Lexington, VA

The successor to the celebrated Red Hen, Zunzun occupies the same 11 East Washington Street address and continues the tradition of serious locally sourced cooking — now in a shareable small-plates and tapas format with craft cocktails and a lounge atmosphere. The menu changes frequently based on what's in season, and the team behind it is the same one that earned the predecessor its regional James Beard attention.

A downtown Lexington institution in a building dating to 1828, serving Southern-influenced New American cuisine surrounded by colorful modern art contrasted against the historic bones of the room. It's the classic date-night downtown restaurant that's been around long enough to have fed generations of VMI cadets and W&L alumni.

Lexington's most atmospheric dinner spot, housed in The Georges boutique inn on Main Street with live piano played by local musicians every night. Chef-driven seasonal plates built on local and Virginia ingredients, in a room of exposed brick and low lighting that feels genuinely special without being stiff.

A casual American bar and restaurant in downtown Lexington with a covered outdoor patio that draws students, faculty, and locals alike. It's the low-key option when you want a satisfying meal without ceremony — solid burgers, sandwiches, and bar snacks in a welcoming room that stays open late by Lexington standards.

The kind of no-pretense BBQ spot that Lexington's student and working population keeps returning to — smoky, generous, and priced for people who eat there more than once a week. The pulled pork and brisket are the go-to orders, and the outdoor seating makes it good for groups.

Lexington's local craft brewery with a taproom and outdoor seating, pouring a rotating selection of house ales alongside food that holds up on its own — not just a vehicle for beer. It's the relaxed hangout that fills the gap between the fine-dining spots and the dive bars downtown.

A downtown Main Street cafe run by a Lexington-native couple, serving LavAzza espresso, fresh-baked pastries and croissants, and handmade gelato in a modern bright room. The daily-ritual stop for VMI cadets, W&L students, and downtown regulars who want real coffee and something to go with it.

A casual daytime spot in downtown Lexington that builds its menu around clean ingredients and approachable comfort food — salads, wraps, and daily specials that work whether you're counting macros or just want a good lunch. It fills a niche in Lexington's dining landscape that the more formal dinner spots don't cover.

A seven-mile flat rail trail along the former Chesapeake & Ohio Railroad bed, following the Maury River between Lexington and Buena Vista through pastoral farmland, forest, and limestone outcrops. Owned by VMI and open to the public, it's the town's beloved easy walk — suitable for all fitness levels with the river alongside for much of the way.

The main trail in Natural Bridge State Park, starting at the visitor center and passing under the 215-foot arch before continuing through the gorge to Saltpeter Cave, Lost River, and the 30-foot Lace Falls cascade. It's only 2.1 miles round-trip but passes through terrain that earns its reputation as one of the most scenic short hikes in western Virginia.

Virginia's oldest state-managed natural area, ten miles north of Lexington, where the Maury River cuts a dramatic gorge through old chestnut oak forest. The main hike is a rugged 9.1-mile loop with 1,600 feet of elevation gain over steep ridge terrain — but even a flat walk along the river at the bottom of the gorge is worth the drive.

The Maury River through Rockbridge County offers Class I–IV rapids depending on water levels, with multiple put-in and take-out options between Goshen Pass and Buena Vista. Paddle and Pedal Rockbridge rents kayaks and canoes and can shuttle you to the best sections — it's the most popular summer activity for locals who live near the river.

A 6.5-mile round-trip climb to the double summits of House Mountain northeast of Lexington, with views across the Shenandoah Valley that are among the best accessible from the town. The trail is steep and rocky in sections but well-maintained — the reward at the top is a genuine 360-degree panorama.

A 675-seat outdoor amphitheater set inside a former 19th-century lime quarry on the edge of Lexington, with stone-walled ruins as the backdrop for summer concerts, musicals, and theater productions. The acoustics in the limestone bowl are famously good, and the setting — lit torches against rough stone walls after dark — makes even a so-so show feel special.

The first public museum in the Commonwealth of Virginia, housed in Jackson Memorial Hall on the VMI campus, with 15,000 military history artifacts spanning from the Mexican-American War to the present. The centerpiece is Little Sorrel, Stonewall Jackson's horse, preserved after the general's death and still on display with surprisingly moving effect.

A winery in the rolling hills of Rockbridge County north of Lexington, producing estate wines from Virginia's own Seyval Blanc and other varietals in a bucolic setting. The tasting room and grounds are relaxed, welcoming, and a good afternoon excuse to explore the county roads beyond the campus district.

A Saturday morning downtown market drawing local growers, artisan food producers, and craftspeople from around Rockbridge County. For visitors staying through the weekend, it's the best way to get a sense of the local food community and stock up on provisions before a day on the trails.

One of the last operating drive-in movie theaters in Virginia, Hull's has been showing films on weekends since 1950 in a volunteer-run, nonprofit model that has kept it alive when virtually every other drive-in in the region closed. It's a piece of living Americana that locals genuinely love, not a heritage attraction — they're still packing cars in for double features.

America's first state-supported military college, founded in 1839, sits on one of the most striking campuses in the South — the Gothic-inspired barracks and parade ground rise dramatically above the town. The VMI Museum inside Jackson Memorial Hall is the first public museum in Virginia's history and houses 15,000 military artifacts, including Little Sorrel, Stonewall Jackson's beloved horse (preserved in full).

The ninth-oldest university in the country, founded 1749, with a colonnaded main campus that looks like a painting of what a Virginia liberal arts college should look like. Lee Chapel on campus is a National Historic Landmark where Robert E. Lee's tomb and Edward Valentine's famous Recumbent Lee statue are housed, along with Lee's preserved president's office.

A limestone arch standing 215 feet above Cedar Creek that Thomas Jefferson once owned and George Washington surveyed as a young man — now a Virginia state park with ten miles of trail through the gorge. The Cedar Creek Trail passes under the arch and continues to Saltpeter Cave, Lost River, and Lace Falls, a 30-foot cascade at the trail's end.

The only home Thomas J. 'Stonewall' Jackson ever owned, a modest Federal-style townhouse on East Washington Street where he lived while teaching at VMI from 1851–1861. It's a National Historic Landmark with a thoughtful museum inside exploring his life before the Civil War made him famous.

A compact, highly walkable 19th-century commercial district where the VMI barracks, W&L colonnade, and the Main Street shops all flow into each other within a ten-minute stroll. The town is small enough that getting lost is part of the point — and the architecture, galleries, and independent bookstores reward wandering.