Start from 38 curated places around Shenandoah, VA, then choose the recommendations that fit your guests.
Restaurants & cafés
The Shack
The intimate 30-seat Staunton restaurant on S Coalter Street built its reputation under Ian Boden's celebrated tasting menu; Chef Mike Skipper has kept the quality standard while shifting to a more approachable format — wood-fired pizzas, small plates, and New American cooking that draws on Valley farms. Open Thursday through Sunday.
Zynodoa
Staunton's farm-to-table standard-bearer in a warm downtown room — locally sourced meats and produce from the Shenandoah Valley, a menu that changes with the season, and a Virginia wine list that takes the local producers seriously.
Trails & outdoors
Old Rag Mountain
The most iconic hike in Shenandoah National Park — a 9.2-mile circuit with a 2-mile rock scramble through boulders and granite slabs to a 3,284-foot summit with 360-degree views. The scramble is the thing: iron rungs, hand-and-foot climbing, and a summit that rewards every scrape.
Dark Hollow Falls
The most popular waterfall hike in Shenandoah — a steep 1.4-mile round-trip to 70-foot Dark Hollow Falls, one of the tallest waterfalls in the park. The Rose River Loop extends this to a 5.2-mile circuit passing a second waterfall and a swimming hole on the Rose River.
Things to do
American Shakespeare Center Blackfriars Playhouse
The world's only re-creation of Shakespeare's indoor Blackfriars Theatre — a 300-seat candlelit performance space in downtown Staunton where the American Shakespeare Center produces Shakespeare and his contemporaries year-round in authentic staging conditions (minimal sets, universal lighting, musician-actors). Among the most distinctively conceived theater experiences in the country.
Ox-Eye Vineyards
A farm-to-glass winery in downtown Staunton's Wharf District — 100% estate-grown wines from their Augusta County vineyard, poured in a charming tasting room that's walkable from the Blackfriars and the best Staunton restaurants. No appointment needed, casual atmosphere, and wines that reflect the Valley's unique terroir.
Landmarks & sights
Shenandoah National Park & Skyline Drive
The 197,000-acre national park running 105 miles along the Blue Ridge crest, with Skyline Drive threading through the length and 75 overlooks providing views east over the Piedmont and west into the Valley. Fall foliage (mid-October), wildflower spring, and summer evening overlooks are the three seasons that fill the parking areas. The park protects 500+ miles of trails including the Appalachian Trail's full Virginia traverse.
Luray Caverns
Eastern America's largest and most visited caverns — cathedral-sized rooms with ceilings 10 stories high, crystal-clear underground pools, and 10,000-year-old formations in a rainbow of natural mineral colors. The Stalacpipe Organ (the world's largest musical instrument) plays actual tones struck from the stalactites throughout the cavern on a schedule.