<p>My daughter is attending the JMU soccer camp this summer and my wife and I are planning to stay the 3 days rather than make the 5 hour drive down and back twice. Aside from the JMU tour can someone recommend a place to stay, places to eat and also anything fun to do in the area etc... Trying to make a mini vacation out of it.</p>
<p>Thanks in advance for any feedback you can provide.</p>
<p>CDTB</p>
<p>I am a fan of the Hampton Inn and Suites off of University Drive. Comfortable rooms nice breakfast.</p>
<p>If you are looking for something less “chain” the Stonewall Jackson Hotel in Staunton is supposed to be nice (about 25 minutes away). There is also the Stonewall Jackson Inn in Harrisonburg (bed and breakfast), or Massanutten Resort.</p>
<p>There are many good restaurants in Hburg… Joshua Wilton House, Clementine, Beyond, The Chop House, Blue Nile are a few of my favorites. There is a newer restaurant, Rick’s Cantina, that I have not been to but I have heard it is good as well. For more casual/ lunch Jack Browns, Billy Jack’s, Earth and Tea Cafe, and Dave’s Taverna. </p>
<p>If you like wine tasting CrossKeys and Barren Ridge wineries are within a 30-minute drive. Staunton has a nice downtown with quite a few interesting shops. The Frontier Culture Museum is also in Staunton. If you go the other direction there is the New Market Battlefield and Luray Caverns. A drive on the Blue Ridge Parkway is lovely. There is also quite a bit of hiking in the area. Another option is driving to Charlottesville (about 1 hour drive) for the day. UVA is a beautiful campus, and there are lots of shops and restaurants in Charlottesville. </p>
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<p>Capital Ale House is also quite good.</p>
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<p>KatMT - Thanks very much for taking the time to reply. Appreciate the feedback. Have a great day!</p>
<p>Have a great visit! </p>
<p>There are some cute shops in downtown HBurg as well. :-)</p>
<p>As someone else mentioned, Staunton, VA is a great town and only around 20 miles away. We drive down there several times a year for the incredible Shakespeare Theater there. <a href=“http://www.americanshakespearecenter.com/[/url]”>A Bear Tale’s Best for Summer | American Shakespeare Center. they have plays but also tours of the theater. There are tons of cute little shops in Staunton and tons of good restaurants.</p>
<p>Woodrow Wilson’s presidential library is also in Staunton. Not as interesting as some of the other libraries but worth a short visit.</p>
<p>Depending on when you are there, if the Green Valley bookfair is open and you are a reader, that is worth a trip. It is at exit 240 so only a few miles from campus. Their website is [Green</a> Valley Book Fair](<a href=“http://www.gvbookfair.com/]Green”>http://www.gvbookfair.com/)</p>
<p>Also, around 20 miles to the north is the New Market Battlefield if you are interested in Civil War sites. That is the one where the very young VMI students fought.</p>
<p>THanks TJMom</p>
<p>I’m trying to set up a campus visit at JMU, any suggestions?</p>
<p>We ended up staying at the Residence Inn because it was close to campus. Nice rooms with kitchens. We did the campus tour which was quite informative. Beautiful campus and area. We went to visit Crosskeys Vineyards which was about 15 minutes outside of town and gorgeous. </p>
<p>We visited Lake Laura at Bryce resort about 40 minutes north. A man made lake with some swimming docks. A nice place to relax with a book. Capital Ale House in town was quite good. A chain but good food and lots of brews to choose from. Walked through down town which was quite dead with school out but we got a good feel for it and what campus life would be like. My daughter enjoyed the campus too and only heard good things from the JMU students at the camp.</p>
<p>CollegeDadToBe – Glad you had a good visit! I love Crosskeys… there is a Lavender Farm out that way as well, that I love to stop at.</p>
<p>cycle302 – lots of great restaurants downtown… Staunton to the South and New Market to the north are very nice.</p>
<p>If you are going on a college visit, waiting until after late August when school is in session is terrific… but, if a summer visit is what is possible, the campus is still lovely, and there are lots of great restaurants downtown.</p>