Shenandoah Valley

This breathtaking valley with its rolling landscape of pastures and historic towns, stretches from the Maryland state line to just south of the city of Roanoke. College towns abound, as do wonders both natural (Luray Caverns, Natural Bridge) and man-made (a myriad of small museums, including the Woodrow Wilson Presidential Library). You can see Shakespeare plays year-round at the Blackfriars Playhouse in Staunton and take in the early fall Apple Harvest Festival in Winchester.

Visits to wineries here make an especially fun travel destination; and at no time is this truer than during the fall when the leaves turn to dazzling reds, oranges and yellows. You'll find wineries from north of Winchester to south of Roanoke and at points in between. The Valley's rocky, fertile soil and warm, relatively dry growing season lend themselves to nearly every varietal.