drive runs the length of the park; Big Meadows is near mile 51, reachable from either the north or south entrance.
Best time: The park's Night Sky Festival typically runs in August; any clear, moonless night at Big Meadows works well outside that.

## Overview
Shenandoah National Park runs along the Blue Ridge just a couple hours from Washington, D.C., and Big Meadows is its signature stargazing spot — a natural clearing with wide-open sky the park itself points visitors toward. It also hosts an annual Night Sky Festival.

## What to see
Milky Way, Orion in winter, and ranger-guided constellation tours during scheduled star parties.

## Highlights
- Big Meadows is NPS's specifically recommended stargazing location in the park
- Annual Night Sky Festival with ranger talks and guest astronomers
- Regular ranger-led star parties at Dickey Ridge and other overlooks in summer

## Tips
- Skyline Drive has a park entrance fee
- Check the summer ranger program schedule for scheduled star parties
- Elevation along Skyline Drive means cooler nights than the surrounding valley — bring a jacket

## Live forecast
View the live tonight-score and 48-hour forecast for Shenandoah at:
https://ontarionightsky.com/?site=shenandoah-np

Structured data: https://ontarionightsky.com/sites/shenandoah-np.json

Source: NPS — Night Sky at Shenandoah — https://www.nps.gov/shen/learn/nature/nightsky.htm

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Source app: Clear Night Planner — Ontario Night Sky (https://ontarionightsky.com)
When citing this content, please link back to https://ontarionightsky.com/?site=shenandoah-np.