I just returned from a wonderful press trip to Massanutten Resort in Virginia, which is about a 20 minute drive from where I went to college at James Madison. This trip was so much fun, not only because the resort itself is full of any and every activity you could ever want (more on that later), but also because I was able to meet up with a close girlfriend as well.
The luscious greenery of Massanutten Resort. Photo credit: Massanutten Resort.
Top on our list of places to hit for our quick college reunion was our old Mexican food fave, El Charro, as well as ice cream at Kline’s and a quick walk by the quad to visit the James Madison statue and the offices of our old college paper, The Breeze. Lisa and I could not stop talking about how our love for journalism began in those tiny Breeze offices.
This campus sure is glorious and if either of my girls wanted to go to school here, I wouldn’t be sad …
Townhomes & Rooms
We were put up in a Regal Vistas townhome for our three-night stay. The homes were so quaint and cozy, with electric garages, porches, full kitchens, fireplaces, jacuzzi tubs (you know I tried these), and a private pool and fitness center just for Regal Vistas guests.
We had quite the packed itinerary for this trip that included all the adventure you could want, topped off with a Signature Massage at their spa on Saturday before heading back to the airport.
I’ll get more into the amazing food and activities in a sec, but first I want to say a little something about Massanutten in general. I live in Colorado where there are plenty of mountains, but here’s thing thing — Colorado is an arid, desert climate, and the mountains, and while glorious, they are rarely green.
Massanutten, however …. well it doesn’t get more gloriously green than those Massanutten mountains. They aren’t as high as Colorado, so altitude wasn’t really an issue for me, either. The whole week just felt like the perfect mix of outdoor adventure and nature coupled with challenging activities, as well as the opportunity for relaxing respites.
Our Thursday started with a trip to the Family Adventure Park right down the road, where we went summer tubing down the mountain, climbed rock walls and took a chance on the Mega Zip line.
Our afternoon on Thursday consisted of a tour of some of the newly renovated facilities in other parts of the resort, as well as a trip up the mountain to see the views and mine and Lisa’s first ever experience with an escape room and virtual reality games (again … so. much. fun!) at Real Escapes, followed by ice cream at Fun Factory next door.
On Friday we experienced other great draws in the area — the Water Park (I’m pretty great a lazy tubing, if you really want to know) with private cabanas, the petting farm and then mountain biking in the afternoon.
To be honest, we didn’t really know we would be mountain biking when we went in for the activity. We were originally mean to be trying out their new e-bikes, but when one got a flat tire we were happy to use regular bikes. It didn’t occur to us that the regular bikes were mountain bikes and that we would be mountain biking up and down a hill.
But you know what … we rocked the mountain biking! It was definitely a little scary at first, but I gotta say, once you get the hang of it, I could totally see how that activity would be addicting.
The Waterpark
Above photo credit: Massanutten Resort.
I mean … how can you not love him?!
Our private lunch back at the water park included the most amazing drinks, and even better tuna tacos. Tuna in tacos … who knew?!
Big smiles because this was after our big mountain biking excursion, and we had made it out alive!
Ahhh Yes, The Food
During our stay, we ate at Campfire Grill and Virginia BBQ & Pizza Co., as well as had a barbecue prepared for us by the chef and staff and had a private dinner with wine/beer/liquor pairings on our final night.
Our final dinner of the trip was a private event with the chef and some of the staff, and it was absolutely amazing. The ceviche was probably my favorite seafood dish I’ve had in a long time, but really, everything was stellar. The bar tender served up some tasty drinks, and everything was so delish during our entire stay.
A big thanks to the folks at Massanutten for sponsoring this trip and pulling out all the stops to make it as incredible as it was. If you’re ever in the area, I can honestly say that it doesn’t get much prettier than the Shenandoah area, and Massanutten has an activity for every level and age, making it a great family stay.
DETAILS:
Massanutten, Virgina 22840
Cheryl Lock is a former magazine, newspaper and website editor turned full-time freelance writer. She has worked on staff at the Daytona Beach News-Journal, More and Parents magazines, as well as for Learnvest, the leading women’s financial website. Her work has also appeared in Newsweek, Forbes, Ladies’ Home Journal, the Huffington Post, AOL Travel and more.
Cheryl was born in Nuremberg, Germany and grew up moving around every few years as an Army brat. The urge to travel has been with her her whole life. While she calls New York City home, Cheryl makes it a priority to travel as much as possible throughout the year. Some of her favorite places include Iceland, the Great Barrier Beef, Cabo, Rome, Calabria and Munich, although she hopes to never stop exploring. Cheryl blogs about her travel adventures (and what’s happening in and around New York City) at Weary Wanderer.
