Are you looking to find gorgeous, must-see sites in nature for your next family road trip in Virginia? Do you love to find Top U.S. Scenic Roads to Drive, Hike to Incredible View Points (on Family-Friendly Trails) and Explore Exquisitely Decorated Caves that will Simply Take Your Breath Away? If yes, then this post is for you.
Over the years our family has explored many areas across the beautiful state of Virginia and to us, there are two main areas of spectacular natural beauty that really stand out above the rest. These sites seriously impressed our family and I would love to share them with you!
Sites in this Post Include:
Skyline Drive (Stony Man Trail)
Luray Caverns
in Luray, VA
(2 hours from Washington D.C – non rush hour)
Luray Caverns
(We had a hard time capturing Luray’s overwhelming beauty due to the low lighting.)
Why You Should Go:
Luray Caverns is my favorite decorated cave in the entire United States! This cave is simply bursting with beauty!
Delicately folded stone formations surround you as you journey deeper into the earth. Enormous towering columns rise high above your head. And fantastic displays of frozen flowing limestone will completely leave you in awe of this magnificent cave!
Furthermore, Luray Caverns’ ten story high ceilings are packed with exquisite stalactite formations that are nothing short of spectacular! I had no idea that so many formations could exist in just one cave! And to top this off, large crystal clear pools sit on the cave floor below and create a mesmerizing mirror image of its gorgeous stalactite ceiling.
Just walking through Luray will make you feel as if you have entered into a magical world unlike any you’ve ever seen before.
Cave Highlights:
Aside from this cave’s exquisite beauty, Luray Caverns also contains the World’s Largest Musical Instrument, the Great Stalacpipe Organ!
The Stalacpipe Organ is an organ that was built within Luray Caverns throughout approximately 3 acres of the caverns. And to make music, it just gently taps on various stalactites! It’s incredible!
You’ll even get to hear this organ play on your tour! I was stunned how this simple tapping created the most amazing and beautiful music!
I couldn’t believe my ears!
This is something you just have to experience for yourself!
Suggested Duration:
Guided tours of Luray last about an hour and they depart approximately every 20 minutes.
Without a doubt, Luray Caverns should be on everybody’s bucket list to see and we think it would be the perfect addition to any Virginia family road trip!
Skyline Drive
in Shenandoah National Park, VA
Why You Should Go:
Skyline Drive is one of the Top Mountain Drives in America!
Here you will drive along the crest of the Blue Ridge Mountains through the heart of Shenandoah National Park. Stunning vistas and fun family-friendly hikes along the way make this incredible scenic byway a perfect drive for any family road trip through Virginia!
Altogether, Skyline Drive is 105 miles if you drive the entire route. But we chose to drive just the portion south of Luray caves. We thought this section was spectacular!
Highlights:
Milepost 32 – Mary’s Rock Tunnel is a rock tunnel that is an engineering marvel, and it was built back in 1932.
Milepost 41 –Stony Man Trail is a 1.6 mile kid friendly loop hike through a fern blanketed forest with awe-inspiring summit views.
What Our Family Loved:
Our family’s favorite thing to do along Skyline Drive was Stony Man Trail!
I loved how lush and green the ferns were at the beginning of the trail. In fact, their color was almost unreal.
Stony Man Trail
Furthermore, my three year old was able to hike it with no problem!
One thing I really liked about Stony Man Trail was that my kids had no clue as to the incredible views that were lying just ahead. And then the trees parted and this spectacular view (see below) was placed in front of them. Their expressions were priceless!
In this moment I realized:
“You can tell someone about a mountain or show them a mountain, but let them climb up the mountain so that they can really know what it is.”
Unquestionably, this hike was a top highlight in Shenandoah National Park for our entire family!
Suggested Duration:
Stony Man Trail took us about one hour and a half to hike. (But we also had a 3 year old with us.)
Skyline Drive: Driving to the south tip of Skyline Drive from Luray, VA takes about 2 hours and 15 minutes with no stops. If you need to exit earlier you can get off at Swift Run Gap and get back onto the interstate. But I would recommend driving the entire way to experience the magnificent beauty of this incredible mountain drive.
I hope you enjoyed reading about our favorite sites to visit on a Virginia road trip. This is a continuously growing list and as I come across new and exciting places that our family loves I will make sure to add them!
Have a Great Trip in Virginia with Your “Traveling Feet!”
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