My daughter and I had a great time hiking Humpback Rocks. Others give the directions so I will not…read more The Visitors Center has restrooms and more. The parking for the trailhead is across from the Visitors Center. Wear sturdy shoes, no flip flops or sandals. Take water you will need it, especially on hot days. Only attempt if in good health. Some will bring a good camera, if you have bring it. Obviously take your phone for photos, but keep in mind of weak reception at the top. My recommendation is to start out early AM, but after day break as the trail is too difficult in my opinion to navigate while dark. The trail is around a mile and a half and can take over an hour with breaks. Many can reach the top in 35-45. The view is 100% worth the effort. Be careful up there, it's no joke. Elevation is over 3000 feet.

Humpback Rocks is the first Visitor Center you'll encounter if you're heading south on the BRP from…read morethe north entrance. It's a small, but good little visitor center, with a small shop and a small exhibit inside. There are also bathrooms here, with are of decent quality. You will be most rewarded if you actually get out of your car for more than a few minutes and take a short walk through the living museum on the Mountain Farm Trail. I think it's about 3/4 of a mile round trip, through a living museum of authentic farm buildings, showing what life was like for people who lived in the area in the late 1800s, and there are interpreters to explain the farmhouse. So absolutely worth the visit if you're on the Blue Ridge Parkway.

This visitor center is a must-stop when exploring Shenandoah! The location is beautiful, with…read morestunning views that make it worth the visit on their own. Inside, there's a small but charming store with local souvenirs. The exhibits were informative and well-presented,great for learning more about the park's history, wildlife, and natural features. It's the perfect place to take a relaxing break along the way. They also had clean restrooms and restaurant nearby.

The Byrd center is located about halfway on Skyline Drive at mile 51, across from Big Meadows. It's…read morea great place to stop. The visitor center has a theatre that was rotating through three film options when we visited covering nature and history topics (how else would we have found out that the park has eels?!) The exhibit space is really nice too, informative and interactive. There's a nice slate of windows to look out at Big Meadows, and not only for wildlife, it turns out, as they were also doing a helicopter training during our visit, which was interesting to observe. There is also a small gift shop available. The center is located near a trailhead and the Big Meadows Lodge, which offers food during peak season. There are gas pumps available. There was an EV charger in the parking area, as well, though it was out of commission at the time of our visit. The rangers and staff were all very friendly and helpful.

Friendly and helpful staff. Located in cute historical home. Local items for sale. Good info on…read morelocal drinks and food.

Top notch information center!…read more We were tooling around Harrisonburg and since we had no clue where anything was we popped in (plus we had to pee real bad). The two ladies working here were amazing and I am sorry that I did not get their names- they were just super friendly and spent a lot of time just chatting with us about the area and the things to see and places to eat etc. Probably one of the best Tourist information centers I have ever used. Parking lot in back.

I have been to many visitor centers over the years. Most have a physical building and are open 7…read moredays a week. When I was planning to go to Charlottesville on vacation recently I searched on google and found out you can only call them on Weds and Thurs and they don't have a physical building. They have a temporary kiosk. I did ask for info about Charlottesville. The highlights are Monticello, UVA and the DownTown Mall. It was unfortunate that it rained on some days I was there. Nothing you can do about the weather. It was sunny on enough days I could get out and explore. Also, if you are a history buff, Montpelier is about a half hour drive from Charlottesville and is the home of James Madison. It's not as grand as Monticello, but it was okay. The other home, Highland, was the home of James Monroe and is located in Charlottesville. One thing I was not aware of is the original home burned down in 1829 after Monroe had sold the home. It was never rebuilt so what you are actually seeing on the property is a guest house the president never resided in. IF I had known this I would have thought twice about going there. They don't really put this information out there front and center. I only learned about it when I was there. They do have a history tour, but I think I would have probably skipped highlands. the downtown mall is nice, my friend and I got to see a free concert at the venue called the 'Ting' There are many shops and restaurants, but one caveat is there were many homeless there. There is a police presence there. Just thought I'd mention it. I took Amtrak and took their transit buses called CAT which are free. They don't run on Suns though. I did have to take Lyft to Monticello, there are no buses or shuttles to get to the property. There are also wineries and hiking trails in the Blue Ridge mountains to enjoy.

Conveniently location at the end of the mall area next to the pavilion, this is one of the most…read moreaccommodating Visitor's Centers I've ever been to. We stopped here for to-do suggestions for the day. The gentleman who helped us was friendly, asked how old the kids were and if there was anything we were particularly interested in. He mapped out options for us in three areas of town on the map, and made a great suggestions for breakfast. Definitely stop in here for top notch visitors info.

We absolutely loved this drive. You could honestly stay in the car the whole time and see some…read moregreat views. We didn't though - stopped and did some hiking but our guidebooks were good about noting the mile markers so you could try to plan it out. They had somewhat clear mile markers on the side of the road and it was fairly easy sailing the whole day. As the park got busier, it was nice to have the wayside lots to break things up a bit. Very easy to navigate.

The main drive through Shenandoah. Beautiful views and plenty of attractions lie along this route…read more The roads wind through the mountains and you get tons of overlooks. Would recommend to anyone who's in the area. Great to pair with a hike

I've stopped in the Lexington Visitor Center during pretty much every visit to Rockbridge County,…read moreVA and am impressed by how consistently friendly and helpful the staff are. I don't know whether they are employed or volunteer their time, however their knowledge and passion for the history of the environs is impressive. It is conveniently located in historic Lexington and is located just a few doors down from the Stonewall Jackson House & Museum. If you've not been to Lexington in the past or would like more ideas about places to see, this is a great stop. They have a private parking lot AND clean public bathrooms! ( I like the clean part!) PS. A special thanks to Etta with whom I had a delightful discussion!

The Lexington Visitor Center is an excellent place to begin a visit to this historic town. You will…read moresee highway signs announcing it along I-81 and in town. Displays showcase the principal attractions. The helpful docent at the desk will give you a walking tour map and mark it up with a suggested route. A tour will usually begin with the Stonewall Jackson House just up the street. Free parking is available all day at the visitor center, though the parking lot fills up. Restrooms.

So glad we stopped in to see this museum! It's free. It was small but had a lot of information. It…read morewas interesting to learn about the history of Lynchburg and see artifacts related to Lynchburg. Some exhibits, like the women's suffrage movement, showed how life in Lynchburg correlated to larger events. A large map along with the history of the different sections of the city is in the basement. After leaving the museum, we explored some of the neighborhoods. The Visitor's Center is also located here. The woman at the desk was so helpful. She helped us find a restaurant for dinner, gave us directions, and helped us find some other places to go. A small gift shop area is also here. Prices were very reasonable.

From the owner: Start your LYH visit at the Lynchburg Museum, where friendly staff will assist you with all there…read moreis to see and do in the City of Lynchburg and the surrounding region. Whether you want to soak up the City's rich history, spend a day brewery hopping, or hit the trails, our staff will help you find your next adventure.

The Blue Ridge Parkway begins where Skyline Drive ends in Shenandoah National Park, Virginia. It…read moreruns 217 miles from Anton to the border with North Carolina near Roanoke, before continuing farther to the southwest into the Smoky Mountains in far western Carolina; 469 miles in all. It is very similar to Skyline Drive, but offers somewhat higher peaks and and more astounding long vistas of blue tinged valleys from overlooks along the route. Still, if you love this part of the Appalachians, you really owed it to yourself to continue the excursion at least partially down the twisting crest hugging blacktop for as long as you wish. We were able to do more rock scrambling there than farther north, and the adventure quotient was that much more challenging. Too, we had a decent map of the secondary roads, and turned off the Parkway to return via unpaved single lane gravel tracks that took us deeper into the vales and hollows where the locals live and work the land. I imaged hearing banjo and bluegrass as we passed crystal flowing streams and cascading boulder diverted waterfalls. Perfect soundtrack to our personal travelogue. Those fifty miles were the most exciting. At first a little nervous being somewhere we might not be found, we gradually found some confidence as our car trekked the forest road well, and the one pickup we met along the way courteously pulled out of our way to let us pass, with a smile and wave. Pennsylvania has the Allegheny Mountains, the northern continuation of the Blue Ridge. They are rugged and beautiful in their own right, but lack the focus demanded from a challenging drive on mountain roads dedicated to letting travelers discover their intense magnetism. Spend enough time under their spell and you will swear you underwent a near religious experience.

The Blue Ridge Parkway is one of the most visited National Parks, 469 miles of twisty road from…read moreWaynesboro, VA to Cherokee, NC. It's a gorgeous drive or bicycle ride, with a lot of elevation changes and tons of pretty vistas. There are numerous visitor centers along the way to stop and rest, and if you like this type of drive, you will be rewarded with an interesting drive. It's also a springboard to many hiking opportunities, with numerous trail heads along the road. It's beautiful at any time of the year, from the colorful autumn colors to the burst of wildflowers in spring, to the icy beauty in the winter, and the cooler temperatures in the summer. An awesome drive!

We did this hike at the end of October. It was cloudy and drizzling that day but I still enjoyed…read morethis hike throughly. The autumn color was perfect. I would rate this hike as easy. The trail went downhill in the beginning but on the way back the incline was gradual through out the hike. One of my friends who did this hike with me was pregnant and was able to do this hike with breaks intermittently. Parking lot could get busy. I saw some people parked on the grass, just be careful not to get stuck in the mud if it's raining.

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!

Absolutely gorgeous park with a lot to see and do! We loved Skyline Drive and even saw an elusive…read moresalamander!

GORGEOUS! Gorgeous! Absolutely stunningly GORGEOUS! Run don't walk to Shenandoah during the fall…read moretime because the foliage is *chefs kiss* ‍. I went mid October on a Wednesday morning. The drive in from DC was not bad at all. When we arrived we were told we didn't need to pay since the government was shutdown. On your way up the mountain you'll notice that there are a ton of trails. We went straight to the Visitor Center and was happy there was someone inside to guide us to the trail we wanted to hike. The views outside of the visitor center are perfect for a photo opp. Right across the street was the Fox Hollow trail where you can do a little over a mile or a 4 mile hike. I was definitely shocked how much uphill there was on the 4 mile hike. The only thing keeping me going was the beautiful views. About midway we stumbled upon a great outlook where we were able to chill a little bit before heading down hill. Riding through the rest of the park was really nice. It wasn't too busy and the national park is huge so you can explore all day long. There's places where you can camp and picnic all throughout the park. And then afterwards you can check out a local winery or brewery in the area. Have funnn!!!