Things to Do in Front Royal

Swedenburg is located on historic Valley View Farm, which dates back to 1762 and still has a slight fondness for powdered wigs. The vineyard itself was planted by the Swedenburg family in the 1980s, more than 200 years after the farmland was originally cultivated. Today, the family still lives in the original, Colonial-era "Patent House," a testament to the farm's long history. When you pay a visit to Swedenburg, be prepared for hospitality befitting the landscape and Old World values. Weather permitting, picnic tables with umbrellas are set up for a relaxing wine tasting amid the bucolic splendor. Sample the six wines the vineyard produces, including Riesling with green-apple notes, the dark, oak-berry richness of pinot noir, and a semi-dry rosé for middle-ground wine balance.

Though spectral forms and shadowy figures still reside in The Haunted Cottage, its greatest legacy is as the occasional vacation home of assassin John Wilkes Booth. Also known as the Booth House, The Haunted Cottage is home to paranormal researcher Vince Wilson, who helms the haunted abode's ghost tours and maintains the paranormal library and history museum, where guests can spy a vampire skeleton among other supernatural exhibits. All this knowledge pours from Vince's mouth during tours and investigations, which pair breakdowns of the house's 150-year history with actual equipment designed to catch ghosts, from cameras and digital recorders to EMF meters delicately hoisting a morsel of cheese.

The Haunted Cottage also strives to school spirit-seekers with paranormal-research training that cycles through parapsychology topics such as extrasensory perception, hypnosis, and psychic healing.

Through the doors at Pots and Palettes’, Catherine—who occasionally dons the motherly teapot costume from Beauty and the Beast —cavorts from table to table, handing out friendly advice to children and adults as they paint selections from more than 500 bisque pottery pieces. Catherine and her artistic staff equip budding artists with all the necessary tools, including brushes, kilns, and fire hoses full of paint, to transform blank mugs and piggy banks into colorful works of art. Child- and adult-size tables set the stage for Family Thursdays, and date night on Fridays encourages flirty creativity with a two-for-one studio fee.

C.T. Campbell, a Luray native, calls upon more than 30 years of experience to teach aspiring anglers how to track down fish during private fly-fishing trips. Small groups of up to four trek to a private 1-mile stretch of the Shenandoah River, where they can cast for fish and take in the scenic vistas of Shenandoah National Park and the Blue Ridge Mountains. With all gear and equipment provided, visitors can concentrate on reeling in smallmouth bass and trout as C.T. takes care of all the lines, leaders, flies, and tackle. C.T. welcomes fishers of all skill levels and teaches the fundamental flies of this active style of fishing. Page Valley Fly Fishing Service practices catch-and-release fishing, so fishers will have to return their catches to the majestic river unless they can convince trophy fish to become animatronic singers mounted to their home-office walls.

It was 1955 when Fred and Evelyn Greenberg finally realized their dream of founding an outdoor camp for children, choosing the sweeping vistas of the Shenandoah Mountains as its home. They started with three camps, gradually combining them into one—Timber Ridge Camp & Resort. Today, they maintain a staff of directors, activity specialists, and counselors brought from university outdoors programs across the country to supervise children through the camp’s 45 onsite activities and programs.

Camp staff leaves coed attendees ages 6–16 free to choose their own activities. Campers team up in land sports such as beach volleyball, soccer, and basketball on hardwood courts or rehearse for inclusive theatrical productions and highflying trapeze acts to earn roles as Batman’s sidekick. They also take on nature itself with water-based excursions ranging from canoeing and tubing to waterskiing on the Shenandoah River or cavort under the watchful eye of Red Cross–certified lifeguards at the outdoor pool. On other adventures, they study animals at the nature center and petting zoo or arm-wrestle gravity into submission on a high-ropes course with a 40-foot climbing tower and 150-foot zipline. Staffers keep campers fueled for daily physical activity with regular themed dinner nights, each with kosher alternatives.

Sprawling across 16 acres of mountain terrain atop Wisp Resort and the 550-acre Fork Run Recreation Area forest, Adventure Sports Center International immerses thrill seekers in a range of river sports, climbing, hiking, and other outdoor programs. On the river, experienced rafting guides—some of whom are U.S. Olympians—pilot adventurers down a one-third-mile artificial whitewater river, through four classes of changeable but authentic rapids bordered by boulders excavated onsite. Those who have reached the bottom return to the starting pool on a raft conveyor belt that defies gravity better than when Newton threw apples back into the trees. In the forest preserve, visitors frolic along rugged mile-long trails on bike or on foot, or scale natural limestone boulders and ledges. Climbing guides teach basic bouldering and rappelling while keeping the ledges clear of heckling mountain goats, or send adventurers off geocaching to hunt for a container hidden somewhere on the rocks or forest floor.

As visitors explore freely, youths hone academic and social skills through outdoor adventure and learning programs where guides teach them to raft, kayak, climb, mountain bike, and hike using only their imaginations and any required gear. The center’s artificial aquatic park and preserve have also hosted a range of festivals and competitions, including seven national whitewater championships and a bouldering championship.