The Food, Fun & Facts of… Harrisonburg, VA

Food

If you’re interested in good food at a reasonable price, Mr. J’s Bagels and Deli is the ultimate sandwich shop.  Here, you can put just about anything on a bagel.  Especially popular amongt college crowds on weekends for both breakfast and lunch, you’ll find that Mr. J’s has a fun, low-key atmosphere.  Mr. J’s has three locations in the area: East Market Street, Harmony Square, and Rockingham Square. 

It’s hard to say “NO” to homemade ice cream, especially when it comes from Kline’s Dairy Bar.  A favorite even in the winter months, Kline’s offers fast service with a smile.  Wolfe Street’s flavor of the week is Banana while the South Main Street location is currently featuring Cherry Chocolate Chip.  Come and enjoy Kline’s unique custard style ice cream while spending quality time with your family and friends.

 

Cally’s Restaurant and Brewing Company serves as one of the city’s major hot spots with it’s in-house microbrewery and nationwide award winning beers, such as Smokin’ Scottish and Nut Brown.  If you find a flavor your tastebuds just can’t live without, grab a growler as a souvenir and fill it up for a later date.  Located in downtown Harrisonburg, make sure to check out the rooftop on a warm winter night and enjoy the city’s historic beauty.

Fun

 

Harrisonburg is filled with fun activities to experience.  Located in the beautiful Shenandoah Valley, a great way to spend time here is hiking in the Shenandoah National Park.  An entrance pass to the park costs $15.00 and is good for one full week.  In addition, an annual pass can be purchased for $20.00 if you plan to return multiple times throughout the year.  Once in the park, there are numerous trails to hike or bike.  My personal favorite is called the Rock Scramble.  It is a short, one mile hike, but takes a long time because of the areas of steep rock climbing.  If you want to see the great mountain views, but are not up to hiking, you can take your car along Skyline Drive instead.  This road weaves through the Blue Ridge Mountains with spectacular spots to stop and enjoy the mountain scenery.   

To see beautiful mountain views with no cost, we recommend that you visit Reddish Knob, which at 4,397 feet is the highest point in Northern Virginia. Many locals spend the day at this peak for a picnic lunch or visit at night to gaze at the stars.

If you have time, visiting Massanutten Resort is a must.  Ranked as a Four Season Resort, Massanutten is a well established ski resort with a 1,110 vertical drop and a 2,925 foot peak elevation with 14 different ski trails.  College students are given special deals on certain days. On Mondays, slope tickets are only $15.00 while ski/snowboard rentals are an additional $15.00.  Fridays, lift tickets are priced at $25.00 and rentals are $20.00.  For those people who do not wish to ski or snowboard, there is also a snow tubing park at Massanutten. On Tuesdays and Wednesdays, college students can snow tube for two hours at only $9.00.  

Facts 

Harrisonburg, Virginia is a town full of hidden treasures and quirky attributes. The mix of frenzied college-town flair and dated traditions of farmer’s markets and downtown festivals creates an interesting aura that stands out in the Shenandoah Valley. Not only does the sleepy town have a top-ranked university, but an affinity with old town crafting and big business—poultry.

A good way to start piecing together a low-key weekend trip would be to stop by the Virginia Quilting Museum, which is located in a home built in 1856. The Virginia General Assembly designated this historic spot as the “official quilt museum of the Commonwealth,” and with renovations that took place in 2001, it now houses kid-friendly exhibits (which we all can enjoy!) and a research library.  http://www.vaquiltmuseum.org/

To take your stay in a completely different direction, you could check out a couple of monuments—one signifies the death of an esteemed Civil War soldier, the other symbolizes the area’s top market. General Turner Ashby, who was in command of Jackson’s calvary, was mortally wounded and now a monument and park marks the spot where he fell (check out the Harrisonburg/Rockingham historical society for more information). Another site to see is the turkey statues erected on either side of Route 11 when you enter Rockingham County to showcase that this area is the top poultry producer in Virginia.