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Vehicle Fuel Available at Big Meadows ONLY!
Vehicle fuel is only available at Big Meadows (mile 52). Gas service has been discontinued at the Loft and Elkwallow areas.
Freshwater Plants
Blue flag Iris (Iris versicolor) NPS Photo Freshwater plant species are rare within Shenandoah National Park. Most parkland is located near the crest of the Blue Ridge Mountains amid steep rocky terrain, providing few opportunities for wetland formation. The several wetlands that occur are small and found in the flatter areas such as Bearwallow, Big Meadows, and Pond Ridge. Freshwater plants are highly adapted to living in water. They have few roots, less water conducting tissue, and have a weak structure because they grow in such a way that water provides them some mechanical support. The wetlands of Shenandoah tend to contain pools of standing water during the winter and spring, but become dry in the summer and fall. 
Seasonal pool in Big Meadows Swamp. NPS Photo Freshwater plants in Shenandoah are limited to species that can tolerate seasonal drying. Some common species include numerous grasses, sedges, and rushes, and more showy species such as cardinal flowers (Lobelia cardinalis), marsh willow herb (Epilobium palustre), and blue flag iris (Iris versicolor). Related Information One website that provides photographs and helpful biological information about fresh water plants is the following: National List of Plants that Occur in Wetlands Listing of this website does not and is not intended to imply endorsement by the National Park Service of commercial services or products associated with the site.
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Did You Know?
Skyline Drive, the only public road through Shenandoah National Park, rides the crest of the Blue Ridge Mountains for 105 miles through the park, then joins the Blue Ridge Parkway which connects Shenandoah to Great Smoky Mountains National Park, NC.