Rediscovering America_ Exploring the Small Towns of Virginia & Maryland - Bill Burnham [32]
Lunch at one of the park’s lodges. Skyland (mile 41.7) is at the highest point on Skyline Drive at 3,680 feet. The views of the Shenandoah Valley are even more spectacular after a short 1.6-mile hike up to Stony Man peak, the second highest in the park. One day doesn’t do this park justice, so plan on returning for a camping trip, a hike to one of the many waterfalls and a stay in one of the lodges. There’s still the rest of Skyline Drive to travel, its heart-pounding twists and turns with pull-outs at breath-taking vistas.
Arrive in Front Royal tired and hungry. For lodging, go rustic at Mountainside Cottage, just below Skyline Drive (www.mountainsidecottage.com, tel. 540-622-6221, $$$), or live it up at Killahevlin, an Edwardian Mansion turned B&B. (tel. 800-847-6132, www.vairish.com, $$$)
Day six: Front Royal
Pack a picnic basket for a day exploring more of Shenandoah National Park, the Massanutten Mountain range, Skyline Caverns, or a day on the river. The south fork of the Shenandoah has some of the best canoeing in the east, with a steady current and even a little exciting whitewater. Several outfitters in town arrange trips.
Be sure to get back in time to explore Main Street in Front Royal. It’s a small, quaint historic district with a restored train depot serving as the visitor center, and a genuine general store. No froufrou crafty items are to be had in Stokes General Store, but you can get a wedge of Wisconsin cheddar cheese, some hip-waders, leather chaps or a cast iron pan, should the need arise.
It’s been a long day, so just walk up the street for dinner – to either the Main Street Mill, a 19th-century feed mill that now rocks with live bands until the early morning hours, or the more sedate Stadt Kaffee German restaurant.
Days seven...eight... nine?
From Front Royal, head west to Strasburg, a charming base for exploring Shenandoah County’s Civil War battlefields, museums, wineries and antiques shops. If you’ve got the time, you could spend another few days or a week visiting the small towns on Route 11. Our favorites are the turn-of-the-century, antique-filled Hotel Strasburg, North Mountain and Shenandoah wineries, New Market Battlefield, Middleburg’s Route 11 Chips and the Wayside Inn, and Mount Jackson’s Widow Kip’s Inn (pet-friendly).
Day Ten: Winchester
Now it’s to the lower Shenandoah Valley and the end of our tour – in Winchester. A pleasant, leisurely introduction to the city is the visitor center, located in an 1833 grist mill next to Abram’s Delight, the oldest house in Winchester, which houses a museum. Just behind the visitor center is Duncan Park where Wilsons Lake is stocked with trout. Take a stroll on the paved walkway that circles the lake which is also stocked with geese and ducks (no feeding, please!)
Downtown, Winchester’s 45-block historic district known has Old Town has more than 200 shops and restaurants. Loudoun Street is a brick-paved pedestrian mall with benches, shops and outdoor dining at several taverns and cafés. It’s the nucleus for summer festivals, concerts and events. Country singing legend Patsy Cline was born in Winchester. She worked as a “soda-jerk” at Gaunt’s Drug Store, started her career on the local radio station, and was buried in Shenandoah Memorial Cemetery after her brief 31 years ended in a plane crash. Do try to eat at Café Sofia, the only Bulgarian restaurant in the Shenandoah Valley (and maybe Virginia, for that matter). It’s open for lunch Tuesday-Friday and dinner Tuesday-Saturday (2900 Valley Avenue, tel. 540-667-2950). For more information on Winchester, tel. 800-662-1360, www.visitwinchesterva.org.
SAY WHAT? If you ask for directions in the Shenandoah Valley, chances are good the advice will sound odd — if not flat-out wrongheaded. Be patient. Valley residents have a peculiar sense of direction.