We headed out on Route 84 South from our house in NJ on a bright clear morning in May 2013. After about 5 hours of driving we exited the highway and got on the back roads toward our first destination. I was in the lead pulling the horse trailer and my husband, Mike, was pulling the 5th wheel RV. Following the directions the GPS was giving to me, we started up a road that is a series of switch-backs. Switch-backs are a 180 degree turn to go up a mountain—yep…and there’s a series of them. I’m scared of heights and yet I couldn’t stop driving so I had to grit my teeth and keep going. Of course the views are spectacular from the top—just getting there was an ordeal. The horses handled it fine—I’m the one that needed a drink. Fort Valley Ranch is on the top of this mountain, a bit in on a side road. This is part of the Shenandoah Mountains that run through the west side of Virginia. At the top the road winds down the mountain and level out and with a few more turns wind up entering the long driveway of Fort Valley Ranch. There weren’t any other guests there when we arrived but the owner was welcoming and told us to take whatever site we wanted. They have electric, water and sewer at each site. Paddocks for the horses and also the smaller 12×2 pens are all set up and ready for whoever arrives to camp.
We set up and got the horses settled in some nearby pens and discovered they don’t like to be separated—even though they were so close they could touch each other, they didn’t like the pen fence separating them. Go figure. So the second day we put them out in a pasture and they were happy and ran all around the place.
They had a mild frost that night since they’re up in the mountains and it was only May but we’re used to cold weather and that didn’t dampen our spirits. We rose early the next day, ate a hearty breakfast that Mike, who is an excellent cook prepared and tacked up the horses. We rode them down the road to the first side road which is dirt and up about a ½ mile to the trail. It was marked with white rocks and once you get into the woods you see the well-worn trail. It winds up and through the mountains, around and though some streams and the views are so relaxing and calming.
It was an enjoyable ride and we were hungry for lunch when we arrived back at the ranch. We grilled some burgers on the grill and just hung out for the rest of the afternoon—we had the entire place to ourselves and our critters. We also have a dog and 4 cats—the cats stay in the RV, they’re strictly indoor cats. There’s a place to dump the horse poop and a barrel to clean your pens or paddocks. The Ranch is clean and well taken care of. They also have trail rides on the weekends from the literature they had in the office.
The next morning we packed up to go to our next destination on our trip but we had a wonderful time and we would go back there again in a heartbeat. Perhaps when it’s a little warmer!
Address: 299 S Fort Valley Rd, Fort Valley, VA 22652
Phone: (540) 933-6633
Website: www.fortvalleystable.com
