Managing Editor:
James Perry

By Deane Winegar

With a slew of summertime and year-round activities, outdoor lovers heading to Nelson County for Camp Jeep have come to the right place.

Your Host With the Most

Wintergreen Resort (804-325-2200), one of the hosts for Camp Jeep, has 11,000 acres that spread across the eastern slope of the Blue Ridge in Nelson. You need go no farther if you like to golf, play tennis, hike, bike, swim, fish, boat, ride horseback, work out, or just sit on the ski slopes and enjoy the view. Facilities are in two locations--a mountaintop complex off Route 664 and a valley complex off Route 151 at Stoney Creek on the north side of Nellysford.

Two championship golf courses--one on the mountain and one in the valley--offer 45 holes on immaculate fairways and manicured greens in beautiful surroundings. The mountaintop course at Devil's Knob is nearly 4,000 feet high--the highest course in Virginia. For tee times and advance reservations, call 804-325-8250.

Tennis enthusiasts can reserve space on one of 19 clay courts or three indoor courts, and the Rodes Farm Stables in Stoney Creek (off Route 151 at Nellysford), open daily except Wednesdays, offer trail rides on horseback, sunset rides, and pony rides for children.

Wintergreen has a Spa and Fitness Center, as well as one indoor and five outdoor pools. You can also swim, fish, boat, play sand volleyball, or have a picnic at 22-acre Lake Monocan in the Stoney Creek area. Canoes, paddleboats, inner tubes, road bikes, and fishing equipment are available, and lifeguards are on duty. Fishing is also permitted in the valley on Stoney Creek, which is a stocked catch-and-release stream, as well as on Paul's Creek and Rodes Farm Pond. 

For road bikes, marked trails wind throughout the Stoney Creek area, while paved trails lead through the Stoney Creek golf course and surrounding ponds. For mountain bikers, the resort offers a 12.5-mile downhill course, a mountain bike park, and a shuttle service back to the top. A bike center--complete with rental bikes, guides, and trail maps--is located at the top of Devils Knob behind the Tennis Center.

For more information on Wintergreen activities, contact the Activities Office at 804-325-8180. There are fees for some activities, and reservations are required for some. For information on hikes and nature-related activities being sponsored by the Wintergreen Nature Foundation during Camp Jeep, call 804-325-8169; for directions to the Foundation's home at Trillium House at the mountain complex, call 804-325-7451. 

In addition to the many activities available at Wintergreen itself, the surrounding misty mountains and bucolic countryside provide beautiful settings for exploring Virginia's Blue Ridge.

Highway in the Sky

Wintergreen's Mountain Village off Route 664 is located just a mile beneath one of Virginia's treasures--the highway in the sky that hugs the ridge tops of the Blue Ridge. 

The Blue Ridge Parkway is the section of the highway that extends from Rockfish Gap on the mountaintop east of Waynesboro (Mile 0) 469 miles south to Cherokee, N.C. The serpentine road serves as a scenic connector between the Shenandoah National Park to the north and Great Smoky Mountains National Park on the North Carolina-Tennessee state line.

Beginning where the Parkway leaves off at Rockfish Gap, the Skyline Drive (same highway, different name) traces the sinewy backbone of the Blue Ridge 105 miles north to Front Royal. The Drive was designed as the outstanding feature of Shenandoah National Park, which drapes like a saddle across the ridges on either side. Motorists can pull aside and put their cameras to use at 75 overlooks along the way. Roughly paralleling the Parkway and Drive is the famous Appalachian Trail that extends along the Appalachian Mountains from Georgia to Maine. 

Speed limits are set at 45 on the Parkway and 35 on the Drive, encouraging a leisurely sightseeing excursion, which may take some getting used to for those accustomed to the breakneck pace of rush hour and freeway driving.

More Travels in the Area Click Here:

At Mile 5.8 on the Parkway--eight miles north of Route 664 at Reeds Gap--sits the Humpback Rocks Pioneer Farm, where travelers can learn the history of the rugged mountaineers who struggled to make a living in log cabins like the ones open to visitors. A 0.75-mile hike leads to The Rocks, a humped, landmark outcropping visible in the valley below. Information on the Parkway's facilities, hikes, flora, and fauna are available here.

Along the Parkway, and in the George Washington National Forest that borders it, are many more hiking trails to rock promontories, waterfalls, and tumbling streams where native trout entice anglers. One such hike is the half-day, 1,200-foot vertical climb to Crabtree Falls, the highest waterfall east of the Mississippi. Along the five main cascades of the falls are benches and several stairways for enjoying the falls and views of the Tye River Valley. The trail is located off Route 56, which connects Route 151 some 11 miles south of the Stoney Creek section of Wintergreen with the Blue Ridge Parkway near Montebello. For more information, contact the Pedlar Ranger District (540-291-2188).

Shenandoah National Park

For those with a bit of time to explore, Shenandoah National Park offers far more than the lovely scenery along the Skyline Drive. Some 105 miles of footpaths ranging from easy leg-stretchers to challenging rock climbs invite day hikes and overnights. A 101-mile section of the Appalachian Trail plays tag with the Drive from one end of the park to the other. Side trails lead to waterfalls and trout streams, just as on the Parkway.

More than 200 species of birds, including 35 varieties of warblers, have been identified here. Botanists have catalogued over 1,200 flowering plants. During Camp Jeep, look for such summer bloomers as Queen Anne's lace, black-eyed Susan, and goldenrod.

No hunting is allowed in the park, but fishing for native trout is available year-round for those willing to hike to remote streams that cascade down both sides of the Blue Ridge. On designated streams, the creel limit is six trout of 9 inches or more per day. Only artificial lures are permitted. A list of streams is available at park entrance stations and visitor centers. Catch-and-release fishing is available on all other streams.

Because no hunting is allowed in the national park, wildlife--especially white-tailed deer--are practically tame in some cases. Deer graze along the highway shoulders and trails in broad daylight. They are also frequent visitors at the park's four campgrounds and seven picnic areas. Bobcats, wild turkeys, black bears, and red and gray foxes are also spotted on occasion.

One of the favorite places to observe deer is at Big Meadows at Mile 51.2, where 150 acres of open grasslands make it easy to spot deer from a long distance. Some 270 species of plants thrive in these sun-washed meadows, including the park's largest collection of wildflowers. Two excellent restaurants, a convenience store, and a modern visitor center are also at Big Meadows.

James River Float Trips

Two outfitters located southwest of Oak Ridge Estates on the James River can provide everything you need to cool off and enjoy the river during free time at Camp Jeep. James River Runners (804-286-2338) at Hatton Ferry and James River Reeling and Rafting (804-286-4386) at Scottsville will rent you a canoe, kayak, or inner tube for a river float. They'll also shuttle you upriver or downriver and pick you up at the end of your float. Be sure to outfit yourself at their stores to fish for the smallmouth bass that give the river its claim to fame.

For more information on this and other Jeep Jamborees, please visit http://www.jeepunpaved.com/jamboree/index.html. 

Photos by Deane Winegar.
Copyright (c) 2000 by Deane Winegar. All rights reserved.