PLEASE GO TO www.randolphcollege.edu/cad FOR CURRENT INFORMATION
THIS WEBSITE IS NO LONGER ACCURATE
We’ve tried to keep this page up-to-date, but the pandemic has things changing rapidly. Please double-check before you make plans.
Lodging & Visit Guide
The closest airports are
- LYNCHBURG (LYH)
- ROANOKE (ROA), AN HOUR AND 15 MINUTE DRIVE
- CHARLOTTESVILLE (CHO), AN HOUR AND 20 MINUTE DRIVE
- GREENSBORO (GSO), A 2-HOUR AND 25 MINUTE DRIVE
- RICHMOND (RIC), A 2-HOUR AND 40 MINUTE DRIVE
- RALEIGH-DURHAM (RDU), A 3-HOUR DRIVE
- WASHINGTON DULLES (IAD), A 3 AND A HALF HOUR DRIVE
Amtrak also serves Lynchburg with several daily trains.
Rooms
We’ve booked a block of rooms at The Lynchburg Grand. Call them at (434) 528-2500.
Other places to stay—
Options near the airport:
SpringHill Suites Lynchburg, 434-237-5848
Hilton Garden Inn, 434-239-3006
The Wingate, 434-845-1700
The Kirkley, 866-510-6333
Closer to campus:
The Craddock Terry Hotel, 434-455-1500
The Holiday Inn, 434-528-2500
Econo Lodge, 434-847-1045
AirBnB also has quite a few offerings in Lynchburg now. If you go that route, let your hosts know that you need to be near Randolph College.
Visit Guide
Lynchburg has changed a lot in two years. We’ll be updating the guide soon.
Thomas Jefferson called Lynchburg, Virginia “the most interesting spot in the state,” and we think so too! There’s still plenty to do and see in this small city nestled besides the James River in the gorgeous Blue Ridge Mountains.
Explore Lynchburg’s historic downtown, where you can visit the third oldest farmers’ market in the United States (and the first oldest pawn shop!). Autumn is the perfect time to walk along the riverside and enjoy the many parks, trails, art installations, and picturesque old warehouses (which house a hotel and restaurants in addition to Amazement Square, an award winning Children’s museum, and Riverviews Art Space.) Garland Hill, several streets of beautiful restored Victorian houses, and Court Street, a tree-lined avenue of historic churches, are more wonderful places to stroll and enjoy the crisp Virginia October. Also be sure not to miss Old City Cemetery, both the oldest continuously operating public cemetery in Virginia and also a botanical garden specializing in antique roses and daffodils, which houses five museums. More of the cities history can be experienced at The Lynchburg City Museum, located on Court Street at the top of Monument Terrace, The Anne Spencer House, historic home of the Harlem Renaissance poet, and Point of Honor, a historic Federal-style mansion once belonging to Dr. George Cabell.
If all that adventuring makes you hungry, stop for coffee and a snack at The White Hart(make sure to check out the eclectic selection of old and new books in their back room!), Bootleggers, Urbavore, or Market at Main. You can shop for vinyl at Speakertree Records on Lynchburg’s funky Fifth Street corridor or go antiquing and thrifting on Main Street — and if your sweet tooth catches up with you, make sure to visit Altus Chocolates to try one of their delicious and inventive offerings. If you’re craving a little pick-me-up, Grains of Sense offers a wonderful selection of locally roasted and sustainably grown coffees and teas.
In the evening, try one of Lynchburg’s many culinary options (The Washington Post recommends Bull Branch, down on 9th street). After dinner, listen to some real bluegrass music at the Ellington Playhouse, see a show put on by Endstation Theatre or at the downtown Renaissance Theatre, or pick up a copy of the local arts rag to see the full range of what Lynchburg has to offer.
There’s also plenty to do right on Rivermont Ave. With a collection that includes pieces by Winslow Homer and Georgia O’Keefe, make sure not to miss the world-class Maier Museum of Art, located right on Randolph College’s lovely residential campus. Afterward check out Rivermont Pizza, Magnolia, or the local dive (“The Cav”) to see some local color. Riverside Park, just down the street, has great hiking and biking trails (including the scenic “Alpine Trail” hugging the cliffs along the James) and is home to the Miller-Clayton House, the oldest house in Lynchburg and legendarily the place where Thomas Jefferson discovered eating Tomatoes (previously thought to be poisonous).
Just outside of town, visit Thomas Jefferson’s country house Poplar Forest or The National D-Day Memorial out in Bedford (“Small town feel with a city name”). Some of the best views in the state can be achieved by hiking in the Peaks of Otter, but if you’re not into climbing the local winery also provides worthwhile diversion. Natural Bridge is a charmingly bizarre place which offers not only the eponymous geological formation and caverns but also a zoo, with a nearby safari park.
If you’re itching to get further afield, Lynchburg is only about an hour from Charlottesville(UVA, Monticello, Ash Lawn-Highland), Roanoke (Taubman Museum of Art, Mill Mountain Theater, Center in the Square), and Lexington (Graves of Stonewall Jackson and Robert E. Lee, VMI, Washington and Lee University) — and just a little more from Staunton(Blackfriars/The American Shakespeare Center, Mary Baldwin College).
But you don’t have to take our words for all this; further information, places, and travel ideas can be found here:
Lynchburg Regional Business Alliance
Lynchburg Historical Foundation
Virginia is for Lovers: Central Virginia
Central Virginia for iPhone/iPod