Hidden Bridge in plain sight…read more Made a little detour through a tiny town though it was a bit later than planned. I had the whole bridge to myself. This BSB creaks and moves a little but I didn't feel any dramatic "swing". There were some locks on both sides so it may be considered a romantic bridge? For being late, I was treated to a beautiful sunset over a glossy river and saw a doe with 2 fawns crossing the road. Drive slowly at dusk through Buchanan. There are NO street lights. There is NO designated parking. I just pulled over to a side of a road for about 10 minutes. Enjoy!

A little bit of unique history that gets driven by and probably criticized often, but is so unique…read moreit's awesome. Now this feels like something you'd do at Disney or a theme park, but it's not that at all, because it's as real as possible right to the north of downtown Buchanan. The stone pier you see today is the original from 1851 and this bridge spans 366 feet across the James River and is 57.6 feet tall. And it sways or swings and you can not only feel it, but you can see it too. And it's all made out of wood. Seriously I was hesitant at first, good thing I had my 3 boys worn me, afraid of nothing with death not even a thought (it's not that bad). The view from the bridge are breathtaking and because of the uniqueness of it, it's just cool. You feel like you've walked into yesteryear, where the civil war raged, which it did. Apparently the original bridge was burned down as a strategy by the Confederate General McCausland. We spent about 20 minutes taking it in and our confidence grew the more we tested the old rickety bridge. Good times by one and all and we enjoyed the park and basketball hoops right next to the parking lot for the bridge. It's a beautiful downtown with lots of history. Next time your pass Buchanan, swing on by for a walk on the swinging bridge and step into history.

Mother Nature at its finest. It's a great place to go back…read morein time and to experience the past that man has not ruined. My kids love going there and so do I

I was so glad to have carved out some time to visit this Historic site. Its two shakes of a lambs…read moretail from the highway. They created a rather large parking area with porta Jon's and about 4-5 grills and picnic tables. Nice little place. Why 4 stars? Not sure who's responsible for maintenance but trash on the ground from disrespectful people but also the grills are so old, they've rusted apart. One is hanging off its post. Otherwise, I enjoyed my visit!

I enjoyed learning the history of the bridge. The cave arches were breathtaking. I did not enjoy…read moreclimbing the stairs to return to the main building, but the experience was definitely a hike! I was excited to watch otters fish for food in the streams. The waterfall was not as grand as I expected it to be, but the natural scenery was worth viewing for $9. As a bonus, there is a trail to a cave.

This is a perfect place to take a road trip break! We did exactly that on a recent drive from…read moreAsheville to Richmond. The visitor center was easy to find and the building reminded me of those found at the University of Virginia, which was founded by Thomas Jefferson. Coincidentally, Thomas Jefferson also owned the land on which the Natural Bridge is located. After paying your admittance fee at the center, you head down several stairs and will pass a small waterfall. Very soon thereafter, you will see the Natural Arch. There is a flat path that leads you through the arch where you can continue your stroll along a steam for about 15 minutes to see a larger waterfall. "Saltpeter Cave" can also be found along the path. It was interesting to read that Mr. Jefferson leased out this shelter for the excavation of potassium nitrate which was eventually used to make gun powder. While I would not make the Natural Bridge a destination trip, it is definite worthwhile to explore if passing through the area.

We chose to park in the West Trailhead side and walked in from that direction of the tunnel. We…read morestarted out with our flashlights on but wanted to walk the tunnel without the flashlights. The Experience was fantastic. We did turn on our flashlights when we saw people approaching so we would not startle them. It is dark, damp, and cold in the tunnel. You hear the little water falling inside. We had pocket warmers and I think they were needed. We were both happy we had our pocket warmers. The hike to the tunnel has wonderful forest views and an excellently maintained trail. They also have some plaques with historical information on them. We really thought that was a nice additions to our hike. Both sides of the tunnel has picnic tables. The picnic tables are brand new this year. We stopped and had lunch. There are 2 parking areas. East Trailhead Blue Ridge Tunnel and West Trailhead Blue Ridge Tunnel. Both have a porta potty but no running water. So you will want to take some hand sanitizer. Easy hike, 4.6 miles. Out and back. 370ft elevation gain. The best maintained trail I have ever seen. Hiker friendly, kid friendly. Dogs on leash, Forest view, tucked away on the side of a mountain, Historical tunnel view. Some of the trail is paved, then gravel, and then dirt with gravel mix. Make sure you leave no trash behind

We had a group of eight for the hike. We started on the east side. The walk through the tunnel…read morewas great. I was thankful that started on the east side because it was a pretty steep and long climb after the tunnel. It was 4.5 miles total for the walk. To have the steepest part at the middle was perfect rather than having it at the end. Highly recommend. The tunnel is not claustrophobic at all as it is large inside and you can see the end the entire time. It was a perfect fall hike with the leaves changing. We stopped at Blue Mountain Brewery afterward (only 6 minutes away) for lunch.

What a beautiful cemetery for are confederate heroes it's the final resting place for Stonewall…read moreJackson and his family other important people are buried there as well

Five stars for a cemetery -- that's a first for me. But it's just because Oak Grove Cemetery is…read morehistoric and contains part (but not all) of General "Stonewall" Jackson. I say part because I was told that the General is buried here for the most part, but some of his parts are missing. I don't know which parts or where they are, but ain't here. This is one of the stops if you take the horse-drawn carriage tour through downtown Lexington. The tour guide will tell you a bit about the cemetery, and you can look around from the carriage. But if you really want to explore, you need to do so by foot on your own. The cemetery is open to all to explore.

Looks like a house, acts as a hub for rotating art and history exhibits. This Queen Anne Victorian…read morehome used to belong to Alexander Black, a prominent figure in Blacksburg, but is now a cultural center for art, and also has a children's room, a small library and a genealogy center. I got to explore the space for a bit before they closed for the day. I was impressed with the children's area, which is fun and has quite a few things for kids to play with. Other than the children's area, everything else is mostly look-but-don't-touch. Art, historical objects and documents, maps, books, furniture and a few cozy places to sit are the rest of the cultural center. This is a nice place to stop into when you're in Blacksburg if you want to know more about the history of the city, but it's also a quick visit.

This house occupies a prominent spot in downtown Blacksburg. It is open for free visitation, but…read morethe hours are limited and it is not open on Sunday, which is a bit tough from a tourist perspective. When I visited, a weekend Street market was going on outside. It is a splendid looking structure outside and in, and had a variety of exhibitions on the history and natural environment of the area as well as some art on display. There was a gift shopped themed toward local history. One can also sit on the covered porch outside. Bathrooms and water fountains were available on the second floor, and it was a hot day.

A little broken down, but still an interesting local curiosity. If you like a little side of the…read moreroad fun, have a peek

This place is amazing, literally the best place to visit in Roanoke. Despite what some of the…read morereviews say, it is much bigger than expected. Neighborhood is beautiful, right next to the river. You are missing out if you don't make this a priority stop when passing by, near, around, or within a hour of Roanoke.

What a great place!…read more April, who operates the mill, knows her craft and is happy to share it. Our tour of the mill was brief, but April was more than willing to answer our questions and go into any level of detail about the building, milling grain, etc. We purchased several items while there and would gladly go back.

I really love this spot. The grounds are beautiful and the mill is very charming. I've purchased…read moremany of their mixes and they are truly delicious! The owner kindly showed us around and her hospitality was appreciated.

The cave tour experience was OK. It was my first experience in a cave so it was interesting…read more Basically they offer a general tour every hour on the hour during business hours. A person will lead a group of people (there was 4 in our group) inside the cave and act as a tour guide. This tour is a 2 part tour: one part is the Civil War aspect where soldiers were using the mine while the second part is historical (natural cave formations). Our tour lasted about an hour. I recommend that you wear tennis shoes or hiking shoes. The cave is slippery and your walking uphill and downhill in various parts of the cave. Also a light jacket or sweater comes in handy because the air has a chill in it especially early or late in the day. Another strong recommendation is bring your own flashlight. The flashlight provided by the tour was weak and usually the battery is almost drained by the time you get it. If you are not in decent shape or if you have difficulty bending over I recommend passing. Think of it as going up and down several flights of stairs in damp, dark conditions. If you want pictures then a camera with a flash is required. I have a Canon T3i with a flash and it took good pictures. The pictures taking with smartphones did not turn out very good. I heard they have a more involved cave tour where you can crawl through the mud and get more hands-on with the experience. I did not do this part of the tour but heard it was interesting.

Came to visit these caverns on the way to visit another, but ended up here at the recommendation of…read morea local. The cave itself is miles long and the beginner tour is guided and runs about an hour or so long. The cave is very interesting as there is much civil war history, as well as of the course geological history and curiousity as well. Hard for me to gauge the experience compared to other caverns, since this was really my first time down in a real cave like this. I'd give the cave and guided tour 4 stars. Worth the money. What really turned me off, was the bible lesson that came with it. They make a point of mentioning at the commencement of the tour that they are bible believers and even put a copy of the bible in their exhibit with other pieces, petrified stone, and civil war era relics. Mind you, the bible didn't come out of the cave from the civil war era or anything... It's just a new bible they put there to talk about at the beginning of each tour. When I asked something about the giant sloth bone casting, part of the response was that they believe the "great flood" washed them in... Same with the shells and coral fragments... YIKES... Anyway, I'm not trying to be insensitive to religion, I just wasn't expecting a bible lesson during my cave tour and was a bit surprised to see the people actually hadn't heard of or believe in plate tectonics. Minus 2 stars for the whole religion thing... At the end of the day, it was a nice tour and it's a nice place, but the religion thing was a sour note for me and just wasn't really necessary or relevant to the attraction.