A Winter Cabin Weekend near Shenandoah, January to April

Most people come to Luray in October. By January the leaf traffic is long gone, the valley is quiet, and our cabins have more open dates than at any other time of year. This is what a winter stay with us is like, what closes for the season, and how to plan around it.

The hot tub, and a fire

Every cabin has its own hot tub on its own deck, and a cold night is when it earns its place. At The Turtle, our cabin for two, there's a gas fire bowl on the deck and an electric fireplace inside, and the long winter nights suit the stargazing deck. At The Sparrow, the A-frame for four, there's a wood stove in the living room and a stone fire pit out front.

Bring your own firewood for the wood stove and the fire pit. We don't supply it. The Walmart in Luray, on US-211 West, stocks it, and so do the gas stations near the cabins.

Getting here from DC, and snow

The drive is about two hours from downtown DC on clear roads, a little less from Arlington, Alexandria or Loudoun. Leaving the city on a Friday afternoon can add an hour. Our page on cabins near Washington DC has the routes.

The cabins sit up a gravel mountain road, and four-wheel drive or all-wheel drive is strongly recommended. We clear the road to the house after it snows. If snow is forecast for your arrival or departure day, plan to travel before it starts or once it has stopped, and email us if you want to know how the road looks.

What's open and what isn't

Shenandoah National Park is open all winter. Skyline Drive is the only public road through it, and the National Park Service closes sections in ice and snow, sometimes at short notice (NPS). Check the park's alerts on the morning you go, and have a second plan ready. The Thornton Gap entrance is 15 minutes from the cabins.

Most park facilities close for the season. The park says most of them open in March and close by late November, so the lodges, campgrounds and waysides are shut through the winter. Bring your own food and water for a winter drive or hike.

Luray Caverns is open every day of the year. It stays about 54°F underground whatever the weather, which makes it the one plan that works on the coldest day. It's 10 minutes from the cabins. Our page on cabins near Luray Caverns covers what the ticket includes.

The tasting rooms and the brewery keep weekend hours. Coal Ridge Brewery, a farm brewery in Stanley, opens Thursday to Sunday (coalridgebrewery.com). Castle Vineyards north of Luray opens Friday to Sunday, and the hours it publishes run June to November (castlevineyardsva.com). Neither lists winter hours, so check before you go, and if they matter to you, make Thursday or Friday part of your stay.

Downtown restaurants keep shorter hours in winter, and some close a day or two midweek. Look up the places you have in mind before you drive in. Our Luray guide has where we eat. For a night in, the Walmart on US-211 has groceries, and every cabin has a kitchen.

Why midweek is worth a look

From January to April we have many more open weeknights than weekend nights. A Sunday-to-Tuesday or Monday-to-Wednesday stay means quieter roads, empty overlooks when the Drive is open, and the widest choice of dates.

The minimum stay is one night, or two if you arrive on a Friday or Saturday. If you book three months or more ahead, the site takes 10% off the nightly rate automatically, and the discount shows in the price before you pay.

Which cabin for a winter stay

• The Turtle sleeps two: one king bed, a private hot tub, the fire bowl on the deck and an electric fireplace inside. The kitchen has a cooktop but no oven, so plan simple meals or eat in town.
• The Sparrow sleeps four in an A-frame with a wood stove, a fully equipped kitchen, a private hot tub and a stone fire pit.
• The Stag sleeps six: two bedrooms, a game loft for long evenings, an electric fireplace in the great room and a hot tub on a fully covered deck.

For the rest of the park in any season, our Shenandoah National Park guide has the hikes and the entrances.