Northern Shenandoah Valley

The Northern Shenandoah Valley is bordered in the east by the Blue Ridge Mountains and to the west by the Allegheny Highlands. The area stretching from Stanton to Winchester is a rich agricultural area, but it also contains many numerous large caverns, historical sites, cultural attractions and vibrant, charming small cities.

Staunton

Staunton was once selected as one of the best small city in America and a visit will tell you why. It has a vibrant downtown that has a real small-town feel. The old warehouse district was converted for mixed use and is now home to residences, shops, restaurants, music events and the Saturday farmer’s market. It is also a college town and home to the Woodrow Wilson Presidential Library. The Frontier Culture Museum is an outdoor park filled with relocated farms and rural building from around the world. The Blackfriars Playhouse is home to the world-renowned American Shakespeare Center. There’s more, but this gives you a sense of the things that make the city so liveable.

Winchester

Winchester is another college town with a lot going on. It has historic sites dating to before the American Revolution and a large arts and entertainment district that was converted to a pedestrian mall. The historic district holds many well preserved, buildings dating back to the colonial era.

The city is well known as a center for cultivation of apples (although this is true throughout the valley). Winchester hosts a very popular and well attended Apple Blossom Festival each year at the beginning of May. Apples are such a part of the city’s identity, that there are visitors will find large, artistically-decorated apples throughout town.

Caverns

Luray Caverns

Eroding limestone along the eastern ridgelines eroded over many centuries to leave numerous large caverns. As you drive north or south along Interstate 81, you will see signage advertising cave tours. All of the caves are privately managed and some are better than others. Luray Caverns, near the town of Luray, is probably the most popular with well-structured tours.

Wine Country

The Shenandoah Valley provides ideal conditions for the cultivation of wine grapes. Vineyards throughout the valley provide grapes to wineries throughout the state. There are, however, a number of independent producers in the valley and many of them are bottling wines of exceptional quality. There are several on the interactive map for this destination that are definitely among the top producers.