Top Outdoor Adventures in Staunton This Summer

June is Great Outdoors Month, a nationwide invitation to swap screens for sunsets and soak in summer under open skies. Whether you’re pitching a tent, pedaling along single track, watching an outdoor movie with your kids, or sipping craft beer in a brewery beer garden, this is your season to explore. The Staunton area offers natural settings at their seasonal peak, living history at open-air museums, guided adventures of all sorts, and everything in between. Grab your shades and sense of adventure, because June is calling you out. Here’s how to enjoy top outdoor adventures in Staunton this summer.

Take a family camping trip

Make some memories for your family when you pack up the tent and the s’mores kit and head to a nearby campground. Shenandoah Valley Campground has lots to do, including a heated pool, playgrounds, arcade games, mini golf, a fishing pond, access to the river for tubing, and regular events like live music and movie nights. Walnut Hills Campground is another family-friendly spot with a pool, playground, game room, disc golf course, and events like foam parties and Friday night movies. Big Meadows in Shenandoah National Park is nice for nature lovers and serious hikers looking for a home base to explore the park’s hundreds of miles of trails.

Grab the gang and spend a night at the drive-in

There’s something super exciting about cuddling up and listening to music or watching a movie under the stars. The Gypsy Hill Park Bandstand features free live music four nights a week as well as family-friendly Friday Night Flix on select summer weekends. Just bring your blanket and popcorn. The movies start at dusk. Nearby Hull’s Drive-In in Lexington shows double features each weekend on the big screen. Arrive early, order a meal from the concession stand, and let the kids run around and chase fireflies while you listen to the pre-movie musical entertainment. Even well-behaved pets are welcome!

How about a day at Sherando Lake?

We love heading to the seashore, but there’s never enough vacation time to get there on a whim. Why not satisfy your urge for sand and beach blankets with a day at Sherando Lake? There’s no surf, but the kids can build castles on the wide sandy beach and splash a gradually deepening swimming area. It’s all surrounded by postcard-worthy views of mountains and the George Washington National Forest. While there are no t-shirt shops or mini-golf, the recreation area is threaded with trails and lively with plenty of picnic tables and barbeque grills. There’s also a bathhouse and outdoor stations to wash your feet so that you don’t take all that sand back to Staunton in your car.

Check out an open-air museum

You might think museums are indoor activities, but Staunton’s museum scene will keep you outside breathing fresh air. You can spend all day exploring the farmsteads at the Frontier Culture Museum, where the exhibits are actually working farms (with crops and animals) built to replicate where the Valley’s earliest settlers lived and worked. The homesteads from different eras and cultures are populated by costumed interpreters, who will be actively doing the farm work while you visit. They’ll explain the history, answer questions, and in many cases, let you get your hands dirty working alongside them. Another option is to head over the mountains to Charlottesville to check out Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello. The guided tour takes you through the president’s architecturally fascinating mansion, but visitors can also explore the vast and varied grounds that speak to Jefferson’s ingenuity and eagerness “to try all things.”

Hit the road on your bike

The backroads and mountain trails around Staunton are unbelievably beautiful, and they make wonderful destinations for cyclists of all abilities seeking top outdoor adventures. Bike the Valley is a resource that maps scenic routes in the Central Shenandoah Valley. Visit the site, select type of ride, the location of your ride, and the specific ride based on length and terrain. The site shows a map of your ride as well as an elevation graph and mileage. You can print out clear maps and turn cue sheets or send the rides to your phone or GPS. Staunton’s Black Dog Bikes will “keep you rolling on the road or trail” with high-end bikes, bike repair, accessories, and lots of expert advice.

Let a Guide Teach You Something New

Take a guided tour to learn a new outdoor skill. Shenandoah Paddleboard & Eco Tours provides equipment and instruction to help paddleboarders of all levels get on the water. And if you want to learn how to fish, Middle River Outfitters can teach you how to land trophy fish like a pro. Vivid Earth Adventures provides custom programming in canoeing, climbing, spelunking, and survival skills. You name your adventure and your skill level, and they’ll help you achieve your dreams. Budding naturalists can learn the secrets of the natural world with guided nature walks with Enchanted Nature Tours. And if you’re looking to be a Shenandoah cowboy, hop in the saddle at North Mountain Outfitter for a full-day, half-day, or overnight adventure. Here’s more on Staunton’s guided tours.

Rack up some miles on the Beerwerks Trail

The Shenandoah Valley is becoming quite the destination for craft beer. In fact, the Shenandoah Beerwerks Trail connects 20 breweries all within an hour’s drive of each other, with Staunton located in the center. Better yet, the Beerwerks Trail has worked to identify attractions, like waterfall hikes or historical sites, and match them with nearby breweries so you can relax with a cold brew after enjoying your outdoor activity. Most of the Beerwerks breweries have dog and kid-friendly outdoor patios and beer gardens where you can enjoy your suds in the sun.

Hopefully this list has whet your appetite for some top outdoor adventures near Staunton this June!