Discover 9 hidden attractions, cool sights, and unusual things to do in Luray (United States). Don't miss out on these must-see attractions: Luray Caverns, Stony Man Mountain, and Trackside Theater. Also, be sure to include Page County Courthouse in your itinerary.
Below, you can find the list of the most amazing places you should visit in Luray (Virginia).
Table of Contents
Luray Caverns
Cathedral-sized vibrant rock formations. Luray Caverns, originally called Luray Cave, is a cave just west of Luray, Virginia, United States, which has drawn many visitors since its discovery in 1878. The cavern system is generously adorned with speleothems such as columns, mud flows, stalactites, stalagmites, flowstone, and mirrored pools. The caverns are perhaps best known for the Great Stalacpipe Organ, a lithophone made from solenoid-fired strikers that tap stalactites of various sizes to produce tones similar to those of xylophones, tuning forks, or bells.
A Smithsonian Institution report of July 13 and 14, 1880, concluded: "t is safe to say that there is probably no other cave in the world more completely and profusely decorated with stalactite and stalagmite ornamentation than that of Luray."[1]
Address: 101 Cave Hill Rd, 22835-4436 Luray
Stony Man Mountain
Mountain in Virginia. Stony Man Mountain, also known as Stony Man, is a mountain in Shenandoah National Park, Virginia and is the most northerly 4,000 foot peak in the Blue Ridge Mountains. Its maximum elevation is 4,011 feet or 1,223 meters above sea level with a clean prominence of 651 feet. The mountain is co-located in Madison and Page counties and is easily accessed from Skyline Drive by hiking trails. Along with Hawksbill Mountain, it is only one of two peaks in the park higher than 4,000 feet. The shortest route to the summit is from the Skyland Resort and gains less than 400 vertical feet in about 1 kilometer. A longer, more challenging, route is from the Skyline Drive trail head at about milepost 39 of the Skyline Drive and gains almost 800 feet. The peak sits just southeast of the Appalachian Trail but the summit is accessible from the AT by previously mentioned spur trails. On the upper slopes of Stony Man one can see a few red spruce and balsam fir trees which typically grow in more northerly latitudes. The mountain is composed of ancient basalt which was metamorphosed into Greenstone through heat and pressure.[2]
Trackside Theater
Concerts and shows, Theater
Address: 32B E Main St, 22835-1901 Luray
Page County Courthouse
Courthouse. Page County Courthouse is a historic courthouse building located at Luray, Page County, Virginia. It was built in 1832–1833, and consists of a two-story, four-bay court house with three-bay, one-story wings. The four-bays of the pedimented gable facade open onto a ground floor arcade with rounded arches in the Jeffersonian Roman Revival style. It is topped by a cupola with coupled pilasters and four pedimented gables. It was built by Malcolm Crawford and William B. Philips, who worked under Thomas Jefferson on the University of Virginia.
It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1973. It is a contributing property in the Luray Downtown Historic District.[3]
The Garden Maze
Game and entertainment center, Garden
Address: 101 Cave Hill Rd, 22835-4436 Luray
Kanawha
Kanawha, also known as Tuckahoe, is a historic home located at Luray, Page County, Virginia. It was built in 1921, and is a 2 1/2-story, Classical Revival style brick and tile-block dwelling on a poured-concrete foundation. It has a hipped roof covered with green Spanish tiles. The front facade features a semicircular Corinthian order portico. The house also has an enclosed Doric order rear portico, a porte-cochère, large hipped dormers, and a symmetrical composition. Also on the property are contributing gate pillars, an outbuilding, and weirs. The property was developed by Luray businessman and mayor Vernon H. Ford.
It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1999.[4]
Aventine Hall
Building in Luray, Virginia. Aventine Hall is a historic home located at Luray, Page County, Virginia. It was built in 1852 by Peter Bouck Borst, and is a two-story, Greek Revival style frame dwelling. It is topped by a hipped roof with cupola and has four interior end chimneys. The facade features a tetrastyle portico, which runs almost the complete length of the facade. The portico is in the Corinthian order based on the Tower of the Winds in Athens. It has corner pilasters in the Tower of the Winds mode and a frieze and cornice that continue around the entire, almost square structure. Aventine Hall served as the main building of Luray College which operated from 1925 to 1927. It was moved to its present location in 1937.
It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1970.[5]
Ruffner House
The Ruffner House, also known as Luray Tannery Farm, is a historic home and farm complex located at Luray, Page County, Virginia. It was built in two phases, about 1825 and about 1851. It is a two-story, Federal / Greek Revival style brick dwelling with a hipped with deck roof, a stone foundation, and one-story porches on the two fronts. The house was remodeled in the 1920s. Also on the property are the contributing rambling two-story frame residence known as The Cottage; a stone spring house with attached brick pumphouse that served an adjacent tannery; schoolhouse and shop; root cellar; secondary barn; dairy; machinery shed; chicken house; a swimming pool; an 1890s bank barn, and the small Ruffner Cemetery.
It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2002.[6]
Page News and Courier
Address: 17 South Broad Street, Luray