Halfway through Shenandoah National Park, US-211 runs west down to Luray Caverns (daily; $18 adults, $8 children; 540/743-6551), the largest and most impressive of the many caverns in the limestone Blue Ridge region—a single room measures 300 by 500 feet and is over 140 feet high. It also boasts the “World’s Only Stalacpipe Organ,” where rubber mallets make music by banging on the stone stalactites. There’s also a large antique car museum and a garden maze (included in caverns admission).
Near the caverns, along US-211 a half mile west of town, the Luray Zoo (daily; $8; 540/743-4113) is home to one of Virginia’s largest collections of scaly creatures, both extinct and living. Cobras, alligators, and 20-foot pythons coexist with tropical birds and a monkey; for young children and herpetophobes, there’s also a petting zoo of farmyard animals.
