Shenandoah National Park, 25 miles west of Charlottesville

About 25 miles west of Charlottesville (to reach the southern entrance), central Virginia's scenic Shenandoah National Park was established in 1935 and offers some of the most spectacular views in the southeast, plus wonderful opportunities for hiking, biking, fishing, and horseback riding. The park is accessed along 105-mile Skyline Drive, a winding park road with numerous turnouts for taking pictures and short hikes. The park also has camping and hotel accommodations, a restaurant, and two visitors centers. A good place to orient yourself is Harry F. Byrd Visitor Center and Big Meadows Lodge - the latter has overnight accommodations and a restaurant serving very tasty home-style regional American food. About 10 miles north, there's a larger complex of hotel rooms as well as another well-reputed restaurant, the Pollock Dining Room, at Skyland Resort, an area that also affords magnificent views of the Shenandoah River Valley to the west, and Virginia's Piedmont region to the east. Aramark, which operates the park lodges, is very gay-friendly and enthusiastically welcomes GLBT visitors.