By Bob Tagert
As we were experiencing a prolonged heat wave here on the East Coast, we decided to head to the cool Blue Ridge mountains and the extraordinary Luray Caverns, in Luray, Virginia. Discovered in 1878, Luray Caverns were a destination on their own but over the years, the Car & Carriage Caravan Museum, Toy Town Junction Museum, The Shenandoah Heritage Village including the Luray Valley Museum were added to the experience and admittance to all are included in the price of the ticket. The Garden Maze and Rope Adventure Park are the latest attractions and tickets for admittance to them is available individually.
Car & Carriage Caravan Museum
This is a collection of over 140 items related to transportation dating back to the covered wagon and includes 50 motorized vehicles beginning with simple wagons and coaches to the elaborate and luxurious automobiles of the 1940s. Meticulously restored to their original splendor, these “antiques on wheels” are all in running condition and beautifully displayed among period artifacts and costumes.
Toy Town Junction
No, it’s not a Hollywood back lot. It’s Toy Town Junction. It’s a place that brings out the kid in everyone. And it all began with one boy, a single train, and two amazing parents.
In 1941, five-year-old Richard Worden received his first toy train. With the country just emerging from the Great Depression, his parents sacrificed to purchase the Marx Copper electric train from the Montgomery Ward Christmas catalog. Because that’s what parents do.
My traveling partner was particularly fond of the Raggedy Ann and Andy Dolls that are on display.
There is a snack shop adjacent to Toy Town that is very family friendly.
Shenandoah Heritage Village
The Shenandoah Heritage Village is a seven-acre re-creation of a small 19th century farming community made up of restored historic buildings, cottage style gardens, and a small vineyard with a scenic mountain backdrop. In the Village you will find:
Luray Valley Museum
Ranging from pre-contact Native American history to the Roaring 20s, you’ll be amazed at just how rich the history of the Shenandoah Valley is. There is also a gift shop in the museum.
Gem Mining Sluice
The Stonyman Mining Company Gem Sluice is an interactive lesson in how pioneer prospectors would bring gold and other valuable gems into the world. Gem bags can be purchased in the Museum Gift Shop.
Heartpine Café
Under the “Burner Barn” you’ll find this café serving an assortment of sandwiches and snacks along with soft drinks and regional wines, beer, and hard ciders that all pair nicely with the beautiful views. Shenandoah Vineyards was the winery featured while we were there and the white we chose was good with my braut and chips and my partners local BBQ and coleslaw. There is also a snack shop.
Garden Maze
Claimed to be the largest hedge maze in the Mid-Atlantic states, the Garden Maze is a one-acre ornamental garden with over 1500 Evergreen hedges that create a half-mile pathway that diverges at over 40 points. Challengers must navigate their way through twists and turns while searching for hidden goals on a mission to discover the secret of the maze. It is handicap accessible with wide tires.
Rope Adventure Park
This attraction appealed to my 72 year old partner who took on the “Tree Top Adventure” course at Mountain Lake Lodge a couple of years ago. She maintains it is a confidence builder. Here you can take on different levels of ropes around the course that challenges your balance, strength and grit. There are two levels that enables participants to grow at an individual or team level, exploring risk, self-discovery, communication, problem-solving, and coaching.
While all of the above make your stop well worth the price of the ticket, make no mistake about it…the Caverns, another world, are the main draw. They are situated in the beautiful Shenandoah Valley just west of the Blue Ridge Mountains through Thornton Gap. Whether the temperature in the valley is hot or cold, the usual temperature in the Caverns is a uniform 54 degrees F. I may ad as well, the temps in the mountains are about 10 degrees cooler than the valley.
I could get technical about the formation of the caves but that can be easily found by Googling Luray Caverns. This article is about the experience. As you walk on the well-constructed walkway (no sets of stairs) through the caverns you will marvel at the extraordinary rock formations from centuries of dripping water, acid and limestone. The stalactites growing from the older ones are usually white although, sometimes pink or amber colored. The Empress Column is a stalagmite 35 feet high, rose-colored and elaborately draped. Several stalactites in Giant’s Hall exceed 50 feet.
One of the most amazing features is Dream Lake. When we went there many years ago, I remember the shallow lake as being referred to as Mirror Lake…because that is exactly what it is. The small body of water sits still within the cavern where no wind disturbs the surface. It is truly like a mirror and the reflection is the stalactites hanging from the ceiling of the cave but look like they are meeting identical stalagmites. It is amazing.
Once again, writing about Luray Caverns does not do it justice. While these photos give you some insight to what to expect, a visit in person is the best. You are in a surreal environment that was formed an eternity ago. It is best that you take your time touring the Caverns as there is much detail to discover. Although there is ample free parking on site I would recommend going during the middle of the week to avoid the tour buses and weekend road trippers.
Luray is not quite a 2 hour drive from Alexandria depending on the traffic we have in this area so makes for a great day trip; however, as we like to do with our road trips, is to offer insight into options for staying overnight so there is no rush. On this trip we stayed at Shadow Mountain Escape, halfway down Thornton Gap on the Luray side of the mountain. It is gorgeous. Also, closer to Luray Caverns and in the town of Luray is the beautiful Mimslyn Inn. It is a classic. Or, if you are lucky, there are two choices from Rappahannock Getaways in either Sperryville or Little Washington on the east side of the mountain. You can find their ad in this issue. There are numerous motels to choose from in close proximity as well.
Getting there is straight away unless you look for a “round about” way. Basically, the idea is west on I-66. You can take it all the way to Front Royal and then take 340 south to Luray. Or you can jump on to Route 55 (which was the way west before I-66) and then take some back roads to Sperryville and then across the mountain. A stop in Sperryville is always nice…very small town with a cool attitude. Nice wineries and eateries in that area as well as Copper Fox Distillery and the new River District’s The Marketplace Sperryille.
Luray Caverns is a unique experience of another world. It is popular and one of the foremost cavern experiences in the USA. Try to avoid weekends as they have a lot of visitors over the weekend. We were there in the middle of the week and the parking lot was less than half filled.
Luray Caverns
101 Cave Hill Road
Luray, VA
540-743-6551
Luraycaverns.com
Self-Guided Tour General Admission – $36
$34 for seniors | $18 for children 6-12 | FREE under age 6
Guided Tours and Group Tours available at additional cost.