Ride through Virginia's western side

Leisurely fall drives through Virginia’s western lands present opportunities for leaf-viewing in the Blue Ridge and Allegheny mountains.

Motorhome travelers also will encounter autumn festivals and an abundance of affordable attractions.

Some attractions are off the highways, while others require pleasant backroads touring …

Day-trips through the mountains
The colorful peaks and hills of the Appalachian mountain chain blanket southwestern Virginia. This rugged yet beautiful landscape provides scenic vistas and three distinct destinations furnishing glimpses into the past.

The first of these, Wolf Creek Indian Village and Museum, just off Interstate 77 in Bland County, is located at the actual site of a nomadic Indian camp from the 1200s. The reconstructed Indian village encourages hands-on exploration of the skills Native Americans used centuries ago in their wanderings through Virginia’s mountains.

Interpretive guides dressed in primitive clothing demonstrate living skills such as basket making, clay pot baking, gardening and cordage — the making of bracelets, ropes and necklaces.

The museum building displays arrowheads, axes, soapstone bowls and pipes gathered from the actual 13th-century Indian village site and the surrounding mountains.

Pioneer heritage
Two other attractions in Virginia’s southwestern region reflect the area’s pioneer heritage and bring “old times” to life. The Historic Crab Orchard Museum and Pioneer Park in Tazewell shows what life was like on the Appalachian frontier in the 1820s.

The park contains 15 authentic, furnished log-and-stone structures, with the oldest dating to 1802, all of which were relocated and reconstructed on the grounds.

Family dwellings, a lardhouse, loom house, kitchen and other trades buildings, as well as the farm crops and herb gardens, kindle imaginative images of pioneer life in the mountains.

Farther southwest near Weber City, The Homeplace Mountain Farm and Museum unveils nature’s full beauty with 360-degree vistas of the surrounding mountains.

Situated at almost 2,500-feet elevation, the Homeplace comprises 14 original log structures from the late 1770s on a 15-acre farm, which was once part of Daniel Boone’s Wilderness Trail.

The Homeplace brings to life the chores and challenges of surviving rugged mountain living with quilting, blacksmithing, weaving, pottery and broom-making demonstrations.

The Annual Fall Gathering takes place the first weekend in October and visitors can feast literally and figuratively on country food, bluegrass music, molasses-making and the gifts of the fall harvest.

Natural tunnel
Just west from The Homeplace on U.S. 58, Natural Tunnel State Park provides an array of outdoor recreation activities with one small concession to the popularity of thrill rides.

Although not a “scream machine” in the traditional sense, the park’s chairlift is a favorite with adults and children alike.

Descending 530 feet to the mouth of the natural tunnel, the chairlift unloads passengers to an observation area where they can safely view the tunnel opening. Coal-carrying trains still chug through the 850-foot long tunnel.

Heading north: Shenandoah Valley
After touring southwestern Virginia, visitors will want to head north on Interstate 81, a main artery running the length of Virginia’s western edge.

Beginning at Roanoke, the interstate cuts through the heart of the Shenandoah Valley. The highway offers wide vistas of the mountain ranges and myriad cultural and historical sites close to interstate exits.

The history-filled I-81 Shenandoah Valley cities of Roanoke, Lexington, Staunton, Harrisonburg and Winchester each merit a visit. For a day trip, first stop at Virginia’s Explore Park near Roanoke.

Explore Park is much more than a heritage and outdoor living history museum. Of its 1,100 acres, 800 are designated as natural areas and cannot be developed.

Outdoor lovers flock here for the mountain-biking trails, fishing and canoeing and kayaking opportunities. Bikes and canoes can be rented through the end of October, when the park closes for the year.

The living-history park brings to life a virtual timeline of the settlement of the region. Beginning with the Indian villages that populated the Roanoke valley in the 1600s, visitors can watch Indian re-enactors prepare food and see the small thatched huts that served as shelter.

The living history park includes an 18th-century settler’s cabin and a 19th-century village.

Natural Bridge
Continuing north to Lexington, the Natural Bridge of Virginia soars an awe-inspiring 215 feet in the air and is broad enough to support U.S. Route 11. Named a National Historic Landmark, the bridge is considered one of the natural wonders of the world and was once surveyed by George Washington.

A wide sidewalk parallel to a picturesque stream allows visitors to walk beneath the formation to get an idea of the majesty of this towering rock bridge.

The entire Natural Bridge complex includes a hotel, restaurants, wax museum, a Monacan Indian village, Professor Cline’s Haunted Monster Museum and a toy museum. Close by are a safari park and a zoo.

A taste of frontier culture
About 40 miles north of Natural Bridge, Staunton’s expansive Museum of Frontier Culture showcases the lifestyles and work habits of the German, English, Scotch-Irish and Americans who settled the Shenandoah Valley in the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries.

Four authentic farms — three from Europe and one from Virginia — were actually deconstructed, moved and rebuilt at the museum site.

Costumed interpreters demonstrate agricultural chores, trades and meal preparation and engage visitors in singing, dancing and storytelling to bring a wee bit of the “old country” to life.

Special events around holidays, such as the “Creepy Tales” at Halloween and lantern-led walking tours also provide fun ways to learn about the European traditions brought to America.

A fall drive in western Virginia promises something for everyone, whether it’s stunning mountain scenery or delightful stops to interact with Indian interpreters or pioneer farmers.

Virginia is for lovers
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