Get Outside in Harrisonburg & Rockingham County

Early Summer 2010
by Lynette Johnson

Harrisonburg Tourism Information

Rockingham County Tourism Information

Summertime is a great time to be outdoors and active in Harrisonburg and surrounding Rockingham County. If you just want to explore the area, stop in at Harrisonburg Tourism & Visitor Services at the Hardesty-Higgins House in downtown Harrisonburg and pick up self-guided driving or walking tour maps (there’s even a great driving tour CD available!) and hit the county roads or city streets to learn more about the area’s historical significance. Ask about the Lost Shoe Loop, a Virginia Birding and Wildlife Trail, running from New Market to Grottoes, along the valley of the Shenandoah River’s North Fork.

The Edith J. Carrier Arboretum, an adjunct to James Madison University, was recently voted the ‘best place to relax’ here. So why not go and relax? The flowers, trees, shrubs, and settings are incredibly beautiful, with plenty of places to sit and enjoy the sights and sounds of nature, as well as winding walking trails that will take you into and through the arboretum.

For cyclists, Rockingham County boasts some great rides, through gorgeous countryside with rolling hills and even a mountain! Shenandoah Bicycle Company in downtown Harrisonburg or Mole Hill Bikes in Dayton are excellent places to start. Either store can set you up with bikes, repairs, accessories, and expert advice. If you’re planning your excursion before you leave home, visit Bike the Valley for lists, details, and maps of rides in several Valley counties. Shenandoah Mountain Touring offers guide-led biking tours (as well as rental bikes) in the George Washington and Jefferson National Forests.

How about a trail ride... on horseback? Keezlenutten Farm and Shenandoah Trail Rides are ready, with sturdy mounts and steady guides to take you through scenic woodland and lush Valley fields. It’s a fun day for the whole family!

Perhaps your perfect day outdoors involves golf. You’ll find plenty of courses here—enough, in fact, that you really should stay several days to try them all! First, tune up your game at Mulligan’s Golf Center, with driving range, fully-equipped pro shop, and top-notch golf instruction. Mulligan’s is lighted for night play and boasts the area’s only 18-hole miniature golf course, too. On subsequent days, enjoy a round at Heritage Oaks, Packsaddle Ridge, and Lakeview. But you’ve still not played them all!

Check into a condo at Massanutten Resort and enjoy the two courses there, as well—Mountain Greens and Woodstone Meadows. Massanutten also offers a driving range and golfing instruction.

While you’re enjoying the golf at Massanutten, the rest of your family can explore all this huge mountain resort has to offer—fishing, disc golf, mountain biking, hiking, chairlift rides, a skate park, summer mountain tubing and kids’ amusement park, an amazing indoor-outdoor WaterPark, and the not-to-be-missed, oh-so-luxurious Spa at Massanutten.

Fishing abounds in river and lake. Mossy Creek Fly Fishing is an angler’s haven, and the friendly folks there will get you started, with everything from equipment to information to fish tales.

Hikes in Rockingham County run the gamut from short and easy to long and technical, with National Forest, Shenandoah National Park, Skyline Drive, Massanutten Mountain, and the Appalachian Trail all right here.

WildGuyde Adventures and Massanutten Adventures offer guided adventures in a number of different sports, so if you’re thinking ‘extreme’, definitely give them a call. Wilderness Voyagers on US33 can fill you in on area hikes that meet your timeframe and skills.

For fun in the water, how about a natural spring swimming hole? Bergton, near Broadway, and Rawley Springs, west on US33, are summer favorites with the locals—you’ll like them, too!

Work will be there tomorrow, so get outside and play today in Harrisonburg and Rockingham County!

Article text ©2009-2010, Shenandoah Specialty Publishing, LLC.
May be printed for personal use only.

Of course there's more than the great outdoors in Harrisonburg & Rockingham County. Visit our Art page to read about some amazing artisans living, working, and marketing their art in the Central Valley area—John and Jane Braithwaite in Dayton; Joan Cordner in Timberville; and Barbara Polin in Elkton.

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