Shenandoah Valley Floor

Woodstock, VA

The Woodstock Tower on Massanutten Mountain gives a bird's-eye view of the Shenandoah River's seven oxbow bends - a geological and photographic spectacle unique in the eastern US.

Photography Guide

Best Time: golden hour
Crowds: Quiet
Shot Types: panoramiclandscapewide
Best Seasons: fallspring

Practical Tips

2-mile hike to the tower. Fall foliage around the seven bends is one of Virginia's greatest natural shows. Sunrise from the tower catches morning mist in the river valley.

Gallery

Nearby Places

Overlooks

Woodstock, VA

Woodstock Tower

A stone lookout tower on Massanutten Mountain's First Peak provides one of the most dramatic views in the Shenandoah Valley - the river curves in an oxbow visible from the 2,600-foot summit.

golden hourfall · spring

Waterfronts

Woodstock, VA

Seven Bends State Park

Named for the seven serpentine bends of the North Fork Shenandoah River visible from the park's ridgeline trail, this recently opened state park preserves extraordinary river meadow habitat and elevated valley perspectives.

morningfall · spring

Architecture

Luray, VA

Luray Caverns

The largest cavern system in the eastern US features towering stalactites, massive columns, and the world's only stalacpipe organ - a cathedral of geology underground.

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