Winchester and Frederick County, Va. form the “top” of Virginia that is also the northern gateway to the Valley and a popular visitor destination for Interstate 81 travelers. There's lots to see and do, whether it be the many historic attractions, downtown dining and shopping, or the Valley charm of the small towns that lie along the Old Valley Pike. George Washington not only slept here, he began his career in Winchester.

Elvis Presley is in the building at the Museum of the Shenandoah Valley in Winchester, Va.  The appearance is in the form of rare, early-career photos, the subject of a new exhibit that opened on July 10. The exhibition features Elvis photos taken in 1956 that capture his meteoric rise to fame. The show has been created by the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service, and the MSV exhibition is one stop along a national tour.

Shenandoah Caverns makes it easy for visitors to behold the beauty of its special formations within 17 underground rooms, some of which are 100-feet-high. Open to the public since 1922, guests embark on the tour by entering the only elevator in a Virginia cavern. There are no steps to climb! The underground wonders begin to unfold at the very beginning. Vistas include sparkling crystalline formations like the Diamond Cascade, unusual drapery formations like the Breakfast Bacon and the memorable Rainbow Lake.

The newest exhibit at the Frontier Culture Museum has been attracting national attention long before it will be ready to go, according to the museum's director of marketing, Mike Sutton. It's a replica of a West African Ebo village, complete with mud buildings that are constructed the same way they were built by West Africans in the 1700s and 1800s, before many of them were brought here as as slaves to help settle the Shenandoah Valley. Sutton admits that the nearly-completed village compound that greets museum visitors often raises a few eyebrows.

The American Shakespeare Center has announced its 2010-2011 seasons, a program of 16 productions presented over 52 weeks in 5 separate repertory seasons, offering the largest number of plays per year by Shakespeare and Early Modern playwrights of any theatre in the world.

The lineup features eight plays by Shakespeare: The Taming of the Shrew; Othello; Henry IV, Part 2; As You Like It; Macbeth; Measure for Measure; The Comedy of Errors; and Henry VI, Part 3.

Ever since humans first traveled through the Great Valley in the eastern United States, and even before that time, the Shenandoah Valley was a natural thoroughfare between the Blue Ridge and Allegheny Mountains.  The trail that emerged out of prehistory ultimately became known as the Great Valley Road. Its form and function has changed many times, and nearly always in a dramatic way. A new book that chronicles this epic story has just been published.

A part of the scenic Shenandoah Valley beauty and visitor appeal, Page County, Virginia, is the home to over 250 rental properties that are classed as vacation “cabins,” although the luxurious amenities offered by some may defy traditional ideas of rustic seclusion.  The sheer number of properties and options available and perhaps just as importantly, the easy travel distance from the Washington D.C. metro area, are all reasons why Page County, Va. is officially known as the Cabin Capital of Virginia.

The Factory Antique Mall first opened its doors in 1996, starting out more as a flea market where antiques were only a part of a large variety of curios offered for sale.  General Manager Jason Brinkley says that it soon became apparent that specializing in antiques made good business sense.  Time has proved his thinking to be correct.

Since then, the Factory Antique Mall has grown into a huge mall-style operation that now covers 90,000 square feet of indoor space.  It now consists of a group of independent vendors who offer the largest selection of antiques and collectibles in the Shenandoah Valley and Brinkley says that it's one of the largest antique malls on the east coast.

Rod Graves says that the inspiration for his life-long dream came from one that his father originally had. Graves is Vice President of Luray Caverns, home of the new Luray Valley Museum whose grand opening is being celebrated this month. His father, Henry T.N. “Ted” Graves, ran Luray Caverns as a family business from 1952 to 2008.  The elder Graves passed away in June, just one month before the result of the father-son vision would officially open.

Shenandoah National Park will join two other eastern U.S. national parks that have been celebrating 75th anniversaries when it kicks off its own celebration event this September, according to the park's 75th Anniversary Coordinator, Donna Bedwell.  The Great Smokey Mountains National Park celebrated its 75th in 2009 and Blue Ridge Parkway's celebration is currently in progress.

The Shenandoah Valley is well-known for its national parks, caverns, historical museums and battlefields, and summer festivals. But one destination that is often overlooked by visitors is Blandy Experimental Farm.  The 700-acre University of Virginia property is home to the State Arboretum -- and over 8,000 plants, including nearly half the number of pine species found throughout the entire world.

All wars may be terrible, but World War I was particularly horrific. Mechanized warfare that emerged from the American Civil War became more lethally refined, while soldiers on the ground were forced to cling to outdated combat tactics.  Over 35 million soldiers lost their lives, many simply from the deplorable conditions they endured living in trenches. The Woodrow Wilson Presidential Library and Museum in Staunton has just opened a new, interactive exhibit which realistically recreates a World War I trench. It's called “World War I, the Doughboys War.”

Page Valley is a favorite escape for people who visit the Shenandoah Valley. The area offers scenic beauty and easy proximity from the Washington-Baltimore metropolitan area.  It is located along the South Branch of the Shenandoah River, which flows along the western flank of the Blue Ridge Mountains, Shenandoah National Park and Skyline Drive. Many visitors choose to experience this lovely Valley destination while staying at a vacation cabin.

Back in the 1860s, map-maker Jed Hotchkiss crafted maps of the Shenandoah Valley without any reliance on GPS, satellite images and aerial photography. Yet, when his maps are superimposed over modern images, they are amazingly accurate. His maps are as much beautiful artwork as they are works of precision cartography. The life of Hotchkiss and his work was initially the subject of a 2008 Museum of Shenandoah Valley exhibition, one that has since traveled to the Library of Congress.

 

Much of what makes aptly-named Sky Meadows State Park such a lovely entry point into the Shenandoah Valley may be as much about what the park isn't than what it is. The pristine vistas that can be seen from within the park's three-square miles aren't actually in the park. Hike to the top of a high meadow and you can gaze out over largely-unspoiled Crooked Run Valley farmland. Off in the distance you can see Broad Run Gap, which marks a clear boundary with heavily-populated Northern Virginia and metropolitan Washington, D.C.

It took millions of years and a joint effort by the Shenandoah and Potomac rivers to carve a natural channel through the Blue Ridge Mountains and the result is a scenic gem known today as Harpers Ferry National Historic Park. The town of Harpers Ferry clings to the steep river bluffs that form a point where the two great rivers meet. Harpers Ferry has lived through devastating floods and Civil War turmoil to develop into a recreational getaway for millions of people, particularly those who live in nearby Washington, D.C. and Baltimore Md.

Bryce Resort is a four-season resort for the entire family.  Located in the beautiful and historic Shenandoah Valley nestled between the Blue Ridge and Allegheny Mountains, Bryce Resort is within easy driving distance from the Washington D.C. and Baltimore metropolitan areas, as well as the Tidewater and Charlottesville areas of Virginia. For more than 40 years the resort has been the source of year-round recreation from golf, tennis, swimming and boating to summer and winter mountain activities.

The upper region of the Shenandoah Valley is actually at its southern end, with the city of Lexington and surrounding Rockbridge County forming a travel gateway. It sits at the end of a narrow part of the Valley between mountain skylines that offer stunning vistas in every direction. It's kind of tucked away in its own special place, yet is at the junction of two major interstate highways. Anyone visiting or vacationing in the Valley should plan on spending some time here.

Lime kilns have been around for hundreds of years, primarily for heating limestone to make mortar.  One such operation began in the 19th century in Lexington, Va. It failed rather quickly as a business venture and the abandoned stonework gradually fell into ruin and the grounds lay fallow.  In the 1960s a Virginia Military Institute English professor got an idea of staging Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream at there. The idea of using the old lime kiln site as an outdoor theater caught on soon after, and in 1983, the Theater at Rock Kiln Ruins was born.

The James River is often most associated with the Tidewater and Piedmont areas of Virginia, but it's also a Shenandoah Valley destination and now one of the newest paddling experiences in the area.  The Upper James River Water Trail is a “blueway” or “water trail” for small boats that combines recreation and environmental awareness while linking communities and land-based attractions such as historic sites and parks.