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Are you looking for a weekend of adventure, sweet snapshots of family and friends, and the tastiest beer around? A two-day beercation on the Shenandoah Beerwerks Trail offers up all this plus craveable food, live music and more. Here’s our 48-hour guide in eight steps. Don’t forget to tag your photos to share your fun! #beerwerkstrail

FRIDAY

Step 1: Check into Your Lodging

We all like adventure, but being close to your homebase has its advantages. Not only does Stable Craft Brewing Suites have cozy lodging, but it’s also a craft brewery. You won’t even have to call an Uber to get back to your suite.
If camping is your bag, Natural Chimneys Park & Campground combines the best of nature and civilization, with shower houses, electrical hookups, and even a pool. For a more rustic experience, nab a first-come, first-served site at Hone Quarry Campground.

Step 2: Pick up Your Beerwerks Passport (and a Quick Drink)

Toast your weekend with a cold one and earn a cool t-shirt while you’re doing it. Get your Beerwerks Passport at all of the Trail’s participating breweries like Skipping Rock Beer Company, Pale Fire Brewing or Harrisonburg’s Hardesty-Higgins House Visitor Center. You can also use Untappd to earn a t-shirt. Here’s how.

Step 3: Get Some Grub

If you’re staying at Stable Craft Brewing, order from their Agri-pub menu of locally-sourced beef burgers, sandwiches, and hearty entrees like steak and smoked pork and grits. Go full circle, and finish your dinner with their spent grain bread pudding.
Campers should take a break from the campstove and head to Jimmy Madison’s Southern Kitchen and Whiskey Bar for Southern cuisine and whiskey. Connoisseurs can sample whiskey flights and craft cocktails over entrées like char grilled meatloaf. Dying for a great burger, you say? Jack Brown’s serves up incredible classics and inventive specials made from all-natural wagyu beef.

SATURDAY

Step 4: Fuel up for Your Day

Harrisonburg’s Shenandoah Joe offers 25 varieties of delicious Arabica coffee as well as pastries. Black Sheep Coffee uses fresh roasted beans for espresso, drip and pour-over coffee. Get yours to go and enjoy a stroll around the Harrisonburg Farmers’ Market for produce, flowers, baked goods, and all kinds of handmade treats.
If you’re still near Stable Craft or Natural Chimneys, it’s just a quick drive to Fishersville’s The Gateway Cafe for great coffee as well as a full menu of breakfast and lunch items. The Rumor Mill Coffee Company at Valley Pike Farm Market has a large selection of morning treats including: lattes, frozen mochas, and summer lavender lemonade.

Step 5 Option #1: Hiking/Caving, Drinking, Shopping

It’s time to tie your hiking boots, load your hiking apps and get on the trail. Try Shenandoah National Park’s strenuous, 9.8-mile “action-packed” Riprap Trail for an icy swimming hole. You’ll also love the shorter scramble up Humpback Rocks for a drop dead view of the surrounding valleys. Recover with a post-hike beer at Waynesboro’s Basic City Beer Co, which is expanding into a new space and will serve local wine, cider, craft cocktails, and food.
If you’re looking for something a little different, go for a hike underground. Our area’s bedrock resembles swiss cheese and boasts Endless Caverns and Grand Caverns. Afterwards, refresh yourself at Harrisonburg’s The Friendly Fermenter.
After your beer, walk around downtown Waynesboro and check out Pyramid, which sells everything from home goods, locally made jewelry, and self care, to Appalachian magick and crystals. Alpha & Omega Antiques carries the collectibles and memorabilia to help “grand-millennials” furnish their homes and live in style. Shenandoah Hemp Supply supports local suppliers by selling their hemp and CBD supplies for relaxation and more. Next, drive through Verona, to experience the vast inventory of Factory Antique Mall, which claims the title of the largest such establishment in the country! Finally, the Green Valley Bookfair in Mount Crawford is a goldmine for book lovers. This discount book outlet stocks over 30,000 new books that are reduced up to 90%.

Step 5 Option #2: Biking, Farm Tours,and Art

For an adventure guaranteed to spike your adrenaline, grab your mountain bike and hurtle down the ski lift-served trails at Massanutten’s Mountain Bike Park. You’ll get the thrills of the downhill without sweating the climbs. Cross country riders (who don’t mind tackling the uphills) will enjoy the 30+ miles of trails on the Western Slope.The park offers trails for riders of all abilities, lift ticket options, lessons and bike rentals. Don’t forget your action camera! Cool off afterwards with a beer at nearby Cave Hill Farms Brewery.
The Shenandoah Valley is known for its agriculture, its focus on ethical and sustainable farming, and its farm-to-table philosophy. To learn more, take a self-guided tour of Polyface Farm, a leader in environmentally friendly farming. Enjoy the scenery while sourcing materials for beautiful bouquets at White Oak Lavender Farm and Pebble Hall Wildflowers. Or make a day out of “picking your own adventure” at Showalter’s Orchard & Greenhouse. Check out the Fields of Gold Trail for links to farmers’ markets, farms to tour, farm-to-table restaurants and more.
Explore Harrisonburg’s walkable 40-block downtown. A good way to start is by checking out the Downtown Harrisonburg Art Walk, which encourages visitors to engage with public art through the nearly 30 murals, mosaics, and sculptures by local artists. Feast your eyes at 1500 Franklin Street Gallery, which showcases multicultural work by local and national artists. Also check out Oasis, a fine art and craft gallery where you can view and purchase work from many Valley artists. Finally, visit Ten Thousand Villages, which sells fair trade crafts from around the world.

Step 6: See a Show at a Brewery Serving up Live Music on Saturday Night

We know you want to get comfortable, but wait just a little longer before donning your baggy sweats. Several nearby breweries often host live music on Saturday nights. Check their schedules for a chance to drink your favorite brew and enjoy some tunes.

SUNDAY

Step 7: Brunch Up – Gather Strength for the Drive Home!

Sleep in, rise late, and then fill up with a relaxing brunch.

Harrisonburg: Sip an inventive cocktail at Clementine Cafe while sampling some of their southern classics with eclectic flare along with extensive vegan and vegetarian options. Another good bet is Magpie Diner where you can get wholesome classics like buttermilk biscuits smothered in local sausage gravy or peach French toast.
If you’re located in the other direction, Waynesboro’s Weasie’s Kitchen has a classic menu stocked with breakfast favorites and more. Nobos Kitchen (located at Seven Arrows Brewing) has a made-from-scratch menu of eclectic comfort food featuring local ingredients.

Step 8: Hit up a Brewery for a Final Farewell

Before you say “happy trails,” make sure you stop at one more brewery to

Fill up your growler to go
Plan your next trip to the Valley to complete your Passport

Calling All Millennials: 48-Hour Beercation on the Shenandoah Beerwerks Trail