By guest bloggers Jeremy & Stephanie Puglisi of RV Family Travel Atlas.
Jellystone Park Luray, in addition to having wonderful amenities and activities on site, is also located within ten minutes of some pretty fun family adventure opportunities. If you can manage to get your kids off of the bounce pad and out of the pool, we highly recommend the following local attractions.
Even though we had seen many pictures of these caverns, we were shocked at how truly spectacular it was to see them in person. Our five year olds kept saying how ‘awesome’ it was, and we couldn’t agree more.
The guided tour takes a little over an hour and covers just over a mile on paved walking paths. You can easily bring a stroller if you are willing to carry it down the flight of stairs at the very beginning and then back up again at the end. The tour includes lots of very interesting information, but also plenty of time to independently explore and appreciate the beauty of the caverns. We felt the pacing was perfect—we didn’t feel rushed at all, but it moved quickly enough to keep our young kids engaged.
Your admission ticket ($24 for adults/ $12 for youths/ free for 5 years and under) includes entrance to the Luray Valley Museum, the Car and Carriage Caravan, and Toy Town Junction. We did not feel like our kids had the attention span for these attractions after the guided tour of the caverns, but if your children are older, they might enjoy wandering through them.
Our boys did, however, LOVE the Rope Adventure Park, where you can get strapped into a harness and enjoy one of the three ropes courses available.
To be honest, this activity did not look like anything super exciting from a distance. It turned out to be a blast, though, with a lot of very engaging challenges and thrills. Max and Theo could have spent hours there, and we had to tear them away for lunch.
Bottom line? Worth the extra money ($9/ $7 under 48 inches) if you or your kids want to enjoy a wild jungle gym experience.
You can also enjoy the Garden Maze or the Gem Sluice for an additional fee. Although the value of these activities will depend on your children’s age and personal interests, we can say that everything at Luray Caverns was extremely clean, and the staff was friendly and efficient.
Luray Caverns is a huge area attraction and can get very crowded during peak travel times. The tours start at 9 am, and it is worth the effort to get there early. We waited only 10 minutes to start our tour, but as we were leaving, the lines were much longer. One of the employees also told us that it quiets down after 4:30 pm as well.
As you can tell, there are many fun things to do in Luray, Va. Another attraction is located right next door to Jellystone Park Luray. You can actually walk on a footpath from the campground to Bear Mountain Ziplines. This adventure course has only been open for a few seasons, but it is clearly a local gem. The staff is friendly and accommodating, willing to teach you how to get into your harness and recommend a good place for sandwiches.
The Mama Bear Zipline has seven zips that bring you through the woods and out across a wide open field. This is a good introductory course for those that have not tried zip lining before. The new Baby Bear High Ropes Course is a great challenge for younger kids, and at $20, this is an affordable and fun way for children to try zip lining in a safe and accessible environment.
The best part about Bear Mountain Ziplines was that it was a quick and low key way to experience this fun activity. Often times zip lining tours can take hours and require you to schedule at least a half day of your vacation around it, with long drives from the offices to the mountain courses. Since Bear Mountain is right next door to the campground, you can easily walk over, zip, and be back in an hour or so.
Hopefully next season Bear Mountain Ziplines will offer a discount for Jellystone Park campers. This would take this from a recommended activity to a “must do” for the family.
The area around Jellystone Park Luray is full of opportunities for adventure, and we already know that our next trip will include tubing, horseback riding, and kayaking. An amazing campground, a national park, and lots of fun things to do in Luray, VA? We will most certainly be back.
Bio
Jeremy and Stephanie Puglisi are the co-hosts of RV Family Travel Atlas, a podcast available in the iTunes Store. They spend over 40 nights a year in their RV, traveling with their three young boys Theo, Max, and Wes. You can read more about their adventures at www.rvfamilytravelatlas.com
