Harry F. Byrd, Sr. Visitor Center — Attraction in Luray

Loved it so much in Shenandoah Valley that my husband and I will be heading there early in the morning for a long weekend. This is one of our favorite places to go as a couple and we also went with our children when they were young. Now they're adults and we're working on plans for a family visit after the wedding of our son to his wonderful fiancee next month so she will see what she missed due to growing up in the southwestern US. Our second offspring is our 27-year-old daughter. She has been working with the National Parks System for a few years now. Does she enjoy Shenandoah? You'd better believe it! Her goal was to work there; now she does! She's a National Park Ranger. We're so proud of what she does. She has even traveled west to help battle 2 of the largest wildfires in US history. I'll share a few pictures now, but this review is about the Byrd Center, so I don't want to stray and stay too far afield. The Harry F. Byrd Visitor Center is one of the largest along Skyline Drive, the main thoroughfare that runs through the Shenandoah National Park. The Byrd Center has a clean, well-equipped free standing building for those who need to use a rest room after a long drive. A completely separate building houses a great information center with information about the area's geography, history, plants, and wildlife. It includes a taped information session. Everything in the Byrd Center is wheelchair accessible. I was even able to visit the scenic overlook despite it being downhill from the building. Maps are available in the center which include information about wheelchair accessibility along the drive. (By the way, persons with disabilities can acquire a free lifetime pass to enter the National Parks. It also covers a second person, allowing their assistant/caregiver to enter free of charge. There is a trail, the Limberlost Trail, which was designed for accessibility near the time the Park first opened - over 75 years ago. Now that's some forward thinking. The Trail is near the Skyland area. I've taken the full circle a few times now. You don't have to be very fit to make the full "hike", especially if you have a helper who is accustomed to giving you a boost when the going gets rough in any area. President FD Roosevelt had a summer home in that section of the Park. I've never seen this in writing, but that may be why there was such great attention paid to mobility from the onset. I'll check it out. I'll post more when we return from this weekend. I have to rest now so I may enjoy all the Park...

We visited the park and did the entirety of Skyline Drive on a Sunday in early April.

It was a beautiful sunny day and a little chilly. We started the trip in the 30s outside. We drove it from South to North. We entered through Rockfish Gap around 8AM and finished around 3PM. There are signs to warn that gas is not currently available in the park so make sure you have enough. When we arrived at big meadows there was fencing around the gas area. Looks like they were renovating.

This was a fairly large visitor center with a ton of exhibits as well as hands-on ones. To the left when you walk in is the NPS store. The right is also a theater that plays a short film about the history of the park. Worth it to watch. The back has a large bank of windows and seats to look out across the "big meadow". The back left there is a small table which has the NPS Passport cancellation stamps. Unfortunately each location has their own stamp and they don't move the others when they are closed for the season. So you will have to visit the other sites along skyline drive when they open, including the mobile visitor center. Bathrooms were outside in separate building to the right.

They also had a wayside open which had a bunch of food and snacks although the dinning area was closed off for some reason. They had a bunch of stuff you could buy here too, more so than the visitor center store. This was more of a gift shop versus the NPS store in the visitor center itself. The items here were similar to that of those...

The visitor center is part of big meadows. The area is nice and it is a good spot to recharge and learn about the construction of Skyline Drive. There is lots of parking. Hikers can get supplies here. There are restrooms here too. You can buy souvenirs here too. For me, that turned out to be the issue… When you make a purchase, the woman at the counter asks you to donate your change. Do they not charge enough for the items? Anyway, I felt it came off as a little much. You pay to enter the park. You pay for food and souvenirs. It just seemed low to have panhandling from behind a cash register… perhaps it is just me, but that’s how I perceived it. It actually set me off as I was set to pay with exact change and then my wife agreed to the donation. There is an EV charging station here, which is probably good enough since there are not too many of those vehicles on the road percentage wise. There is also a gas station here too,...