Virginia’s Shenandoah National Park is best known for Skyline Drive, the picturesque 105-mile-long road that winds the length of the park along the crest of the Blue Ridge Mountains.

This scenic road, which connects with and continues to the south along the 469-mile Blue Ridge Parkway, offers scenic overlooks, picnic areas, campgrounds, restaurants, lodging facilities, and major visitor centers at Loft Mountain and Big Meadows.

Touring both Skyline Drive in Shenandoah and along the Blue Ridge Parkway makes for an enjoyable and slow-paced vacation, especially during spring when the flowers are blooming, or the colorful foliage period of fall. Shenandoah National Park is a great place to hike with more than 500 miles of trails, including a significant portion of the Appalachian Trail. The northern section of the park is particularly popular with residents of nearby population centers who wish to escape the summer heat and humidity of the surrounding valleys.

Shenandoah is one of our nation’s oldest parks, established in 1935 and dedicated by President Franklin Roosevelt the following year. This region of the country had long been exploited for its natural resources, and it was President Roosevelt’s goal that the protected land be returned to its natural state. A visit to Shenandoah makes it evident that he would have been pleased with the result of his efforts.

Although heavily used, Shenandoah offers visitors an unusually vibrant natural environment that in many respects must appear similar to that which America’s pioneers discovered as they migrated west.

Shenandoah offers three lodging facilities, all operated by concessionaire Aramark Parks & Destinations, a company that has become a major player in the business of managing national park lodges in addition to conference centers and hotels. The privately-held company also operates concessions in Glacier Bay National Park (Glacier Bay Lodge), Glen Canyon National Recreation Area (Lake Powell Resort and Marina, and nearby Halls Crossing and Bullfrog), Mesa Verde National Park (Far View Lodge), and Olympic National Park (Kalaloch Lodge and Sol Duc Hot Springs Resort).

Unlike the four lodges scattered along the neighboring Blue Ridge Parkway, the three facilities in Shenandoah are concentrated in a 15-mile span, from mile marker 42 to mile marker 57. The close proximity of the three lodges makes it convenient to remain at the same lodging complex for the duration of a stay in the park. When traveling on the Blue Ridge Parkway, it generally is best to move to a different lodge as the trip progresses along the parkway.

Beginning at the north end of the park, the three lodges are:

* Skyland Resort (mile marker 42), a large and wide-ranging complex with nearly three dozen structures that range from freestanding rustic cabins constructed in the early 1900s to a modern motel-type building with 20 rooms. Skyland offers a total of 178 rooms, many of which offer excellent views of the beautiful Shenandoah Valley. The complex has five classes of accommodations, with a wide variation in prices depending on room size, view, and bedding. The lobby of the registration building has a wall of windows offering an outstanding view of the valley. An adjacent building houses a craft and gift shop, taproom, small lounge area, and an attractive dining room. Rates: $74 - $130; suites and family cabins $127-$239; higher on weekends and during fall.

* Big Meadows Lodge (mile marker 51), which consists of a main lodge plus five cabins and six one- and two-story buildings. Unlike Skyland, Big Meadows is relatively compact, allowing guests an easy walk from any of the rooms to the main lodge where the dining room is located. The least expensive accommodations are 25 relatively small rooms in the main lodge that was constructed in 1939. Most rooms at Big Meadows are in a series of six lodge buildings, two of which (Doubletop and Rapidian) were remodeled in 2007 with new furniture, air conditioning, and simulated wood floors. Rooms in these two buildings each have a private patio or balcony offering good valley views. Ten cabins are in five duplex buildings that sit in a grassy area near the main lodge. Rates: $84 - $144; higher on weekends and during fall.

* Lewis Mountain Cabins (mile marker 57.5), which is one of the smallest lodging units of any national park unit. A small registration building with limited groceries, seven one-story rustic cabins with nine lodging units, and one hikers’ cabin, and that’s it. Compare this to Grand Teton National Park’s Colter Bay with 242 lodging units including 66 tent cabins. Each cabin at Lewis Mountain enjoys a private bathroom and has a small front porch, but no indoor cooking facilities. An outdoor picnic pavilion with a table and barbecue pit is at each cabin. Guests should bring whatever food will be needed because the store sells only the bare essentials. A restaurant and grill are six miles north on Skyline Drive at Big Meadows. During one of our stays here we watched from the front porch of our cabin as a bear strolled out of the woods and climbed a tree. After a quick look around, he climbed back down and scurried away. During our last stay, a curious owl sat on a nearby limb and watched closely as we ate dinner at the picnic table. Rates: $89 - $107; hikers’ cabin $30; higher on weekends and during fall.

Reservations for each of the three lodges are available by calling (888) 896-3833 or visiting the Aramark's Shenandoah website. Reserve early if you are planning a weekend stay or a trip during October when rooms fill early. The company's website offers a calendar showing the dates on which rooms are available.

David and Kay Scott are the authors of Complete Guide to the National Park Lodges (Globe Pequot). They live in Valdosta, Georgia.