I award 3 stars here. The singing tower itself demands your attention and for good reason. Though…read morethe bells don't ring anymore, they did in 1937. Heaviest bell weighs 7,640 lbs!! Wow. It's beautiful backed by the mountains and our American flag riding the wind. They seem to hold events there also. They did add sheltered picnic tables around a small pond. Pond is a bit smelly. I saw some grocery bags and sandwich bags in the water. Torn fabrics on the ground in front of the stone wall. Not too bad, just needs a volunteer clean up day and maybe don't allow fishing in it.

Government Pond…read more ±7-acre park located in Luray, VA, that doesn't have much in the way of features but has one very unique one. We were a bit early to check-into our AirBnB, so we were looking to kill time, and this place came upon our path. Pros: *Small pond with some shade. *Bethany Veney Remembrance Garden, which honors a former slave. *The famous 47-bell Luray Singing Tower (aka Belle Brown Northcott Memorial), which, to be honest, was what caught our eye and made us decide to kill time here. For performance dates and times go here: https://luraycaverns.com/explore/singing-tower/ The Meh: *No picnic tables *No BBQ pits *No Restrooms The Ugly: *Virginia summer weather... 0_o TLDR: Decent park but only plan to visit to catch a performance from the tower, as it's probably spectacular.

We were given a really nice inner tube with back support. They took us up river where we put in and…read morefloated back to their business. The water and views were nice. We took the more calm water. We did have to paddle occasionally to keep going.

Do not recommend. Reckless drive to the boat launch. Paid for 2 Canoes and they brought a kayak…read moreand a canoe. When we asked for a some type of refund of the canoe they said get lost very unprofessional family

My friend and I booked Tim to guide us at Graves Mountain Lodge. He met and exceeded all my…read moreexpectations. I was brand new to fly fishing and was looking forward to learning on my great grandfather's fly rod w new reel and line. Throughout the day Tim coached and assisted and I saw my casts steadily improve. He is knowledgeable, patient, and a wonderful guy to spend a day with.

Full disclosure: I taught Tim for one year, so I knew him ahead of this venture…read more I was excited to see that Tim guided people in fly fishing. My husband and my eight year old son are avid fishermen and wanted to add fly fishing to their fishing repertoire. Scheduling was easy. He got back to me very quickly and was very responsive to my questions. The day of fishing was glorious. The weather was perfect! We had sweatshirts to wear in the morning, for which I was super thankful (I wish I had water shoes--that was the only thing I did not bring I wish I had. Tim had all the equipment needed including polarized sunglasses. He was organized, attentive, and so enthusiastic. We fished in several places including stocked and unstocked waters. My husband caught the first fish within an hour. Bobby caught the second. I even caught two! By the time we were done, they had caught so many! Each view Tim guided us to was better than the first. The water was pristine. I felt like I was going back in time and was far away from the cares of the world! Tim exceeded all expectations as our guide (and my expectations were high because I know him:)). He was so knowledgeable. My biggest thing, of course, was that he was so wonderful to our son. He answered every question with grace and patience. He got Bobby's line unstuck every time he got it stuck and did it patiently. He answered every question from whether or not he believed in Bigfoot to what was his second favorite freshwater fish. He also taught my husband some advanced things because he knew Dave was already a fisherman. If you or your family have any desire to learn about fly fishing, book with Tim!

I found the Luray-Hawksbill Greenway after a quick lunch and before checking into my camping lodge…read more I did a short stop and turned into the commuter parking area after seeing a walkway by the creek. I only walked the loop which was probably a little less than a mile, however the Greenway itself is 2 miles long. The paved path runs alongside the Hawksbill creek and I was happy that was the case. The sounds of the creek water was relaxing. Calling it a creek can be deceiving but it's not a river! It's pretty nice size, specially after all our rain. A super great resource for the town! A great way to bring the community together. -One thing that worried me was the electric farm fence. Please note it's quite close to the pavement.

Beautiful spot to get your exercise in Great walking trail…read morewith fantastic views. Very interesting in what you might see. Don't worry it's not to strenuous. I even saw a lot of seniors handling it. Love the water view. Definitely plan on returning.

There isn't too much to this park. There is a small area used as sports fields by local children…read more There is a nature trail that was also partially converted into a disc golf course. I don't know why park staff in Virginia keep building disc golf as no one really plays this sport and it spoils the nature trails. You can hear noise such as back up sounds from trucks while in the park from businesses outside the park. Entrance is strange and can be missed if you unfamiliar with the park. There is a recycling center near the entrance.

This is a substantial preserve that is free to enter. Some facilities without running water are…read moreavailable at the entrance. The topography varies, and the meadow near the parking lot is markedly distinct from the valley in which the actual creek lies. One suspension bridge crosses the creek and it was in quite good condition, but it could also be crossed on foot, or on hoof as this is a horse area. There were several miles of trails and I was worn out enough that I did only a fraction of them, but they were quite pleasant. Various signage suggested this parking lot was a spot for thieves despite the rural location; I suppose it is a highbrow crowd that would be parking here. It also suggests that anytime your shoe leaves a mark the trail is too wet to walk, which if taken literally is kind of ridiculous. Fortunately, if you lock your car and make your own decisions about mud, you can have a good experiences.

This is a great park we happen to find in the area. After spending the previous day at the winery,…read morewe needed to do a small hike. Unfortunately, it was extremely cold and windy and we didn't have bug spray, so we didn't get didn't get too adventurous. For these reasons, we tried the easiest trail--the Meadow Loop Trail. It was an easy loop around a grassy area, took maybe less than 10 minutes. There was a very detailed map at the entrance of the trails. This included all the available trails, the level of difficulty for each trail, basic etiquette, friendly reminders, etc. There was also a reminder that everyone needs to watch out for each other --hikers, bikers and horse riders. We didn't see any horses, but we did try to dodge the "presents" they left behind. We did see some bikers returning from the trail. There was a large parking lot, which most likely fills up when the weather is nicer. Cameras are watching the parking lot, but it's always best to lock cars and hide valuables :). There were bathrooms available, but not the type with running water....if you get what I mean! Would I return? Can't say for sure since it's pretty far.

We were pumped to try this easy trail but quickly found out it's more moderate than easy. My…read morehusband has a broken vertebrae in his back so he had to turn around. I decided to push forward and was so happy I did. Such a breathtaking hike. The falls are gorgeous and the path is very nice. They have steps built in to many steep places that makes it very easy to navigate. It was a very warm spring day and I did not bring enough water. Bring water or at least a filter so you can have as much drinking water as you need. I enjoyed the hike down but was quickly humbled on the way back up! When I say breathtaking I mean I was out of breath and breathing hard on the way up. So worth it though. I actually hiked down to the Rose River Loop Trail and that's where I turned around to go back up and it's like a 945 ft elevation gain in 1.5 miles. I had to take some breaks and even cooled myself down a bit in the water. What an epic hike though and I even saw a deer!

Amazing waterfall! It was well worth it. It gets steep coming back up but it's nothing anyone can't…read moredo.

Great dog park! Large, well fenced, with lake access. Reaching the park requires a short hike down…read morethe path from the parking lot. The only negative is that the path and the park can get very muddy after a rain!