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Get away and experience the breathtaking beauty of Virginia when you stay at a Shenandoah Valley bed and breakfast.
The Bed & Breakfasts of the Historic Shenandoah Valley invite you to come and explore our beautiful Valley. Framed by the breathtaking Skyline Drive and Blue Ridge Parkway in the Blue Ridge Mountains to our east and the ageless Allegheny Mountains to our west, the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia is one of America’s most majestic places, steeped in history and awesome natural beauty. Our towns and farms are postcard-perfect, and history is around every corner: museums, historic attractions, and Civil War battle sites can be found throughout the Valley. Outdoor lovers will discover an abundance of adventures to enjoy in our mountains, rivers, caverns, and along our bucolic country roads. Our member inns are conveniently located in the Valley's most popular spots, and you can easily "inn-hop" up or down the Valley between Lexington at the south and Winchester at the north.
Our Virginia bed and breakfasts located in the Shenandoah Valley offer you the opportunity to relax and indulge in renowned Southern hospitality. You'll find friendly and experienced innkeepers dedicated to assuring your comfort and assisting you in planning your days of exploring. Sightseeing, specialty shopping, musical performances, theater, wine tasting, historical sites, local festivals, antiquing, parks, hiking, canoeing, golfing, fishing, biking, and much more are close at hand. At every inn, an exceptional breakfast will be prepared just for you each morning.
Our Innkeepers are ready to help you discover your own special magic in our Valley. Begin your journey by using the map of the Shenandoah Valley or the listing of the Bed & Breakfasts of the Historic Shenandoah Valley.
The Shenandoah Valley is home to many great attractions for any individual or group interest. Please visit our Area Attractions page to see a list of things to do in our area, including lists of Top Ten Attractions created by some of our innkeepers. You may also visit our Attractions Map page to see some of these attractions on a map that also shows each of our member's locations, to help you determine the best place for you to stay near your chosen activities. Please feel free to call our innkeepers for more information about their area or nearby attractions.We have provided our brochure in a printable format so that you may have to take on your trip or pass to friend. The brochure is in Adobe Acrobat PDF format.
Click Here to Download the Brochure
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The Bed & Breakfasts of the Historic Shenandoah Valley offer a variety of Virginia inns for guests to choose from, offering something for every guest and every occasion.
A charming alternative to Shenandoah Valley hotels, our B&Bs usher guests in with a warm welcome, as though you are coming home. For those who wish to travel with their favorite four-legged companion, many of our inns offer pet friendly Shenandoah Valley, VA lodging.
A B&B at Llewellyn Lodge
603 South Main Street
Lexington, VA 24450
(800) 882-1145
[email protected]
A B&B at Llewellyn Lodge in Lexington has a great in-town location, within walking distance to all restaurants, shops, museums, Washington & Lee University, VMI, Lee Chapel, Stonewall Jackson House & Cemetery and the VMI Museum. Lexington is a must-see stop for Civil War buffs. Our General's Package is a great way to soak in all of the local history. Host John is a lifetime Lexington resident. Your accommodations include blue-ribbon breakfasts from a menu, afternoon & evening beverages, and Kingsdown beds. We offer the best hiking and outdoor advice around, an in-town hiking trail, guided fly-fishing trips, Natural Bridge, canoeing, tubing, golf, horseback riding, tennis, vineyards, working mill, and antique malls close by. The Lodge has been featured in Southern Living magazine and on the Discovery Channel. Walk-ins are welcomed, hosting weary Shenandoah travelers for over 27 years.
Belle Hearth
320 South Wayne Avenue
Waynesboro, VA 22980
(866) 710-2256
[email protected]
While relaxing in gracious Victorian comfort, you will experience the warmth of our personalized hospitality. Our B&B provides a peaceful stop on your journey to anywhere. We are located in the historic district of Waynesboro, a small town just three miles from Blue Ridge Parkway and Skyline Drive entrances and scenic Afton Mountain. We are just minutes away from numerous wineries, antique shops, museums, and recreational opportunities. At breakfast, you will discover a candlelit dining table set with silver and English china. Guests voted Belle Hearth one of the ten best breakfasts in the country in 2010.
Brierley Hill
985 Borden Road
Lexington, VA 24450
(800) 422-4925
[email protected]
Visit our exquisite bed & breakfast with magnificent views of the Blue Ridge Mountains and Shenandoah Valley. Located on eight acres of quiet countryside, yet only five minutes from the heart of historic Lexington.
Six accommodations (three bedrooms and three 2-room suites) all with private bathrooms, TV/DVD, 350+ thread count linens, fireplace/stove, and Pati Bannister prints. The suites additionally contain compact refrigerators, whirlpool tubs, sleeper sofas, and separate sitting rooms.
For the guests' comfort and convenience, Brierley Hill has central heat/air conditioning and free high-speed Internet. Visa, MasterCard, American Express, and Travelers' Checks are accepted. Gift Certificates are available.
By the Side of the Road
491 Garbers Church Road
Harrisonburg, VA 22801
(866) 274-4887
[email protected]
As Harrisonburg's first official B&B in Virginia's Historic Shenandoah Valley, By the Side of the Road has become a favorite lodging destination. We are located just a mile-and-a-half from downtown, minutes from JMU, EMU, and many other attractions in Harrisonburg. Guests return time and again to experience the comfort and intimacy of our well-appointed Main House Suites and private Cottages. We are an ideal location for romantic getaways with amenities including whirlpool spa tubs for two, featherbeds, gourmet breakfast, Wi-Fi, locally roasted coffee, and more. Be sure to check out our packages built with you in mind.
Fox Hill
4383 Borden Grant Trail
Fairfield, VA 24435
(800) 369-8005
[email protected]
Unwind and delight in the quiet, comfortable elegance of our 38-acre country retreat with awesome mountain views, wide-open spaces, peace, quiet, fresh air, and lots of privacy. Relax in your spacious private suite, or curl up on the porch and watch the clouds float over the mountains. When you are ready for more activity, explore our walking trails or romp in the meadows with your favorite companions -- dogs are welcomed!
Fox Hill is the perfect base to explore the historic, cultural, and natural wonders of the Shenandoah Valley. Come...stay with us...experience the tranquility and beauty here in our Valley.
Iris Inn
191 Chinquapin Drive
Waynesboro, VA 22980
(888) 585-9018
[email protected]
Relax, refresh, and renew yourself in a modern, 1991, purpose-built retreat overlooking the Shenandoah Valley from a 12-acre Blue Ridge mountaintop. Enjoy wine tasting at 27 vineyards within 30 minutes of the Iris Inn. Visit 4 Presidents' homes. Only 3 miles to Skyline Drive and the Blue Ridge Parkway! Ski Wintergreen. In-room massage and Wi-Fi available.
Killahevlin
1401 North Royal Avenue
Front Royal, VA 22630
(800) 847-6132
[email protected]
Your hosts, Tom and Kathy Conkey, invite you to visit Killahevlin B&B Inn to experience Irish-style warmth and charm in their historic Front Royal, Virginia hilltop Edwardian Mansion. Our bed & breakfast offers an "Emerald Isle" for travelers to the Shenandoah Valley, reminiscent of turn-of-the-century hospitality.
Prepare to be pampered by caring innkeepers who have taken every detail into account to make your stay as relaxing, comfortable, and enjoyable as possible. Curl up with a good book in a quiet spot, or relax and mingle with fellow guests in the private Irish Pub. Enjoy one of our sumptuous, full breakfasts, you won't need lunch!
The mansion, listed on the National Historic Register, is situated so that from the rooms, veranda, porches, gazebos, and grounds there are wonderful outlooks to the property's magnificent tree line with the Blue Ridge Mountains and the George Washington National Forest as a distant backdrop.
Lackawanna
236 Riverside Drive
Front Royal, VA 22630
(877) 222-7495
[email protected]
Lackawanna, built in 1869 and fully restored in 1988, is nestled on two acres of land between the North and South Fork of the Shenandoah River. We are located four miles from the entrance to Skyline Drive and only one mile from Exit 6 off Interstate 66.
Our inn is a pristine example of Italianate architecture, which was popular during the late 1800s. The rooms are spacious and elegant with eleven-foot ceilings and woodwork and stairway of native walnut and chestnut.
There are many attractions for you to enjoy during your stay. A historic downtown and fine dining, Skyline Caverns, Confederate Museum, and wineries to name a few.
Long Hill
547 Apple Pie Ridge Road
Winchester, VA 22603
(866) 450-0341
[email protected]
An ideal destination or anchor for your visit to Virginia's Shenandoah Valley and the Washington, DC area. This unique, owner-designed, 10,000 square-foot stone house on 20 acres provides comfort and privacy. Enjoy award-winning breakfasts! Relax while you work a jigsaw puzzle in the well-stocked library. Play pinball or shoot pool in the large recreation room. Enjoy our large solar-heated swimming pool in season. Watch numerous species of birds from the large patio or small park. The inviting grounds and fishpond are certified by the National Wildlife Federation as a Backyard Wildlife Habitat. Good food - Good rest - Feel like family when you leave!
Rosendale Inn
17917 Farmhouse Lane
New Market, VA 22844
(540) 740-4281
[email protected]
Celebrating 200 years of hospitality, historic Rosendale has graciously hosted presidents and world celebrities. Nestled at the base of Massanutten Mountain and a seven-minute walk to Endless Caverns, Rosendale Inn promises nature, serenity, comfort, and history in abundance. "It is a green and smiling swell, A spot for happiness to dwell; It seems that Nature shapes a plan, And molds a dwelling spot for man." the poet Joseph Salyards wrote about Rosendale in 1874. We invite you to step back in time to a bygone era when life was genteel and experience the tradition of true, warm Virginia hospitality. Overnight horse boarding and single and family suites are available.
South Court Inn
160 South Court Street
Luray, VA 22835
(888) 749-8055
[email protected]
Only 90 miles from the Washington, DC metro area, South Court Inn caters to couples seeking elegant accommodations, gourmet fare, and romantic settings for a relaxing time together. All of our rooms feature king or queen canopy beds with luxurious, soft-as-silk microfiber linen and memory foam mattresses, in-room fridges with serve-yourself soft drinks, bottled water, fresh fruit, and chocolates, electric fireplaces, cable TVs, video players, and access to our 200+ DVD library. Many of our value-priced packages include one or two of our famous Memories robes that will remind you for years of your fantastic getaway at South Court Inn.
Widow Kip's
355 Orchard Drive
Mount Jackson, VA 22842
(800) 478-8714
[email protected]
This 1830, lovingly restored gem rests on 7 rural acres in the Shenandoah Valley, with views of the Massanutten Mountains. The Widow Kip's is a serene and friendly home offering nostalgia and hospitality in five antique-filled bedrooms of the main house, all with original FIREPLACES and private baths. Locally-crafted quilts grace the four-poster, sleigh and hand-carved Victorian beds.
Children and pets are welcome in our two restored cottages that create a charming Williamsburg-style courtyard by the house. Wireless Internet is available. Breakfast is a friendly, family-style gathering in the Dining Room, and the Common Room welcomes you with backgammon and checkers. -
Get away with the help of the Bed & Breakfasts of the Historic Shenandoah Valley and experience exceptional Shenandoah Valley lodging along with Innkeepers who make an art of finding just the right activities and adventures for you.
Starting in the southern part of the Valley, chose the perfect bed in breakfast in Lexington, Virginia, or in the towns strung like jewels for 140 miles through the Valley all the way north to Winchester, Virginia. Warm Southern hospitality is everywhere: people greet you with a smile and offer to help out with directions.
There are so many ways to see and explore the Valley: soar above the treetops in a silent glider or hot air balloon, pedal or motor bucolic roads in the Valley and along the spine of the Blue Ridge Mountains, uncover mysteries hidden underground in a cavern, paddle one of our winding rivers, and explore mountain and valley trails by foot or on horseback.
Discover our historic treasures: Civil War buffs can spend weeks exploring battlegrounds and museums, and you can trace the steps of early settlers along the historic Valley Road, Route 11.
Theater and music lovers can attend a performance of one of Shakespeare's works one night, followed by a Broadway Musical revival the next. Music echoes everywhere in the Valley, from classical ensembles to down-home bluegrass and country music.
And then there are just plain fun things to do: feed animals at an open-air Safari Park, tour and taste the wines of award-winning vineyards, enjoy festivals and fairs, antiquing, dining, shopping...you'll want to come back again and again.
It's all here, your personal playground in one of the most spectacularly beautiful spots in the world, just waiting for you to discover!
Civil War History
Your Guide to Virginia's Shenandoah Valley Civil War Sites
Battlefields, Museums, Historic Homes, and More!!
The Bed and Breakfasts of the Historic Shenandoah Valley have provided you with this guide as a reminder of the importance of the Shenandoah Valley as not only a food provider during the Civil War but as an important strategic location for the Southern Armies of General Robert E. Lee as his link to the North. As you will discover, there were many Virginia Civil War battles and many heroes made and broken in the Shenandoah Valley.
Upon visiting "The Valley" and looking at the terrain that was traversed on a daily basis, you will begin to understand the tenacity of the soldiers that fought in this war.
You will discover that the original North-South road, Route 11, is still a very active highway running through and connecting many of the towns in the Shenandoah Valley, from the north of Winchester to south of Lexington. These towns and their residents are what make the Shenandoah Valley a wonderful place to visit. You will discover the hospitality of the people of this region that makes it what it is today.
The Civil War in the Shenandoah Valley
A Brief History
During the Civil War, the Shenandoah Valley was one of the most hotly contested areas in the north or the south. The Valley was Virginia's breadbasket, providing provisions for the large armies that operated there. It also was a key route to the Confederate capital of Richmond, forming a natural corridor through which Union armies could penetrate deep into Virginia and threaten the city from the rear. Military historians remember the Valley as the site of one of the greatest campaigns in the history of warfare, Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson's spring campaign of 1862. The Shenandoah Valley was continually conquered and re-conquered during the war and is one of the few regions that can be said to have had a great impact on both sides for the duration of the hostilities.
On May 24, 1861, the day after Virginia's citizens voted in favor of secession from the Union, a Federal force occupied Alexandria, effectively controlling the whole of northern Virginia. Union soldiers would occupy the area for virtually the entire war. This bloodless loss for the Confederates ultimately meant that the Shenandoah Valley would be relied upon more and more to sustain the armies of the south and that its protection from invasion was of the utmost importance.
Although important from the beginning agriculturally, the Shenandoah Valley did not figure prominently in terms of engagements and campaigning until Jackson's daring marches, train rides, and pitched battles beginning in the early spring of 1862. At this point, General George McClellan's Army of the Potomac had traveled by boat up the James River and was sitting on the doorstep of Richmond, facing a Confederate force under Joseph Johnston that was severely outnumbered. McClellan, however, stopped in his tracks at the first hint of resistance and demanded that additional troops be provided to him. The men he requested were stationed in Fredericksburg, under the command of Irwin McDowell, and numbered over 40,000. Jackson's goal was to make Union commanders, most notably the cautious President Lincoln, believe that he could threaten Washington, D.C., thereby forcing them to keep McDowell at Fredericksburg where he could be easily relocated if the defense of Washington became necessary. This was a fairly lofty goal to be accomplished with Jackson's starting force of less than 3,000 men.
Jackson began his campaign by attacking a much larger Union force at Kernstown, just south of Winchester. The battle was never intended to be a tactical victory. The Confederate attack was easily repulsed, but Jackson had correctly assumed that Lincoln would overreact to his ploy, keeping McDowell in Fredericksburg and canceling plans to dispatch a detachment of Nathaniel Banks’ army, then at Harper's Ferry, to assist McClellan. Jackson also hoped to represent a stronger force than he actually commanded, and in this, too, he succeeded.
Jackson continued to build his forces, elude two Federal armies, pull out of the Valley entirely in order to further confuse his enemy, and win decisive victories at Winchester and Port Republic. His campaign was a stunning success, removing the threat to the Valley, occupying some 78,000 Union soldiers, and giving Confederate armies around Richmond the time they needed to adequately defend the capital, all with a force that, at its strongest, numbered no more than 17,000. It is not an embellishment to say that Jackson's actions in the Shenandoah Valley prolonged the War by almost three years.
During Robert E. Lee's Gettysburg campaign in the summer of 1863, the Valley was used as the main avenue of the southern advance into Maryland and Pennsylvania, using the Blue Ridge Mountains to screen his army's movements. Winchester, Strasburg, and New Market also provided countless new recruits for the drive north. Lee defeated a sizable Federal garrison at Winchester on June 15, clearing the path into Union territory, and allowing his Army of Northern Virginia to continue on to the fateful Battle of Gettysburg. After Lee was defeated at Gettysburg, he again used the Valley to march his troops back toward the Confederate capital.
The final major campaign in the Shenandoah Valley occurred from the spring through the fall of 1864 and was characterized by several fierce battles and the destruction of much of the agricultural value of the area by the cavalry of Philip Sheridan. The campaign began when Franz Sigel's Federal army was ordered to capture the Valley as far south as Harrisonburg in order to prevent the rebel forces there from becoming a nuisance as U.S. Grant led the Army of the Potomac in a final drive toward Richmond. Sigel was driven back at New Market and forced to vacate the Valley.
The Federals soon returned and were again beaten back by Jubal Early's Confederates, this time at Kernstown. However, Union reinforcements soon arrived, and Early's army was overpowered at the Third Battle of Winchester, forcing his retreat out of the Valley and leaving it at the mercy of Sheridan's newly-arrived cavalry forces. Sheridan was ordered to destroy the Valley's ability to sustain troops and demoralize its citizens, which he did promptly and violently, tearing up railroad tracks and setting fire to barns and mills.
The final battle of the Shenandoah Valley occurred at Cedar Creek on October 9, 1864, where Early's initially successful attacks were soon thrown back and the Confederate army was routed, giving the Federals free reign of the Valley. The Civil War ended several months later when Lee surrendered his Army of Northern Virginia at Appomattox.
Civil War Memories - Stories and Songs
The articles and books below were written by soldiers and citizens who actually lived through the Civil War in Virginia. They provide an interesting perspective of what happened during the war and how life changed after the war.
The Valley Campaigns:Being the Reminiscences of a Non-Combatant While Between the Lines in the Shenandoah Valley During the War of the States (This is about life in Front Royal, Virginia, an excellent read to get a real feel of life in the Northern Shenandoah Valley and events during the Civil War)
How a One-Legged Rebel Lives: Reminiscences of the Civil War
A Condensed Anti-Slavery Bible Argument; By a Citizen of Virginia
The Memoirs of Colonel John S. Mosby
A Soldier's Recollections: Leaves From The Diary of a Young Confederate
Robert E. Lee Papers at the Special Collections Department of the James Graham Leyburn Library at Washington and Lee University
Lieutenant General Jubal Anderson Early C.S.A. - Autobiographical Sketch and Narrative of the War Between the States