Wrap A Girl’s Perspective Around Lexington, Virginia

Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley called me back, three decades after my first journey to Lexington.

Beauty in the long-view vista and the downtown spaces played a big part in that call.

Picture the western side of the state, with West Virginia 57 miles further west and Roanoke 54 driving miles to the south.

Both trips wrapped around my girl’s perspective but the baggage changed dramatically. Here’s why. Then switch gears and see what’s special today.

First trip 30 years ago I drove from south Georgia, taking my aging parents with me. We experienced Lexington with my sister and her family, including the college graduation of sister’s son. Second trip: no family or friends and I was the aged one, this time flying to nearby Roanoke.

The connecting thread: VMI, formally known as the Virginia Military Institute. My 1996 trip the Lexington energies swirled around the debate to admit women—or not. Did happen thievery next year on Aug. 18.

2026 return to Lexington: Girls in uniform definitely visible on campus and the VMI museum offers part of one display case to that history.

Highlights:

• Be outdoors. Lots of ways to be an outside girl in Lexington. Hiking not necessary.
• Meet some dreamers . People seem to move to Lexington to live their dreams. Visit to share their results.
• Eat and Drink . Cideries and wineries, breweries and eateries offer up more than their obvious purpose.

Editor’s note: The writer was hosted.

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Where to Play Outside in Lexington, Virginia

Pretty word–Shenandoah–and pretty place inviting lots of outside pleasures visiting Lexington.

Since the little city is walkable, think about downtown lodging to experience shops and chefs and historic welcoming skylines.

Here’s a look at five of the many outdoor places to play.

Ask a Horse for an Overview

Two Haflinger horses, a carriage for six, or a smaller version for a cozy duo, and a driver with local knowledge: That’s the Lexington version of a city bus tour to gather the feel of a place. Can’t hop on or off but the horses pause for storytelling—good for embracing neighborhood architecture and gardens.

Admire the Haflinger’s golden chestnut color, a breed from Austria and northern Italy dating to medieval times. Twenty-six of them fill the Lexington Carriage Tour stables.

The 45-minute tour helped me know how close I was to VMI and to Washington & Lee University from my lodging known as The Georges Inn.

SheBuysTravel Tip: Listen up for stories of local life through two centuries. They’ll trigger connections the rest of the trip.

Stroll the Two College Campuses

Walking both college green spaces won’t take long – but do admire the architecture and the grounds. That felt important to me because each campus is integral to the essence of this community.

A modest number of 2,200 students attend Washington & Lee University while VMI serves 1,500 cadets, known as citizen soldiers. Law is the only graduate discipline at W&L; 119 students received the juris doctor degree in 2026.

SheBuysTravel Tip: Kind of fun to see the college kids, or even chat with them off campus too. One way: Go to dinner at The Palms. Used to be a debating club space and library. The pressed tin ceiling suggests 1800s history.

Claim the Night Sky

Appreciating park rangers comes easily to me because they know so much more than I do about their parks, and they always seem delighted with their jobs.

Under the certifiably dark sky over Lexington and Rockbridge County, I also appreciated help not tripping on the high peak at Natural Bridge State Park. Using naked eyes and a chunky-style telescope, my little group of star gazers saw constellations and moving stars and individual bright spots.

When one of us oohed and aahed peering into the ‘scope and the next one saw nothing—-park rangers adjusted the position and helped us realize our planet truly does move! That was lots better than feeling dumb seeing nothing.

The International Dark Sky Park designation dates to 2021. The experience includes a 15-minute truck-drawn wagon ride to reach the high peak.

Stand Tall Under a Natural Bridge

Since the natural bridge in Lexington’s Rockbridge County stands 215 feet tall, I expected to feel miniature, maybe unimportant standing under it. After all, the Statue of Liberty could stand in this opening, with her torch up.

A completely different perspective filled my soul at Natural Bridge State Park as I approached this limestone gorge.

Awe and wonder, the sounds of strangers gasping too, adjusted what I think about the intersection of water and time, stones and civilizations.

This might be 200,000 years old. Native Americans walked over the top 11,000 years ago, archeologists document.

Today Route 11 becomes that wilderness trail and locals like pointing to the downtown crossing of Main and Nelson streets where Routes 11 and 60 meet. When I learned the history, I could see this as a double intersection: fabled roadways once named for trails intersecting with eons of time.

Breathe in the Lavender

Clueless I was about the many personalities of lavender – until spending an afternoon with Brian and Penny Ross on their 54 acres with 56 different varieties. That translates to 2,000 plants to stroll around, and a trail to a waterfall.

I ate lavender honey ice cream and brought home some bars of soap (yes purple) and lavender lip balm. Seems to be a flower and an herb, a food and a pollinator resource. Maybe even a shrub.

Tantivy is the lavender farm’s name, an old British word meaning fast moving or gallop. Brian says it was a tune played on a stagecoach too.

That’s a hint to their equestrian career, wrapping life’s prior years into today’s retirement dream of “fresh air and open spaces” they tell visitors.

Inside and Outside Blend Together Too

Lexington and Rockbridge County dreamers turned their visions into inside and outdoor options to share.

• The Workshop at Timber Ridge – Two artists married each other and created Timber Ridge to share vast Shenandoah Valley views, and teach pottery, painting and photography in hands-on, “you create too” classes
• Virginia Gold Heritage Farms – Sip some estate wine inside the tasting room, eat an Asian pear from trees you can see and then feed some Dutch Belted cows while gazing over the valley. If that’s not variety enough, walk to the flower fields to u-pick and then call the Idaho pasture pigs who’ll come running. This family operation loves sharing with families.

• Halcyon Days Cider Company – For sure the cider’s interesting and so is the labyrinth to walk where 2,000 dwarf fruit trees grow, and the art versions on the cidery walls. Halcyon is another story of people with a vision, completely changing careers and location to embrace change.

Dining in Downtown Lexington

I felt like an insider choosing food experiences at the places I’d noticed on day one from my carriage tour. That’s why paying attention, and traveling with intention pays dividends.

Owners with passions for their food and their spaces surprised me over and over again, and felt as interesting as the flavors. Here are some of their stories.

• Seasons Bakery & Cafe – A cookbook about artisanal sourdough bread launched the vision for this family with five children (ages 5-15) to serve the community from their eight-acre farm and their bright, light, many-windows downtown restaurant. Book the Airbnb on their farm (sleeps six) and smell the bread baking.
• The Georges – This collection of five buildings with Lexington history and luxury accommodations includes multiple dining options: The pub-style Tap Room, a dinner space named Haywood’s Piano Bar and Grill and an event space named the Patton Room. Three chefs reflect tastes and talents from Colombia, Peru, Belgium and also Rockbridge County at The Georges.
• Sweet Things Ice Cream Shoppe – Oreo sells the best out of 200 recipes but bourbon ginger might raise the most quizzical eyebrows. Chris Williams learned the ins and outs when he bought the Shoppe in 2003. Feel his passion for hand-rolling the oversized waffle cones, sourcing vanilla from within two degrees of the equator and making sure flavor choices change within three days at the most. Cash only.
• Pure Eats – No red dye #40 here, instead find an abundance of community love, generosity … and doughnuts baked daily. Eggs from local chickens, farm-to-table focus and the energies of a single mom with two teenage sons sets the tone for Pure Eats. Looks like a 1950s gas station, feels like a welcoming oasis.
• Roadmap CoffeeWorks – Flights of coffee, some brewed through a pottery origami drip, maybe a cold drip too, with each reflecting individual customer tastes. Coffee curious? Roadmap is the place to discover deep knowledge and willing teachers.

Stay at The Georges

Exploring Lexington and Rockbridge County gave me outside peeks at historic buildings repurposed as lodging. Places with names like Herring Hall and the Inn at Brierley Hill and shockingly a Hampton Inn which looked scholarly and fitting for a heritage town.

I chose my pillows downtown at The Georges in a former livery building which served stagecoach passengers and the horses more than a century ago.

The only old thing about my stay was a metal door key! Key ring too. My ground floor suite paid homage to those horses with a handsome floor-to-ceiling window, curved at the top, once a tall door accommodating the stagecoach.

Yes, pristine clean white wide-slat shutters for modern world privacy. All this too:

• Heated towel rack, simple flip of the switch
• Heated tile floor in the bathroom
• Cheerful entry foyer through the street-facing livery front door and a spacious stairway with polished wooden handrails leading to second floor bedrooms
• Deep soaking tub and also a walk-in shower large enough for a party
• Two soft white bathrobes
• Three chairs in the bedroom, upholstered and with arms (I do like leaning.)
• TAPS pub and dining room in another of the five Georges buildings, with the check-in option of placing my breakfast order and specifying the time I might arrive. That’s to cook fresh.
• Attentive staff in the main lobby and dining spaces, even remembering my name

SheBuysTravel Tip: Maybe obsess over the webpage options before booking The Georges since there are five buildings to consider, but good chance all are equally pleasant and the buildings are just steps from one another.

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