Virginia’s Blue Ridge Mountains are unlike anywhere else in the world

The Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia. Older than the Rockies. Mysteriously appear blue. Cradle the Shenandoah Valley from the rest of the world. This area is amazing in so many ways, and I’m going to tell you why.

Except select parts of Pennsylvania and the grimmer parts of Baltimore, MD, everywhere in the United States is beautiful. Ask most anyone about their hometown, and their eyes will glaze over as they start to boast of beautiful views or buildings or landmarks. The Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia are extremely beautiful, yes, we’ve gotten that out of the way. But the region is unique for so many more characteristics than its stunning loveliness and humbling views.

The history in this area is unavoidable. We have American history sweating from our pores in a way that most other places just can’t touch. There are practically 1,865 Civil War battlefields. Old homes and plantations are spattered across the landscape like paint on a Jackson Pollock painting. The trifecta of presidential homes, Monticello (Jefferson), Montpelier (Madison) and Ash Lawn (Monroe) stand here.

And of course, Virginia as a whole is rank with the smell of history. The Blue Ridge Mountains are a hop, skip and a jump away from other historical locations, such as Williamsburg, Jamestown, Yorktown and the Appomattox court house. School children sitting in classrooms hundreds of miles away in Nebraska learn about our area.

Not everyone is a history buff, though.

The Shenandoah Valley is rife with tiny towns to visit – one never has to repeat. After living here for 15 years, I still haven’t been to them all. There are antique shops for days. Ice cream stores galore. Local museums smaller than front porches aplenty. And on the other side of the mountains lies Charlottesville, an artsy, foodie, self-obsessed, pretentious city which I am embarrassed to admit how much I love.

The weather here is unbeatable. There are four seasons here: freezing winters unlike the deep South and summers which are actually hot unlike the North. Don’t like the weather on one side of the mountains? Go to the other side, where it is likely different. And if it isn’t different, with mountains come caverns.

Driving through the Shenandoah Valley, there are advertisements for an insane number of underground caves where the temperature is perpetually 55 degrees Fahrenheit and not raining. And if you sweet talk your tour guide, they will turn off the lights. An unlit cavern is completely dark, which means your eyes will never adjust. There is no small leak of light. It is immensely cool.

Winter weather here is wonderfully cooperative with the youth to provide the ultimate number of school cancellations. The mountains are far north enough that in the winter we get a decent number of snow predictions. But we are also far south enough that schools close at only the prediction of snow. One school in the area would even close at the prediction of hard rain.

The Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia are intellectually diverse. Being the South, mostly rural and Virginia, there are plenty of conservative-minded people. However, some of the cities provide a hotbed of liberal thought as well. The hippie community here is strong, and although many are liberal, there exists a breed of person here I dub the “conservative hippie,” a phenomenon I have yet to encounter anywhere else.

There are as many young professionals as old country farmers, as many hippies as preps and as many residents who’ve moved down from the North as who’ve moved up from the deeper South. This area is a blend of the North and South, of old history and growth. For every person who takes sweet tea, there is another who takes unsweetened tea.

I spent my youth romping these mountains, and have a child’s view about why they rock. However, talk to any adult about their favorite parts of the area, and they will shortly mention the abundance of wineries, breweries and distilleries. There are many cow fields here, and I’ve yet to tip one. There are more towns to visit and antique shops to browse. The area never gets old – there is always more to offer. And that is why the Blue Ridge Mountains rock.