Sherando Lake Recreation Area October 6 – 13, 2026

We were up at 6:45 am on Tuesday, October 6th to have breakfast and finish packing up from our stay at Goose Point Campground for our trip to Sherando Lake Recreation Area. We pulled out of our site at 8:45 am and finished at the dump station around 9:15 am.

The drive was supposed to take 3 hours and 15 minutes, but we took our time on the rolling roads through the mountains and stopped once for gas, so we didn’t arrive at Sherando until 12:55 pm for our 1 pm check-in time.

Sherando Lake Recreation Area

It had been three years since we were last here at Sherando Lake Recreation Area and everything looked just about the same.

Our site was level and clean and we got set-up in about 45 minutes. This site was electric only, so no water hose to hook-up since we’d be using water from our onboard tank. We had lunch, then took a quick walk to go check out the restrooms to be sure they were still as nice as we remembered them. Thankfully, they were.

Then we just rested the remainder of the afternoon and night since we knew we would have several days (and nights) of fun with Ann, the grandkids and our friends.

Carter Mountain Orchard

Wednesday morning, October 7th, we enjoyed breakfast and then headed to the restrooms to take our first showers. It was 46 degrees, so the restroom itself was chilly. I tested out the shower water temperature before getting undressed and it was nice and…warm. But warm in that chilled shower room felt hot, lol. And it got hotter as it ran longer, so that was good.

Poor Cindy. She was walking past the men’s room door as I came out and she was freezing. She had no hot, or even warm water, in her shower so she had to endure cold water in the cold shower room. We got her back to Nomad quickly so she could warm up a bit.
(Fortunately, during subsequent showers, the ladies room water got hot for Cindy. But it is a problem they need to address, as you’ll read later)

We left about 10 am to drive to Carter Mountain Orchard located 1,150 feet above Charlottesville to meet Ann, Mikey and Charlotte at 11 am to pick apples. I was SO happy when they parked next to us in the parking area and we got to hug them all for the first time since December of 2025.

Carter Mountain Orchard first opened in 1912 with a folding table to display their apples and a cigar box to hold their money. Today, 114 years and five generations of family later, they offer visitors the opportunity to pick their own apples and peaches in season. While we were there the Granny Smith, Fuji, and Crimson Crisp were in season and available for picking. They also had a country store full of apple-themed home and kitchen products, a bakery offering apple cider donuts and pies, as well as wine and hard cider. And, of course, spectacular views from the mountain top orchard.

We decided to pick apples first, since you still had to walk farther up the mountain to get to the pick-your-own apples that were in season. We paid for a small empty bag for Cindy and I and Ann got the same for them. You can have as many apples as you can get to fit in the paper bag with handles. We spent about 90 minutes picking apples and having a good time together doing it (at least I know I did) before heading back to the cafe for a small lunch. Afterward we browsed the store and bakery, picking up donuts, cider and whatever else Cindy wanted, while Ann loaded up on apple-themed kitchen doodads.

Around 1 pm we were appled-out and followed Ann and the kids back to their home in Staunton so we could see it in person for the first time since they moved there earlier this year. They have a very nice, spacious home and we were so pleased to see everyone happy in their new home.

Then we drove a short distance from their home to see Seth at work. It looked like they were over-staffed and we asked him if he could leave early and go to dinner with us, but he’s a conscientious worker and opted to stay and finish his shift. Thumbs up for a good work ethic.

Afterward, we drove into downtown Staunton (pronounced Stanton, I guess the “u” is silent) to have dinner at Shenandoah Pizza with Ann, Mikey, Charlotte, and Heather and Richard whom we hadn’t seen in three years. Way too long. Heather wasn’t feeling very good so we were very grateful she was able to come and we could spend some time with them.

After dinner we walked down the Main Street a bit, passing lots of shops that we remembered seeing with Heather and Richard during our last visit, to an ice cream shop where everyone got some dessert, compliments of Ann.

By the time we got back to the campground it was dark, but the gate was still open so we didn’t have to struggle to put in a key code.

The Blue Ridge Tunnel – East Trailhead

On Thursday, October 8th, we met Ann, Charlotte and Seth at the Blue Ridge Tunnel-East Trailhead around 11 am to take a hike through the old train tunnel that is, of course, no longer used. Ann had hiked this a few weeks earlier and thought we might enjoy it. She was right.

Quoting the information sign at the tunnel: “The Blue Ridge Tunnel, which opened to railroad traffic in 1858. lies beneath Rockfish Gap, where Interstate 64, U.S. Route 250, Skyline Drive, the Blue Ridge Parkway, and the Appalachian Trail converge. The Blue Ridge Railroad Company. overseen by the Virginia Board of Public Works. began preliminary work on the project in 1849 with Claudius Crozet (1789-1864) as chief engineer. Irish laborers and enslaved African Americans built the ellipse-shaped, single-track tunnel using hand tools and black powder. At 4, 273 feet, it was the longest railroad tunnel in the U.S. when completed. The need to accommodate larger locomotives led to the tunnel’s replacement in 1944.”

Our hike began at the East Trailhead and was about 3/4 of a mile long to get to the tunnel entrance on that side. The tunnel length, at 4, 273 feet is about .8 miles long, so our round trip hike from the car and back was about 3 miles.

The former tracks have, thankfully, been removed so you’re walking on a flattened surface. The walls and ceiling are very uneven, since they were carved out by explosives and manual hand work. The point was simply to tunnel through the mountain and make it wide enough and tall enough for the locomotives to fit through. No one was doing detailed work here, obviously. Which just adds to the experience.

It was quite sunny from the parking lot to the tunnel entrance. We spent a few minutes taking photos at the entrance and then Brainiac here got distracted and we began our hike. When we got to the end on the other side, I realized I had worn my prescription sunglasses all the way through the tunnel. No wonder it was so dark in there!

We had a fun 2 to 2 1/2 hours before we went our separate ways. Ann and the kids went back home and Cindy and I went to the store to get the makings for our grill-out that night at the campsite. Then Cindy and I went back to Nomad and took a nap because we’re old people.

Ann, Mikey, Charlotte and Seth all arrived at our site around 6:30 pm and we grilled hamburgers and hot dogs on the campfire and enjoyed dinner in the chilly air at the picnic table. Dessert was S’mores that we made from marshmallows roasted over the campfire and Cindy showed them how to soften the Hershey’s chocolate bars so they would all mix together between graham crackers. We had a great time visiting and watching the stars come out in the darkening sky as we sat around the fire to keep warm. The time for them to head back home came way too soon.

Frontier Culture Museum

After breakfast Friday morning we drove over to meet Ann, Mikey, Charlotte and Seth at 11 am at the Frontier Culture Museum. This “museum” is much like Colonial Williamsburg (though not as commerical) in that it is a “living museum” with most of the displays outdoors and manned by folks dressed in the style of the period they are representing. This one, of course, centers on life during the frontier period of this area of Virginia. Here’s how the museum is described;

“…the biggest open-air living history museum in the Shenandoah Valley…Costumed historical interpreters show the life and customs of the indigenous Native American tribes in Virginia, the arrival of the German, English and Irish settlers along the Great Wagon Road, and the painful journey of the enslaved Africans to the first permanent British colony in North America. Visitors may also interact with a blacksmith at an Irish Forge, woodworkers, tailors, and yarn spinners, and learn how the early settlers of America cooked and worked the land.”

It was a fun visit. Lots of walking and the temperatures warmed up a bit, but overall it was a good time to visit. The interpreters were always ready to describe their period and answer any questions about it. The only drawback was that there were several elementary school classes there on field trips, so it was not as enjoyable for adults as it could have been. But, this place IS an excellent resource for educators and it was good to see them making use of it to help make history come alive for the little buggers, lol.

After going our separate ways again, Cindy and I grabbed a quick lunch and then I returned her to our site. I drove back to Ann’s to help her install cameras on the outside of her house for her new security system. Then she and I had a nice father/daughter dinner at a Mexican restaurant by her home. I can’t believe we didn’t think to ask the server to get a photo of us! Anyway, the food was good (she had seen it get good reviews on her local neighborhood app) and we had some time to talk and visit with just the two of us. After taking her home I returned to the campsite, fortunately again before they had closed the gate.

Saturday was a day of rest, ’cause we’re old people. It rained all afternoon and through the night, so we just cocooned inside Nomad and recharged our batteries.

Ranger Interview

But, we did take a few minutes to drive up to the Forest Service Administration Building for a talk with the ranger in charge. You may recall that back during this post I mentioned filling out volunteer paperwork for a campground in another state. At the time I didn’t want to mention that it was here with Sherando Lake Recreation Area because I wanted to wait and surprise Ann with the news if we got the position. We still don’t know yet if we have the position (they don’t make their decisions about volunteers until late October or November), but Cindy had already encouraged me to bring it up when we were talking with Ann earlier, so the cat was out of the bag.

Anyway, during my emails with the ranger in charge of securing volunteers, I mentioned we would be at Sherando during this week and hoped we might get to meet with him. He let me know that he seldom gets out to this park, but that we should definitely make contact with the area supervisor or his assistant who would be at the Admin building.

So we met with the assistant supervisor and had a very good conversation with him. I just wanted the opportunity to make a quick introduction and let him put a face with the applicant, but he was very gracious in talking to us for about 20-25 minutes about the possible volunteer positions available and our experiences. The position was supposed to be from April through October of 2027, but Cindy had just seen on the park’s social media page that they would be opening later due to construction on the park’s water lines (to fix that problem Cindy had with getting hot water in the ladies shower room, among others). The ranger we talked to that day said they hoped to open by Memorial Day in May. But, they might still need volunteers before the official opening.

All in all we felt like it was a good visit and hopefully keeps us in their minds when choosing next year’s volunteers.

Sunday we awoke to rain still falling and that lasted through the early afternoon. It also brought in a cold front that lowered the temperatures.

Costco & Last Family Meal

Later in the afternoon we were meeting Ann, Mikey, and Charlotte (Seth had to work again) for dinner in Harrisonburg. We stopped by the Costco there first to pick up a couple of things (like croissants AND beignets with a hazelnut filling. YUM!) and fill up Voyager with gas at a cheaper price (22 cents a gallon cheaper!).

Then we met everyone at a place they love called O’neill’s Grill for our last meal together before we leave Virginia. After eating there we could see why they love it. The food was delicious, the portions big, and the prices reasonable. Our server was new and was slow and apologized up front, but we told her we were in no hurry and not to worry about it. And we weren’t. I don’t know about everyone else, but I did not want this to end any sooner than it had to.

After dinner we walked over to Bruster’s Ice Cream next door for dessert, even though it was cold and damp, lol. But, finally, we had to part ways and say goodbye. Our drive back to the campsite was somber, as we usually are when we finish a visit with our kids and grandkids.

Monday I drove to nearby Waynesboro to do laundry and pick up some groceries while Cindy stayed at the site and made some desserts; her homemade chocolate pudding and a pan of apple crisp using some of the apples we picked earlier in the week.

After our lunch we spent the afternoon repacking Voyager and prepping for our departure from Sherando Lake Recreation Area the next morning.

It was good seeing Ann and the kids after so many months. We’ll get to do the same with Amber and Abby in a few weeks and with Jeremy, Wendy, Jade, and Maxwell when they arrive in Orlando at the beginning of Thanksgiving Week. Emails, texts, and video calls are all good, but getting to see and hug them in person is the best!

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