Amherst County, Virginia’s most civilized wilderness

Fun fact: The Virginia Center for the Creative Arts, located in Amherst County, offers one of the nation’s largest year-round artist residency programs.

We spent a long weekend exploring Amherst County. We rated our impressions below. Ratings are based on diversity and quality of each category and all categories received 5 out of 5 stars.

Our Five Star Weekend in Amherst County

• History ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
• Recreation ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
• Sightseeing ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
• Restaurants ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
• Dog Friendly ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
• Accommodations ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Waterfalls (yes, that’s plural)

Thanks to the Great Virginia Waterfall Trail we learned that Amherst County boasts 2 waterfalls and we also learned where to find them, as waterfalls can be difficult to locate.

Panther Falls (Located off Panther Falls Road) Locals and out-of-towners alike flock to this popular swimming hole. Our Google maps stopped working but we knew we were close when we saw a bevy of parked cars in the middle of nowhere.

From there we followed the hootin’ and hollerin’ to the falls. That’s the noise people make when they jump off a rock ledge into a pool of icy cold water.

Statons Creek Falls (Located off Fiddlers Green Way) We were the sole visitors during our stopover at this beautiful roadside waterfall. Beware! The location features a dangerous climb. I chose the safety of a close-up shot instead of risking a fall in an effort to capture a better view.

Appalachian Trail

Amherst County contains about 25 miles of the Appalachian Trail, including the picturesque James River Footbridge.

After we checked out the footbridge we encountered a hiker in the parking lot who asked us to give him a ride to the nearby town of Glasgow. His backpack looked like it weighed 100 pounds.

It turns out, he was a thru-hiker, someone who is hiking the entire 2,200 miles of the Appalachian Trail. He told us he decided to hike the Trail to calm his mind after retiring as a Force Reconnaissance Marine. He also insisted on sitting in the back of the pickup truck and not the cab because he said he needed a shower. His actions told us that he was definitely not a fisherman.

When he climbed in the back of the truck, he absentmindedly slammed his heavy backpack directly onto Mack’s fishing rods.

I inwardly cringed and I know Mack was dying inside but we didn’t say anything & thank goodness the fishing rods were undamaged.

speaking of fishing…

Mack and his brother Ron caught fish two at a time thanks to their guide Jeremy Cunningham. Stay tuned for more blogposts featuring Jeremy. Mack and Ron can’t wait for another fishing trip on the James River with Jeremy as their guide.

Hiking, Biking & (Don’t I Wish) Kayaking

We took the dogs on Amherst County’s beautiful James River Heritage Trail, a series of varied but equally stunning trails. I wish we had time to explore the entire system. Fortunately, the YouTubers Bent on Bike Trails take viewers on a tour in their fun and informative video.

How cool to see these beautiful snakes while hiking the James River Heritage Trail. The water snake (top) and rat snake (bottom) are nonvenemous and play key roles in their environment.

If I had brought my kayak I could have launched it from a number of spots into the River.

To experience the James River by kayak, canoe, or Batteau (the French word for boat) look no further than Amherst County’s James River Adventures.

Brothers Anthony and James Rucker, both Amherst County tobacco farmers, invented the James River Batteau in 1775 to transport tobacco. Batteauxmen used poles to push cargo in these long, flat-bottomed boats. The James River Batteau Festival celebrates this history for 8 days every year in mid-June.

To learn more about the James River, listen to Journey Along the James: Paddling, Camping, and Exploring Virginia’s Iconic River with Charles Johnson, James River Association on the Virginia Outdoor Adventures podcast.

Dining

For breakfast, What a Blessing Bakery serves delicious pastries and all sorts of other goodies.

At lunchtime, we filled our stomachs and our gas tank at The Filling Station, a perfect place to stop on a road trip.

We ate a divine dinner at The Briar Patch: crab dip, crab cakes, salmon salad, and cheesecake. Even better, no sticker shock when the bill arrived.

Monacan Nation

My visit to the Monacan Indian Nation Museum greatly affected me. Among many other things, I learned that, as recently as the 1950s, the Monacans were in an educational “no-man’s land.” Although Virginia required students to be educated until age 16, Monacan high school students did not have their own school, and were also not allowed to attend either Black or White high schools.

A forensic artist reconstructed the faces from skeletal remains of a Monacan man and woman who lived in Virginia between 1000 and 1400 AD. These reconstructions are on display at the Monacan Indian Nation Museum.

LOVEworks

at the delightfully dog friendly Rebec Vineyards

Regrets

I always mess up something on each trip, During a previous trip I made the mistake of kayaking in a strong river current. It scared me enough that I didn’t bring my kayak on this trip, which also ended up being a mistake.

Know before You Go

Plan your visit to coincide with a fun event:

• Apple picking season and the Amherst Apple Harvest Festival
• James River Batteau Festival, an 8-day annual event, usually in mid-June
• Open studio days at the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts
• Rebec Vineyards Wine and Garlic Festival

Download Amherst County onto your Google maps and print out this county map. (We lost signal a lot while we were out exploring.)

Reserve your AirBnB:

• Need a room? Reserve one at Camp Trapezium—a brewery, pizza kitchen, and farm—at the site of the old Amherst Mill (operational from 1890 to 2017).

• Need a dog friendly home with a fence? This delightful spot in Lynchburg suited us perfectly.

Once you arrive, be sure to check out the Amherst County Visitor Center and its beautiful pollinator garden located in the county’s historic train depot.

Local Humane Society

The Humane Society of Amherst County operates the Thrifty Paws thrift shop and also accepts donations. I highly recommend the thrift shop. I stopped by and left with an armful of terrific finds.

Road Trip Reads

These books, all available at Audible, for easy road trip listening, provide information about different aspects of the civilized wilderness that is Amherst County.

Cold Case Corner

Please review and share the details of this unsolved homicide. Someone out there knows something.

Chad Austin’s skeletonized remains were found near Panther Falls in March 2020 after he went missing in that area 10 months prior. Police are investigating his case as a homicide and shared that they found evidence of a violent struggle near his remains. They also found texts on his phone indicating that he anticipated a confrontation by several individuals. This case seems very solvable. Those with information about Chad are encouraged to contact the Virginia State Police at (540) 375-9589 or questions@vsp.virginia.gov.