Stalactites, stalagmites, dripping water, and cool caves – the caverns are calling! Luray Caverns is a beautiful, colorful and romantic destination. The Caverns were discovered over 126 years ago and have been thrilling visitors ever since. Tour guides, carrying lanterns, lead visitors on narrow paths lined with ever-changing formations and small natural ponds. The highlight of the tour is the world’s largest musical instrument – the “Great Stalacpipe Organ” – an invention which involves stalactites throughout the cave being electronically tapped with rubber mallets, creating beautiful symphonic melodies.
Crystal Caverns is Virginia’s oldest recorded cavern while Shenandoah is the only cavern with elevator service. Skyline Caverns is one of the only caves on earth with Anthodite formations, a very fragile crystal resembling a stone flower. Endless Caverns remains a puzzle to many – explorers have yet to find an end to the cave.
Country
A warm spring day, sunshine on your back, a picnic in a wicker basket and a winding, gentle lane with only you and your loved ones pedaling along on bicycles. If biking, or the great outdoors in general, is your kind of getaway, then Nelson County makes a great destination. The centralized county offers a variety of adventures for outdoorsmen including the numerous bicycle trails, horseback riding, hiking, boating and exploring Crabtree Falls – the highest vertical-drop waterfall east of the Mississippi.
The “Heart of Appalachia” region, the western tip of Virginia, is home to bluegrass music, Daniel Boone, Pocahontas, coal mining and the Cumberland Gap. This area makes a wonderful destination full of museums, attractions and shows. “America’s Most Scenic Drive,” the Blue Ridge Parkway, is in this region of the state and offers visitors an abundance of outdoor activities and numerous areas to observe wildlife or be a part of nature.