Blue Ridge Mountains
The Blue Ridge Mountains are a physiographic province of the larger Appalachian Mountains range. This province consists of northern and southern physiographic regions, which divide near the Roanoke River gap. The mountain range is located in the eastern United States, starting at its southernmost portion in Georgia, then ending northward in Pennsylvania. To the west of the Blue Ridge, between it and the bulk of the Appalachians, lies the Great Appalachian Valley, bordered on the west by the Ridge and Valley province of the Appalachian range. The Blue Ridge Mountains are noted for having a bluish color when seen from a distance. Trees put the “blue” in Blue Ridge, from the isoprene released into the atmosphere, thereby contributing to the characteristic haze on the mountains and their distinctive color.
Frontier Culture Museum of Virginia
The Frontier Culture Museum, located in Staunton, Virginia is a living history museum that tells the story of the people who migrated from the Old World to America and the life they created in the Shenandoah Valley. The Museum is made up of original or reproduced examples of traditional buildings from the Old World and America. The Avenue of Trees was made of Bradford pear trees planted as a memorial to area residents killed during war. The Bradford pear trees did not endure frost and wind well so those trees were replaced with chestnuts, oaks, and apple trees.
Gypsy Hill Park
Gypsy Hill Park is a recreational park situated in the center of Staunton, Virginia, United States, where Churchville Avenue and Thornrose Avenue intersect each other. The park itself contains various public services and attractions, including football and baseball fields, the Thomas D. Howie Memorial National Guard Armory, a large bandstand pavilion, a golf course, a basketball court, a gym, and the central duck pond equipped with food dispensers, allowing visitors to feed the ducks and fish. Throughout the expanse of the park are multiple sites complete with picnic tables, grills, and covered pavilions. Constitution Drive, an almost 1 1⁄2-mile-long road, encircles the duck pond, runs through the entirety of the park, and is often used as a walking and bike path by
Montgomery Hall Park
Montgomery Hall Park is located just south of Stuart Street off Montgomery Avenue in the southwest portion of the City, Montgomery Hall Park’s 148 acres include rolling hills, quiet woodlands, sports fields, playgrounds, picnic shelters, trails, and a public swimming pool. The Department of Parks & Recreation has its offices there. The soccer fields can be accessed by turning left after entering the second park entrance and proceeding towards the picnic area. About halfway there, the road curves to the right and the fields will be visible to the left.
Shenandoah National Park
Shenandoah National Park is a national park that encompasses part of the Blue Ridge Mountains in the U.S. state of Virginia. The park is long and narrow, with the broad Shenandoah River and Valley on the west side, and the rolling hills of the Virginia Piedmont on the east. Although the scenic Skyline Drive is likely the most prominent feature of the park, almost 40% of the land area 79,579 acres has been designated as wilderness and is protected as part of the National Wilderness Preservation System. The highest peak is Hawksbill Mountain at 4,051 feet.