Going to Natural Bridge / Luray Caverns, what else (Charlottesville, Jefferson: campsites, restaurants)

[slalemand]

should we try and take in while in the area?

It will be 2 adults and 1 child 10 years old.

- Shops
- Museums
- Candy Stores
- Bakeries
- Good Restaurants
- Other attractions the 10 year old might like?

We''ll be in the area for a total of 4 days, then headed back to Maine


Skip

[oneasterisk]

I went to Natural Bridge while I was in the area for a motorcycle trip last august.. Not sure if a 10yr old would enjoy it. It was kind of boring to be honest. The "waterfall" was also pretty disappointing.

The National D-Day Memorial is not too far away. You might want to check it out if you like WWII history, but also not sure if a 10yr old would appreciate it: Home - National D-Day Memorial

You may also like to check out Monticello in Charlottesville. Thomas Jefferson

[Fredesch]

Foamhenge is on the road to natural bridges, you will go right by it. I think a 10 year old will like it, adults think it is hokey. And yes, your guess is correct, someone built a life size Stonehenge out of styrofoam.

Another place to check out is Douthat State Park. It has a pretty little lake with a cabins campsites and 46 miles of hiking/mountain biking trails. Douthat is about an hour or so from natural bridges.

Skyline drive is nice...

[slalemand]

Originally Posted by Fredesch

Foamhenge is on the road to natural bridges, you will go right by it. I think a 10 year old will like it, adults think it is hokey. And yes, your guess is correct, someone built a life size Stonehenge out of styrofoam.

Another place to check out is Douthat State Park. It has a pretty little lake with a cabins campsites and 46 miles of hiking/mountain biking trails. Douthat is about an hour or so from natural bridges.

Skyline drive is nice...

Skyline drive is awesome! We're thinking of staying at Skyline Drive Resort. The biggest part of the trip for the 10 year old is Luray Caverns, we're hoping to find other stuff as well.

He's pretty easy to please, so the walk at Natural Bridge might be ok, plus the butterfly museum, and toy museum, but you're right, a bit of a let down all and all.

Skip

[Fredesch]

My wife says there is a car museum next to Luray caverns. A boy might like that.

[Flamingo13]

Originally Posted by oneasterisk

I went to Natural Bridge while I was in the area for a motorcycle trip last august.. Not sure if a 10yr old would enjoy it. It was kind of boring to be honest. The "waterfall" was also pretty disappointing.

The National D-Day Memorial is not too far away. You might want to check it out if you like WWII history, but also not sure if a 10yr old would appreciate it: Home - National D-Day Memorial

You may also like to check out Monticello in Charlottesville. Thomas Jefferson

I also highly recommend the D-Day Memorial (depending on weather) - how about the Spy Museum in DC?

[mdcrim]

If it's open when you go, you could do the drive through safari at Natural Bridge. So much fun! They used to let you keep a minivan door open or sit in the back of a pickup truck (if you had one) and the animals come up and get personal.

I believe there is also a caverns at Natural Bridge.

There are a lot of different caverns besides Luray between Natural Bridge and Luray. The Grand Cavern in Grottoes, VA has bats! In my opinion Luray Caverns is the most spectacular but also the most commercial. Shenandoah Caverns in Quicksburg, VA off I-81 near Mount Jackson has a parade float museum included with caverns admission.

When are you going? If it's summertime there is a cute lake near Bryce Resort in Basye off I-81 that's nice. It has a pretty hiking trail around it and a little grassy "beach". Also near Bryce is the Deauxville (sp?) fallow deer farm. A woman named Gail has fallow deer and a small pick-your-own area. She sells rainbow eggs from her chickens.

In Woodstock, VA there is the Stoney Creek Roller Rink - hours of fun for a ten year old- trust me! Indoor rolling skating/roller blading, bumper cars, laser tag, miniature golf, arcade games. I think the place is like 50 years old- a total blast from the past.

In Luray itself is the Luray Zoo. Tons and tons of snakes, including venomous ones, a tiger, monkeys, birds, a small petting area.

There are a few other pick-your-own orchard type places in Shenandoah Valley.

There's the Route 11 potato chip factory. It's near Shenandoah Caverns. Call first to see if there are frying because they don't fry every day. It's a short stop but very interesting if they are cooking.

That's all I can think of for now but I'll update if I think of anything else. I love that part of Virginia, if you can't tell...

[slowlane3]

MDCRIM, that's a good list - I gave you a positive raring. Some other ideas are

FCMV Home Very easy to find - directly by I-81

Welcome to the Explore More Discovery Museum!

Virginia Discovery Museum - a hands-on children's museum, with exhibits on the arts, sciences, humanities, history and nature. Charlottesville, Virginia on the East End of the Downtown Mall.

SplashDown Tickets

Virginia's Caverns - Virginia Is For Lovers

Welcome to Dinosaur Land, located in Virginia's Shenandoah Valley!

Marker Miller Orchards Farm Market

And of course, the world's largest collection of FREE museums Smithsonian Be warned that road traffic on weekdays throughout the D.C. metro area is VERY heavy. Weekends are generally considerably better (and parking at suburban metrorail stations is free on weekends).

[slalemand]

Hi folks. Thanks for ALL the great ideas. We'll be in the area the 2nd week in August.

Are plans are to do the DC area next year, hoping 1 year makes enough difference in his interest level. We'll surely take in the Space Museum when we do go, what 11 year old doesn't like planes

To those who like Luray Caverns, make time in your life to get to Carlsbad Caverns! Hell these might be 10, 20 times larger then Luray - Simply Incredible.

And for those wanting to try something a bit different, give Mammoth Caves (not caverns) a try.

So, is there Apple picking in late August, because he enjoys that (He is an outdoor freak).

Skip

[mdcrim]

Not sure about the apple season. Paugh's Orchard (check out google) is in Quicksburg, VA sort of near Shenandoah Caverns and the Route 11 potato chip factory.

If you make it as far west as Bryce resort, aside from Lake Laura, in the summertime there is the Shenandoah County Music Festival at Orkney Springs. They have weekly outdoor music.

The Shenandoah County fair is normally held at the end of August.

There is a small mom and pop zoo called Perry Wildlife Zoo in Wardensville, WV. It's under 20 miles from Bryce resort but takes awhile to get to due to back roads. We went last year and they had a baby tiger and baby kangaroo you could hold and get your picture taken with (not at the same time). They also had a huge bear you could feed peanuts to down a tube.

There is a corn maze in Mt. Jackson in the late summer and fall. It's next to an old single lane covered bridge which is very pretty.

I know I'll think of more stuff later. Can you tell I absolutely love the Shenandoah Valley?