Looking for opinions to make the end of a trip perfect!

Hi all,

I%26#39;m planning a little May getaway to Virginia, am having difficulty planning the end of the trip though. Right now our itinerary includes a Wednesday night stay in Staunton; then an inn-inn hike combination in the Shenandoah park for Thursday and Friday night; on Saturday we%26#39;re looking to get out of the park after a full day of hiking and find someplace nice to stay that is somewhat close to Montpelier - so we can tour that before heading back to Pittsburgh on Sunday.

I was hoping to stay in/near Charlottesville but I think we are planning this for the wrong weekend! We%26#39;re coming during the weekend of May 17th, seems like this is a popular weekend for college graduations. Everything is booked or requires a 2 night stay that I%26#39;ve found.

What are some nice, historic towns, that aren%26#39;t too far from Montpelier (1 - 1.25 hrs away) that you%26#39;d suggest we try out? Right now I%26#39;m looking at Culpeper and Fredericksburg. Should I look anywhere else? Hoping to find a nice area to explore, have dinner/drinks, etc. after coming back in from the wilderness.

Thanks much!!

Kim

Looking for opinions to make the end of a trip perfect!

Culpeper is nice. Also look at Warrenton.

Looking for opinions to make the end of a trip perfect!

You%26#39;re in luck for Fredericksburg -- graduation at Mary Washington is the weekend before. This is a great town for a walking tour, James Monroe Museum, and some old homes tours. The downtown is lively with quaint shops and bars and outstanding restaurants.

I agree with Culpepper - very nice town. My parents used to own property near there so we used to visit there often. I love that whole area, Culpepper, Gordonsville, up to Massanutten. A lot of very nice small towns. And May is my favorite time for visiting the area. If you enjoy history - while in Staunton, visit the Frontier Culture Museum.

Thanks so much for your thoughts! Sounds like we can%26#39;t go wrong with Culpeper or Fredericksburg. I appreciate the responses!

We ordered tickets for the Blackfriar%26#39;s Playhouse in Staunton, the B%26amp;B we reserved offered a package that includes a behind the scenes tour, so looking forward to it. Sounds amazing.

Sounds like you might be hiking Skyland Resort to/from Big Meadows Lodge if you are doing an inn-inn thing in Shenandoah NP; you will enjoy it! If you are hiking the A Trail, you should have a decent chance of seeing a black bear. Also if you have time hike up Hawksbill or Stony Man Mountain. If you are gonna end up at Montpelier, you are not that far from Orange, Va or Barboursville, Va (there is a winery there and overnight accomodations plus dinner). You might consider looking in to B%26amp;Bs/Inns in those areas. You are not that far from Culpeper and there may be some places there also. Further north on rte. 29 is Warrenton and there are some nice restaurants. One place there to look in to is the Poplar Springs Inn. I am guessing you may head back to Pittsburgh via I-81 so Fred%26#39;burg is a little farther away from Montpelier but a very nice place to visit/tour and spend the night with quite a bit of history of The War Between the States. There are also a number of Inns/B%26amp;Bs just off of I-81 (in places like Woodstock, Strasburg, Stephens City).

Have you tried the Clifton Inn and, a little further out, Prospect Hill Plantation?

Thanks again for the suggestions - I checked into the Poplar Spings, Clifton and Prospect Hill inns, unfortunately they seem a little out of my target price range... Poplar Springs was $240, Clifton was n/a and Prospect Hill topped off at $545 (wow!) for the night. I%26#39;m trying to get into the little Thyme Inn in Culpeper. If not, may just try the little Best Western, not great reviews on TA, but not the worst either. Certainly not fancy, but it%26#39;s open and seems close enough to the main street area.

Explorer - you are correct - we%26#39;ll be staying at Skyland, hiking to Big Meadows, and then hiking to the cabin area. Once we reach the cabins, we%26#39;re calling for the shuttle to take us back to our car/pick up bags left along the way. Should be fun. My husband was an AT Thru-Hiker in %26#39;99, he loves to hike, even heads back to the trail to section hike once a year with friends. I%26#39;m not as much into camping/wilderness, but thought this would be a great way to experience a little, ';easy'; part of the trail. I%26#39;ll keep my eyes open for bears!

Have a great weekend!

Try this. There are some wonderful properties in every category...and several at good prices.

http://www.va-guesthouses.com/