Waynesboro has a natural legacy

By The News Virginian Staff

Published: April 18, 2008

Never mind the persistent appearance of frost on windshields and lawns each morning, the sweet season known as spring is upon us, and the evidence today is in the water and in the spirited running of the trout.
About 1,500 anglers will splash (gently) into the South River this morning as the two-day Virginia Fly Fishing Festival begins here in Waynesboro. The event is in its eighth year and, driven by the zeal of adherents to the great ancient sport, has emerged as one of the biggest of its kind in the state. Some anglers drive from as far away as Alaska to fill the air over the South River with flies.
The brainchild of Waynesboro Downtown Development Inc., the festival was conceived as a way to draw people to the city, and it surely has succeeded. In the process, it also has emerged as a major angling event. It will be succeeded next week by the city’s annual Riverfest, featuring nature exhibits, an educational play focusing on ecology, races on the river and more.
Little wonder is it that Waynesboro is rated the second best outdoor town in Virginia, according to Outdoor Life magazine’s rankings of the 200 best in the country, on newsstands this month. Culpeper finished No. 1 in Virginia and No. 100 on the national list, followed by Waynesboro at No. 104. The top spots mostly went to towns west of the Mississippi, in states such as Iowa, Idaho and Wyoming.
Forgive us a bit of bias, but none of those towns offers what Waynesboro does:
n two major scenic driving routes in the Blue Ridge Parkway, the most heavily visited national park site in America, and Skyline Drive;
n the Appalachian Trail, a hiker’s nirvana stretching more than 1,000 miles in each direction to the north and south from its rough midpoint outside Waynesboro;
n the picturesque Shenandoah National Park to the east and less than a half-hour’s drive to the west, the George Washington and Jefferson National Forests.
We are not so sure what paradise looks like to those who savor the outdoors, but we imagine it must resemble what the people who live here see every day. From fishing and kayaking the South, to hiking the trail, to camping in the national parks along the Blue Ridge Mountains, the outdoor recreational opportunities in this region flow as freely as the river winding through our city.
So to our annual guests who come armed with fly rods and waders and an angler’s hunger for the big catch, welcome and good luck. We invite you to explore the valley and savor our great outdoors. And we urge you to come back. All the outdoors fun, after all, cannot be had in a single trip.