Over $25 billion a year is spent on tourism in Virginia, which supports well over 200,000 tourist related jobs as people work in the hotels, motels, restaurants and other accommodations people visit each year.
From beaches to mountains, Virginia is loaded with great beautiful natural wonders that draw tourists and vacationers to the state, especially in summer and fall.
Shenandoah National Park, through which the Blue Ridge Mountains run, is one of the most popular tourist attractions in the United States and gets over 14.5 million visitors per year while Virginia Beach receives over 19 million vacationers per year.
Blue Ridge Mountains
The beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains run north and south through Virginia with part of the mountains being in Shenandoah National Park and with the famous Blue Ridge Parkway running right along the Blue Ridge.
The Blue Ridge Parkway and Shenandoah National Park are extremely popular tourist attractions in Virginia visited by some 15 million tourists every year who love to drive the highway which is loaded with views and viewpoints. The Blue Ridge Mountain area is loaded with motels and visitor accommodations and there is also plenty of camping sites along the highway.
Virginia Beach
Some 19 million people a year vacation at the natural wonder that is Virginia Beach which is located in southeastern Virginia along the Atlantic Ocean at the end of Chesapeake Bay. The city of Virginia Beach is a huge resort town where billions of dollars a year is spent by tourists at the hotels, motels, restaurants and other entertainment related industries in the area.
Natural Bridge in Virginia
Natural Bridge is a 215 foot high 90 foot wide geological rock formation that was formed as Cedar Creek carved out a hole in a limestone gorge in western Virginia. Along with Niagara Falls, the Natural Bridge was considered one of the two great wonders of the New World.
George Washington surveyed the Natural Bridge in 1750 and Thomas Jefferson bought the site from King George in 1774. Today Natural Bridge is a popular tourist attraction in Virginia and certainly one of the great natural wonders in the state.
Shenandoah Valley
The Shenandoah Valley is a beautiful natural wonder located in western Virginia. Shenandoah Valley is a very popular tourist attraction in Virginia and is full of hotels and motels and other accommodations for visitors
Luray Caverns
Luray Caverns is a popular and well known tourist attraction located in Luray, Virginia in the northwest part of the state. Over 500,000 tourists a year visit this great natural wonder and people have been coming to Luray Caverns since it was discovered in 1878 to see the great stalactites, stalagmites and columns located in the caverns.
Breaks Interstate Park
Breaks Interstate Park is located in southwestern Virginia along the Kentucky border and both Kentucky and Virginia share this beautiful natural wonder. Breaks Interstate Park is often called the Grand Canyon of the South as it consists of one of the deepest gorges east of the Mississippi River that was carved through the mountains by the Russell Fork River.
The canyon is 5 miles long and ranges anywhere from 800 to 1,600 feet deep and was discovered by Daniel Boone back in 1767. Breaks Interstate Park contains its own 82 room lodge plus 5 cabins and many campsites and activities in the park include hiking, fishing, whitewater rafting, biking and horseback riding. There are also plenty of motels in the area to accommodate tourists and visitors.
Crabtree Falls
Crabtree Falls is believed to be the tallest waterfall east of the Mississippi and one of the tallest waterfalls in the United States as it drops anywhere from 1,000 to 1,200 feet along Crabtree Creek in west-central Virginia. Crabtree Falls cascades down a mountain along the Blue Ridge and contains five main cascades including one over 400 feet high. The Crabtree Falls Trail goes along the waterfall and is a popular hiking trail for tourists and vacationers especially in the summer.
Skyline Caverns
Skyline Caverns is located in northwestern Virginia in the town of Front Royal and claims to be the closest natural wonder to Washington, DC. Skyline Caverns is at the northern entrance to Skyline Drive and Shenandoah National Park and offers visitors tours of the caverns which include such highlights as a 37 foot tall rainbow waterfall as well as named rock formations such as The Capitol Dome, The Painted Desert, The Shrine and The Grotto of Nativity.
Natural Tunnel
Natural Tunnel is a 200 foot long 80 foot high natural tunnel located in Natural Tunnel State Park in southwestern Virginia near the town of Duffield. The Natural Tunnel was created when natural groundwater containing carbonic acid dissolved the surrounding limestone and bedrock forming a tunnel so large it is used as natural railroad tunnel. This very popular tourist attraction in Virginia has been attracting visitors for hundreds of years and it is believed that Daniel Boone discovered the tunnel in the 1700's.
Great Falls of the Potomac River and Mather Gorge
The Great Falls of the Potomac River is a series of roughly 20 foot high waterfalls that drop a total of 76 feet along the Potomac River about 14 miles north of Washington, DC. Contained in Great Falls Park the area is popular for fishing, kayaking, white-water rafting, hiking and rock climbing. Mather Gorge is just downstream from the falls.
Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge
Located on the southern end of Assateague Island in Northern Virginia is the beautiful Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge.
Waterfalls in Shenandoah National Park
There are dozens of significant beautiful waterfalls that visitors and vacationers can hike along trails to in Shenandoah National Park in Virginia including Whiteoak Canyon Falls pictured above.
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