What an incredibly beautiful gem! Revenue the ride out here is great! Beautiful lake surrounded by…read moremountains & trees. Nice pretty easy trail that loops around the lake (some parts are thin & steep, but made it through with the dog) . Absolutely loved this place on our vacation. Quite peaceful. I counted 6 shelters too so I imagine in spring /summer it gets used a lot. They have porta potties and a 2-stall bathroom for women & a bathroom for men too. Hand washing station outside. We came during the week of October 13th & the foliage was beautiful.

Beautiful and I mean breathtakingly beautiful landscape! Mountains in the distance! Perfect sized…read morebody of water for light fishing, canoe, little beach area with lifeguard on duty for a family day with sand and sun, trail surround the park with benches to sit and awe at how beautiful nature can be. Prices are extremely affordable (coming from DC and being used to paying up to $40 for two people to paddle board for 30 mins, which is normal for me). For $3 or so you can take out a kayak per person per hour. If you're fishing make sure to bring all you need and purchase your license AND additional $5 permit to fish there. They sell small snacks and ice cream. Bathroom situation is dicey considering it's a porta-potty but hey honestly all in all I would come again and I would spend days on end here either by myself or with family.

Often times, the national parks get the best territory and the states get leftovers. However, the…read moreShenandoah River State Park, down the mountain from well known Skyline Drive and its accompanying federal parkland, is by no means inferior. A rural drive leads to a visitor center, trails, an overlook, river access, and campgrounds. I had time for only a brief visit, but the views were majestic. It would be an excellent place to return for a hike. As with most of Virginia's state parks, there is a modest entrance fee, but I'm sure it's well worth it.

I travel and stay at a lot of parks during the course of the year, and I have only repeated a few…read moreof them. This location is incredible, rich with things to do, views to see, and adventures to have with enough time. The cabins are gorgeous, fair warning that there is no television, but honestly who cares?! I had great phone signal which almost never happens on these excursions, and I loved making a fire in my fireplace and sitting on the porch with coffee for sunrise, which I could see from Cabin 11. This cabin also was at the end and felt private, even though I could see my neighbors (who had set up Christmas lights! How fun!) There's also a wonderful hiking trail right by these cabins, 10 and 11, the Red Tail Ridge, that was semi-short (2.5 miles or so if desired to create a loop with Big Oak) and had views of the river and Shenandoah valley below!

Absolutely beautiful landscapes and views of the valley and ridge lines. The hike is a short…read moredistance (0.8 miles) to the view point, but the change in elevation makes it a great workout.

- Update - *Several…read morepeople have advised me that the bird that tried to attack me is a Ruffled Grouse!* Apparently, they are well known in the area and confirmed to be aggressive and make strange noises! *Don't say you haven't been warned! :-) Saturday for the Memorial Weekend, I went to Wardensville WV to hike the Eagle Rock. AKA Tuscarora Trail. It's a simple 1 hour from my house. It's part of the Great North Mountain that acts as part of a natural border of WV and VA for some miles. The total miles of the Tuscarora Trail is 252 miles. It runs through PA/MD/WV and VA. It catches some of the Appalacian Trail at the Matthew's Arm Campground area. This trail was built as an alternative route for the Appalacian Trail due to the fear of the AT being shut down from development along the areas. The Tuscarora Trailhead for this location starts on the tippy top of The Great North Mtn on US48/VA55. At this location also you are in George Washington National Forest. You honestly can't miss it. 66w to 81s. Strasburg Exit to US48/VA55 follow for about 17 miles and you crest the mountain. There is a sign at the crest on the left near the wooods saying Tuscarora Trail. You can see it from the road. It slightly catches your eye but on the right side, you will see a big brown sign that says Entering Wardensville Cooperative Wildliffe Management Area. Park at the sign. Do not block the fire gates. I started out a little upset by the amount of hiker garbage on the o/s guardrail. Tons of Ice tea and water bottles littering the entire area. Not just a couple. It's like a ground of plastic bottles here. Also a bit worrisome was the constant gunshots. Over and Over until about the 1.5 mile stretch ends. I even saw Shot gun casings on the path, but I guess the sign did say Wildlife management Area. Geeze. The first mile was strenuous. There, I passed my first and only group of people I ever saw. They seemed to be teens chaperoned by 3 adults. They were catching their breath on the first mile. It was steep. Afterward, it leveled out and you could see you were walking the ridgeline of the mountain by looking o/s the trees to the mountain next door. Same height. From here it went from breathlessly uphill to muscle scortching downhill and leveling out.. over and over.. so overall there was give and take. A lot of the path became weedy and made my legs itchy. Some times it was almost knee length weeds. and the bugs. oh... the bugs. Don't stop for too long. I was breathing in a lot of bug protien on Saturday, let me tell you I had bugs for prelunch, lunch and snack! You could hear them around your head like a beehive. It was very much more wild than SNP. You could feel the wildness out here... I swear I am surprised I didn't see a bear. It was definately Bear Country! Speaking of this, let me also tell you what scared the living heck out of me up there. (Turns out after the scare I was laughing out loud all to myself but at the the time... I thought I was going to die) I heard some leaves russling... I slowed down and made a little noise...This...This... Turkey Bird Thing races out of the woods at full turkey bird speed and is coming right at me. It puffs up it's whole body and the tail spreads out like a Turkey but it's not big like a Turkey, more of a chicken size but fatter.... anyway this thing runs to me with his body puffed out and all I could do was walk backward and shout No over and over and over.. It's amazing I didn't fall down! That bird was litterally attacking me. I guess there was a nest along the patch in the woods and I was a bit close but OMG, If it were a bear, I'd be dead. That simple. Freaking Bird. OMG.... so it went off to the right and made this sound like a beaten dog.. wimpering..it was terrible. and When I started on my way, it followed me ! It was walking in the woods making that sickening noise for a good couple yards...That whole situation made me wonder about this dumb whistle I brought with me for safety. wow. wth is this whistle going to do! I forgot it was even in my hand! and that was a bird! lol. So later at a rock outcrop I almost sit on the one snake I saw the entire time. He was identical to the rock. Identical. I looked right at him and sat next to him. (?!?) The views were nice. A good change from SNP views. I'm glad I chose to hike this mountain this summer. There's so much more of it to hike and it even meets up with the Stairway to Heaven I did a couple weeks prior. I'm interested in exploring it a bit more. I may need to invest in a bigger whistle and perhaps a nice size knife as well. In the end, I was trying to outhike the storm on the way back to the car. I almost made it. But I was dripping wet once I turned the key! It was a great day and a great hike.

Only place i really launch my boat it's good when river is at right level and the upkeep is done…read morewhich hasn't been very good. The places to tie off your boat are gone with nails sticking out everywhere and after water levels rise there's always thick mud on the concrete pad. If you have a good size boat the water around the ramp can get pretty shallow. Also, there's a lot of people who come there that can't read the rules and trash the place. When the upkeep is good and not muddy it's a good ramp.

Cute little grassy area noting the Civil War event of the Battle of Guard Hill. There are about 5…read morepicnic tables here and one grill post plus a porta pottie. This is sitting right at a boat ramp entering the Shenandoah River/North Fork. Basically, coming 66 West from N.VA, merging off at Front Royal exit, take a left on 522. Gas station and McDonald's on the right. Turn left onto Riverton Rd. (Just before the bridge). Turn right at the boat launch. Licensed fishing permitted.

I lovely place to visit is you are in this area. The grounds are extensive. You can drive around…read morethe perimeter and stop in designated parking areas, which makes it more manageable to explore all the different parts of the Arboretum in one visit. There is a lively garden near the main building, which was so peaceful to walk through. Wonderful groves of all different kinds of David trees and the bamboo forest should not be missed! It was magical to walk through the tall bamboo.

I was late to enjoying the ginkgo garden but it's still beautiful. The facility was clean and…read moreorganize.

A great day for a hike on the A.T. This one is just o/s Fauquier County on Mt Weather. I took the…read moreSOBO trail a couple years ago. This time I went North to the waterfall. Let me give some mad respect to whomever dug out the spot to put in a rather large parking area for us! For years we've been on side of this narrow dirt road. * Thank. (Virtual fist pump). This was 3 miles out and 3 miles back. The waterfall is around 1 mile mark. It's off to the right. *please understand, ricks are slippery whether they're wet ot not. How someone brings three toddlers here with no backpack, water or first aid is beyond me. I had to leave the area. But it was really nice. Very relaxing and you did have to hand/foot climb to get up there. Be careful please. I double backed and got on the A.T. Couple more miles to the secret cliff I saw in another Yelp post. :) . Lots of people walked by, no one knew I was there. I had it all to myself. Its better than the actual lookout. Anyway. I scanned the rocks for danger, shot some pics and sat down for water and dry crackers. I look over and there are 2 snakes curled up by a small tree about 6 feet from me. I spoke to them. "Thought you'd hide from me. I got you!" It was funny. I took a couple pics and kept my eyes on them. Only takes a second to lose track and they end up right at me saying, "HA got you back!" I sat a while then headed back down. I enjoyed it! I'd like to section hike and have a car waiting to take me back to my own car where I started. They should have an Uber Hikes App available for that. ;) This way I can hike for as far as I want without turning around to come straight back.

Short trail, pretty and cool, but the waterfall wasn't what I expected. The trail was well kept,…read moreand trimmed back, some areas were steep, and can be slick if it rains.

Moderate due to rocky terrain but well maintained, nice shade up and down trail crosses creek…read more Beautiful view.

This hike is a great out and back trail and not too far out there especially if you're coming from…read moreDC. It's not in a National park either so no fees! Roughly 2 miles out and 2 miles back in, this hike doesn't get particularly steep until maybe the last .5 mile up the ridge. But of rock scrambling and cobbles on the trail so ankle support is recommended but not necessary. The white blazes are well marked and helpful with all the fall leaf litter. Dog friendly but probably nicer if your dog is a little bit taller (saw a corgi and a dachshund being carried by their owners for the rock scrambling). Our coonhound had a great time. No trash can so be prepared to pack out all garbage. Only con is limited and steep parking which can get dicey if the lot is full. Come early on a nice weekend day and you should be fine. Trail itself did not feel overly crowded.

Our group of six enjoyed the visit to Belle Grove Plantation which is a well cared for property…read morelisted on the National Trust of historic buildings. The history of the Hite Family and its prominence in this community was well relayed by our enthusiastic tour docent who was a wealth of good information. She also gave a fair amount of discussion about the enslaved people who ran the day to day domestic activities in the home. Unfortunately there are few first hand records from that group so I suppose much of their history is conjecture. The gift shop has some nice crafts by local artisans and the surrounding fields are interesting as the site of civil war battles. Belle Grove is a nice place to examine several centuries of history that relate to this property and deserves a visit by those visiting the Shenandoah Valley.

My husband and I were looking for a place to engage in a low key hike and enjoy the majestic…read moremountain views. We started out GPSing to one intended destination and fortunately ended up here. It's on an absolutely gorgeous estate and the gentleman in the welcome center is an absolute pleasure. Zach was so helpful and hospitable. He honestly helped make my day.