A Weekend in Stanley, VA

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Stanley, VA is right outside of Shenandoah National Park which makes it a great base camp for your Shenandoah adventures. There’s great hiking, wineries, small towns, antiques, caves, historical spots, all around.

We took a girl’s trip here after my wedding in June and had such a great time. Although I’d visited the Shenandoah area multiple times before, I’d never heard of or been to some of these spots from the weekend. How we spent our weekend is below and I’ll also include some other blog posts on what to do if you’re in the area.

Friday

  • We had Costco pizza our first night and played some games when everyone arrived. The Airbnb we stayed at had. along and steep driveway so it was one you didn’t want to travel more than you had to.
  • We had 7 people so we stayed in a larger cabin for the weekend that could have up to 10 people. It had a patio with a hot tub where there were great views as well as a screened in porch.

Saturday

  • We head breakfast at the cabin in the morning. If you’re looking for an easy breakfast, my cousin brought Costco croissants, Nutella, and honey. We would heat up the croissants just a little and then let the honey and Nutella melt over them and they were so delicious. Add in a little side of fruit and viola – best breakfast.
  • We drove about 45 minutes into the park to the Stony Man Trail. It’s only 1.5 Miles round trip and can be steep, but gives you incredible views from the rock overlook. If you hike this trail you also get to enjoy the views in Shenandoah going in and coming out of the park since it’s not directly next to an entrance.
  • We headed back to the Airbnb to change and then drove to Muse Vineyards about 45 minutes away. We had wine flights and some snacks and got to sit out on the porch. We walked the Vineyard trail which takes you through the vineyard and down to an old swinging bridge.
  • Our next stop was dinner and axe throwing. We visited Beards & Broads which is in Broadway, VA. A few in our group had axe thrown before and others hadn’t but we all had such a great time. We did that first and had some appetizers and then sat down for dinner after our time was up. Truly great fun.
  • We got back to the cabin later in the evening but still had the opportunity to enjoy the hot tub and patio area again before calling it a night.

Sunday

  • We all had a few hours to drive to get home so we enjoyed breakfast of leftover fruit, croissants, and pizza for breakfast before checking out of the Airbnb.
  • On our way home was the town of Luray, Virginia which has an adorable downtown area. We stopped there for some coffees for our few our drive.
  • On our way up Skyline drive we saw a large snake on the road. Luckily we were in our car but I’ve never seen such a large snake up close before.

If you are planning to take a trip to the Shenandoah area, here are some other blogs on other things to do as well as sample itineraries, and another National Park not too far away.

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