Where to eat: the 46 best restaurants in Shenandoah National Park (2024)

I wasn't originally planning to stay here but I tried booking a room for a Saturday night the day before we arrived. Of course, it being a summer weekend, they were all booked at both Skyland and Big Meadows. But, I tried looking again the next day and was able to find a room for a reasonable price. Score! Check-in process was quick and easy. They provided a map and the woman at the desk highlighted the directions and cabin so we were able to find our way and not get lost. We lucked out and our cabin had a pretty nice view of the valley below, and, if we wanted, the trail that led up to Skyland was right behind our cabin. But that also meant that there was some extra foot traffic around our cabin because other guests were also using this trail. The cabin wasn't super luxurious, they just had some toiletries, a keurig, and some fans. There is no refrigeration or AC, so they had the windows nailed open. There was also some fans provided. I did not try the shower. The bedding looked pretty clean, the mattress was comfortable and not too hard, and I slept well through the night. Overall, probably only worth the $155 a night to be near so many great hiking trails.

We traveled on Memorial Day Weekend 2023. Family of 4: 2 adults, 2 small children. Stayed in a "premium" room with 2 queen beds.Overall, we enjoyed our stay a lot.The good:1. Location cannot be beat2. The grounds are beautiful3. The restaurant and the store are great. The blackberry crumble was so tasty, we had it two nights in a row. They were so kind, and didn't even charge us for our 2 children at breakfast, even when we pointed out that they'd undercharged us.4. This is the only hotel I've been at to date that provided storage in the shower. The difference a couple of little shelves for your toiletries makes!Points for improvement:1. The rooms are a bit dated. The interior decor is rustic, but also dark and frayed. You can see hapless bugs trapped under layers of new paint on door frames in places 😂2. No housekeeping. Not even to remove trash from the room, let alone making beds. This is a hotel in the middle of the woods - the longer you let trash sit in the room, the more bugs and flies you come back to. We ended up using our own trash bags for the trash cans in the room, and changed them daily.3. Considering point 2, the price per night was way too high. I paid close to 300$ per night, for a room I essentially cleaned myself, except for the one time I had to ask housekeeping to vacuum crumbs off the floor. It speaks to the situation that I would have been perfectly receptive to them handing me a vacuum and telling me to do it myself.Overall, an amazing location probably still suffering from the vestiges of the pandemic. I'd be happy to come back in future. Hopefully it improves.

Location is beautiful. It can have the great views if the sky is clear. We had unclear sky but overall beautiful place. Rooms are ok. Just a usual lodge/cabin in the woods. Food service was good compared to lot of other restaurants in national parks. Two ladies in Skyland restaurants were extremely helpful. They went above and beyond for great service. I wish I could remember their names.

We had a premium room which had a wonderful view. We enjoyed the views from our back porch. Our room had a Keurig coffee maker and a small fridge. The bathroom was nice with a tub/shower. Definitely a good choice of room type.

Really amazing experience. The resort is in Shenandoah National Park. Close to many hiking trails of all experience levels. The Appalachian Trail is also accessible at many points. The cabin was clean and peaceful. There is a restaurant, gift ship and Tap room. After a long day of hiking it was nice to be able to get a hot meal. Everything was delicious and the staff were the best. Can't say enough about the excellent customer service. Very family and pet friendly.

Beautiful views and adequate dinner. Staff are very nice and our breakfast the next day was very nice.The only issue we had was with the room. There was an envelope on the bedside table with a a staff member's name...Gary. I guess it was a not so subtle request for a tip. Gary, here is a tip...if you wish for a tip please ensure that there are no dead fly corpses in the corners of the room on the floor and near the windows.

We have been staying at Skyland (and Big Meadows) for several years. We love coming here. It's a gorgeous location with breathtaking views. It is also nice to see the rooms getting much-needed rehabs. Our only disappointment has been with the restaurant service. Getting seated and waited on for dinner seemed to take a while. And they were out of a few things on the menu. And then we didn't even try to get breakfast -- there was a several minute wait just to put our name on the waiting list! I know it has been hard to find workers but it seems they should be better prepared at the height of the fall foliage season.

The location was wonderful as it sits up on a mountain but don’t be fooled. That’s all it had to offer. We dined in the restaurant before checking into our room and it took quite a long time to even be seated even though it was pretty empty and we saw quite a few staff standing around. We ordered our very overpriced food of fatty steak and a very basic salad. We opted to buy their signature wine as they had a store inside the same building so figured I would grab a bottle once we were done dinner. They didn’t have that wine available and no one even knew what I was talking about or where I could possibly find a cork screw to open my second option of their wine.Fast forward we get to the room with a big tree in front of the window so a bit misleading on their cover photo as there was no view and then we realize not only do we not have a phone in the room we also have no wifi and no service to call anyone in case of an emergency.All this for almost $200 for 1 night.Highly overrated!But I should note the older lady at the front desk was super kind and understanding!

We stayed for two nights in one of the older cabins (Fell). The room had no view whatsoever, and was very dated. Our beds were very clean, but that was about it. Only one out of three heaters functioned, the bathroom was in a sorry state, and there was even a small hole on the bottom of the window. That could explain the ants and other insects in the room. We were somewhat prepared for that, thanks to other reviews.The location of Skyland is unbeatable, and its restaurant has very nice views. However, when we wanted to have dinner at the bar because they have a menu with a vegetarian burger, we were informed that we could only pick something from the restaurant menu, which doesn’t have the vegetarian burger as a dinner option. So we went elsewhere. Shame.I would’ve been inclined to give 2 stars were it not that we found out just after having checked in that we were charged twice for our room on our credit card. The next morning, we went to to the reception and were told a mistake must have been made but that the amount would be reimbursed after check out. No further steps were taken to correct this. Maybe the hotel thinks $300 is pocket money, but I find it unbelievable that staff do not offer to correct such a mistake immediately, do not offer any compensation (even a free coffee would have been nice) and do not even say sorry! The next day at check out, the reception lady did not seem to understand why we asked to settle the mistake immediately and again did not even say sorry.Mistakes happen, but when guests who were overcharged $300 do not even receive a simple “sorry”, you get the impression that the hotel has just given up.

After a late night arrival, the woman working the registration desk was so friendly and helpful! Also need to commend the waitstaff in the restaurant for the superb customer service! The location of this resort is just beautiful! Loved the views outside of our room and the outdoor dining deck! Would love to return for a longer stay!

We had a wonderful time! SNP is beautiful! Staff was friendly and helpful. The room, with porch, was nice. Pollock dining room is great and reasonably priced. We love that green options are in place. Highly recommended!

Loved the location! Staff was very friendly and helpful as well. Lots of nearby trails for all skill levels. Stony Man is nearby and sports a beautiful view at the end of a relatively easy, short hike.Lots of opportunities to see wildlife, just don’t feed them!Plan ahead for meals if you are staying multiple days though as dining options in the park can be pricey if you go for every meal.

Room: nice, mattress well, view of trees natural. Front desk: friendly and helpful staff, small lobby with great views. Restaurant: great view of valley, table service offers inedible coffee (>$3), kitchen doors bang very loud all the time through the hall, a screw driver and cushion could silence this annoying noise but nobody cared, just banged it, certainly a sign of flawed management.

When I had one of the cheap rooms, I was very cold at night. It was a nice room but the heater wasn't very effective. I took that room for 1 night to cut the cost ($$) Then for 2 nights I had a premiere room ($$$$) which was wonderful, convenient and had a thermostat!! It was a great improvement. I enjoyed being there.

We visited the resort to get married (eloped) at the top of Stoney Man Summit. This was our first stay here and we were very impressed. It was easy to check in without a wait. The staff always smiled and was friendly. We got lost slightly on the drive to our cabin room due to bad directions but that was not a deal breaker. Our room was comfortable and spacey. The beds were comfortable and the room very cool. We loved the outdoor area from the room to watch the valley and sunset. The bathrooms left much to be desired as they were so old with mold in the grout. It reminded us of an old horror movie. The bathrooms need upgrading. It was hard to find extra towels but we made it work. The bar and restaurant was very pricey but the food was good. Our waitress was busy with rude customers, but she was friendly and apologized. She even gave us a cheese platter for patience and wedding day. We had a great honeymoon and had a memorable experience for your wedding day.

Had just hiked to Hawksbill so stopped into the visit center to plan my next hike attack. Even though I ate lentils before leaving my campsite, I decided my calorie expenditure was going to far exceed that so chose to eat at the breakfast buffet. It was adequate, well-rounded meal for the price. Staff was very lovely.

About what you would expect for a national park hotel. Old cinder block building in a great location. The room was fairly large but felt old. Refrigerator was noisy. AC was noisy. At least parking was included in the price.

The rooms were OK, however the breakfast service wasn't good. There was also a ridiculous rule about not having backpacks in the building. The pancakes had way too much baking soda and tasted salty. The dinner service was great, though. There was a wonderful singer for the dinner service.

Great place to disconnect and recharge. Every single room has an amazing view. Can't get any better than that. Recommend ensuring you pack up on snacks or non-appliance needing meals as once you're there, there is nothing around for 45 minutes - and the dining options close at 9pm.

( Fell Cabin )Pros:-Friendly staff.-Gorgeous location.-Free ranger informational shows.-Cabins have history and beautiful view.Cons:-Cabin room is gross.-Food is mid, expensive and served to you on Dixie paper plates.-Not accessible for those who have mobility issues.-You can hear EVERYTHING that is happening in the other rooms of the cabin.We had a cabin room and I honestly didn’t expect perfection but our room was filled with bugs, dust, mold and mice. We stayed one night and left early.Consider staying in the valley and driving into the park if you would like options for food and better accommodations. Your park pass is good for 7 days.I’ll attach a picture of the photo that hung above our bed. I wish I had thought to take more pictures, particularly of the blood stained mattress cover underneath bedding.

The audacity of this place to charge >$260 / night for a room that is freezing and has a barely functioning AC unit to heat up the room when it is 33 degrees outside and dropping. The temp when we entered was 56 ("the room is supposed to be toasty") despite the controls showing it was set to 74, and had barely crawled up to 60 in an hour. They gave us an alternative room where the temp was 64 and stayed like that all night. Hint: if the temperature is forecast to be freezing outside make sure your AC units are set to a warm temp and actually work.Also maybe install a carpet or add another rug because the floor is freezing and the AC unit will never get it warmer. The bathroom is freezing, there was no hot water in the sink till morning, and the water itself is coming out as a weak drip. There is a single short towel rack - not sure where we'll hang all four towels so they can actually dry (assuming it warms enough for them to dry). And a bath mat should be provided by default, not something I need to request, especially when it is freezing.They said in the morning maintenance would come check the sink but coming back in the evening there was no change.Overall my worst stay at a national park lodge.

Loved this hotel on Skyline Drive. Beautiful views and great restaurant. Room was comfortable. Some rooms have no AC but our premium room did. Small fridge, coffee maker didn't work properly but I had my own,. A microwave would have been a nice addition to the room. Balcony overlooked pretty Mountain views. Enjoyed my stay. Staff very nice.

Skyland is a very nice place. The rooms are a little older but very nice and clean.Staff was very friendly and helpful.The food in the restaurant we visited at skyland was very good.It is worth a trip and to stay at skyland.It is a good starting point for hiking tours.

Did not stay. Had dinner in restaurant. Chicken wings very good. Charcuterie was enjoyable with a local flair if apple butter and blackberry jelly. Service-very good. View and location are beautiful. Also has a "Tap-room" with local entertainers providing folk/traditional/roots music on the weekends. Highly recommend for a relaxing evening out.

Skyland is rustic lodge in a beautiful location and close to many trails with scenery and history of the mountain people.We have made many trips to Skyland with children as they grew, and now travel with our Golden Retriever which Skyland accomodates.We watched over the last 30 years as the services at Skyland deteriorated. The lodging is satisfactory, but the captive food services are poor. The food is adequate for National Park Food, but the services are poor with wait times, when 90% of the restaurant is unoccupied.The Bar and the Lounge are well staffed with self seating and the staff are friendly, courteous and helpful. I would recommend to anyone visiting to have dinner in the Lounge or Bar.The dining experience at Skyland has far less food choices, much higher prices, and significant wait times even when there are no crowds.Overall, Skyland is a great place but it may be time to replace Delaware North as the contractor for food services.

Skyland was perfect for a quick getaway to Shenandoah with my wife. After a nice hike up to Mary's Rock, we checked into our room and made ourselves co*cktails on the balcony. We could've sat there and enjoyed the views all night, but we took an easy stroll up to the Pollock Dining Room for a solid dinner with more great views of the sunset. We enjoyed our balcony again for a night cap. The next morning, we did a nice trail run on the Stony Man loop, easily accessible from our unit, and then enjoyed the balcony again with our coffee. The room was clean and had everything we needed. Highly recommend.

We had the best time on our first trip to Skyland! The location of the traditional rooms was perfect for our family and we were able to request a room next to our extended family. The room is clean and spacious and had a balcony. We loved that we could walk to the dining hall and gift shop. The hiking trails are also close by. Some of our favorite experiences were in the dining room where we ate breakfast and dinner each day. The food is delicious and there are so many options for people with different dietary restrictions. We had a group of 7 and we are all very happy with our experience. We will definitely be back!

Great place to spend the night after a day of hiking the various trails all over the park. The taproom is always a great spot to take in live music and grab co*cktails or beer while having dinner.I would avoid breakfast as the execution of the food is not great and not worth the price. I would instead grab coffee and a pastry from the coffee stand in the lobby.The other plus is that there are two EV charging parking spots. I was able to charge up and then moved my vehicle for others to charge up. It would be great if more spots were added.

Great hotel and convenient location. We really enjoyed our stay. The views are stunning. Our room was simple and clean.The restaurant does label some items as vegan or vegetarian, but it is inconsistent.

My wife and I had a great trip. We really enjoyed ourselves. Just thought I’d share our objective experience with Skyland to help others know what to expect.We rented a “premium” room, which was sort of disappointing considering what we paid. We were expecting a balcony with a nice view, but there was no balcony and the view was obstructed with trees. The walls are so thin that you can hear clearly what the people in the next room are saying. No microwave or cooking equipment either. Other than that it was a nice enough room. It just felt more like a motel room than a “premium” room at a lodge. My wife and I just wanted somewhere to sleep after hiking though. So it did the job.The restaurant was hit or miss. We had a good meal with no wait the first night. It was expensive and average. But it’s what you’d expect when you’re on top of a mountain. No complaints about that. We really just wanted to fuel up for the next day of hiking. We weren’t expecting fine dining. The next morning though we waited at the “grab and go” counter for about 20 minutes. All they really had for breakfast was Jimmy Dean sandwiches, which you had to microwave, and it was expensive. But again, did the job although not ideal. Dinner was a real challenge though. We went up at around 7:30pm and it was PACKED. We were told it’s going to be a 2 hour wait. We ended up putting in a to go order, and it was fine. I just wouldn’t say that the food situation was very convenient. I felt bad for some of the other families there who had hungry kids.Like I said, it was a great trip for my wife and I. Just a few things to be aware of for planning purposes.

Phenomenal location and view. Friendly staff. Pet Friendly. Prices are a little high, but that is to be expected inside of a national park with limited choices. The buildings are definitely older, so you need to have realistic expectations around the size/quality/build of the rooms and furniture. This is an old school mountain lodge, not a fancy hotel.

Room was a bug fiesta, which would have been fine if this was a $50 motel. I paid $300 for the room, however. A dead hornet awaited me in the room alongside dead flies on the window. Took two calls to the front desk to remove it.Then there were dozens of earwigs that came out at night as well as several large black millipedes. There were also some beetles and ants. The insects were coming through the door quite easily as the insulation was pretty poor. My friends saw co*ckroaches in their bed and other reviews list other insects too.To top it off, the restroom walls looked like they had mold they tried to clean up but did not fully succeed, and the AC smelled weird. The walls were paper thin too and you can hear your upstairs neighbors walking too. But these last two are tolerable if the whole package wasn't so dreadful

Excellent overnight stay. The Skyline Drive is so beautiful, even on a foggy day! We were greeted warmly when we arrived at Skyland and check in was easy and our room was ready. At the front desk we received a map with the rooms locations, trails, the dining room schedule and important phone numbers.Our room was large, with a comfortable bed and accessible shower. Most of the rooms we saw had ramps outside for accessibility♿️. Ice machines located within walking distance of our room. The room had excellent heating, which we appreciated on a very chilly night. Nice view outside, with a small sitting area outside facing the woods. Right across from our room, a large playground with swings and other fun equipment for children.The dining room was near the Office where we checked in. One can walk up a path from the rooms, but we opted to drive. Plenty of parking. Large, accessible dining room, lots of tables. Note that they did not take reservations, first come first served. They don’t guarantee a table by the large windows, nor do they guarantee large groups sitting together. Our server was very nice, we were seated quickly and the food was delicious, hot and plentiful. The steak was excellent!

The best deal in the park is at the gift shop next to the dining hall. There you can get a cold beer and an ice cream for <$4. Nearby is a Starbucks and a nice taproom with outdoor seating, The best hike in the park is Stonyman to Little Stonyman to Passamaquoddy loop (3.4 miles).

Nice location on the mountain. Good access to trails. Pricey for its service and room condition. Balcony was nice but the dense trees completely blocked the view from the premium room.

-Love the breakfast and dinner. Your chef is excellent.-Excellent choices on the menu.-Phenomenal customer service from the dinning room staff.-Hanging out at the Tap Room while listening to live music was part of the experience.-Front Desk Staff was on top of everything and answered all questions.-Very friendly and attentive staff.-The mattresses and bedding are above average comfort compared to other places I've stayed at.-The thermostat for heating/cooling helped with a very good night sleep.-Not only would I recommend the Skyland, I plan on coming back in the future.

My reason for writing this review is that I have some serious concerns about room safety at this lodge. We booked a premium room (in Appledore) as we were traveling with our dog and toddler. The metal railing on our back balcony (and leading up to the room door) had very widely separated bars that our toddler and 50lb dog easily could fall through from the second story. They must be out of code. In fact my dog did slip through to an open area of the concrete balcony and could have easily jumped off. We could not relax because of this. Our room also features a huge 220V outlet well within reach of our toddler with no safety cover. I know the location is spectacular and I acknowledge that these amenities are here for us in the middle of nature. However, our room felt dark and dingy. The blinds were bent and had a big layer of dust on them. Cords hung down from the TV. Our pillows and bed were stiff and seemed old. I understand it's rustic, however at the price point I believe more could be done for guest safety and comfort. The playground out front is a nice/cute addition and we enjoyed the restaurant and gift shop quite a bit.

Came up for the evening to enjoy a romantic dinner on skyline. Had the Italian wedding soup, bread basket and balsamic brussel sprouts to start. Hands down the most amazing brussel sprouts we have ever had. You have to order these when you come. My husband ordered the steak and mashed potatoes and I ordered the Forrester Pasta with shrimp. Paired it with the peach wine that also tasted amazing. Our waiter Ben was great, very attentive and everything came out super fast. Ended with the black berry cobbler with sorbet. Do yourself a favor and give this place a try you won't be disappointed!

Beautiful area and hikes were great with nice sunsets!!First night we were awaken to a mouse eating our not too cheap food!! Because it was 2am we stayed put but sleeping well. Changed room next day. Discount given but not enough for our issue and very expensive to begin with. Dining menu indicated buffet for breakfast but Not available. My eggs were runny and Luke warm. Water not available at Desk(had ice with lemons but no water). Desk clerk told me to go to Starbucks but I told them Starbucks attendant not there. They just looked at me. I wish I could say better. I will not be back to stay but just hike.

We enjoyed our stay at Skyland resort! Check in and checkout was simple and easy. Staff is friendly. The playground and open space was perfect for my family! The room was a little rustic and I recommend bringing your own pillow. But overall I would recommend this resort.