Lake Laura in Autumn

Autumn Leaves

The Shenandoah Valley is beautiful this time of year!

The Labyrinth at Shrine Mont

Shrine Mont (less than 5 minutes from the cabin) now has a beautiful labyrinth. 

Here's how to find it:  "The Labyrinth is located about 1,000 feet to the northwest of the Cathedral Shrine. Either start from the Shrine, and at the goldfish pond, turn right and walk 1,000 feet and you will see the labyrinth in the woods on your left, opposite the campfire circle. Or, walk up the road between the Bishop’s House (Box Hill) and Stribling  Cottage. The labyrinth is straight ahead opposite the campfire circle.

The Cabin in August

Views of the Loft

We love the cabin's upstairs loft area -- it's a great place to relax, admire the beautiful chestnut oak trees out the windows, watch television, play board games, read, or connect to the cabin's Internet access. 

Chestnut Oak Lodge in Summer

Little Stony Man at Shenandoah National Park

One of our favorite things to do is to hike in Shenandoah National Park.  We hike Little Stony Man at least once or twice a year -- it's doable with kids, although our youngest didn't quite make it to the top.    He almost made it, though, and he was certainly proud of his accomplishment! 

Scenes from a Walk around Lake Laura

Shrine Mont

Our cabin is about 5 minutes from Shrine Mont, a conference center for the Episcopal Diocese of Virginia.

Shrine Mont opens in early spring and remains open through the second Sunday in November and houses lots of church retreats, as well as other events.

Shrine Mont is a wonderful place.

We look forward to our church retreat there each summer. However, we are also thrilled that we can enjoy Chestnut Oak Lodge's kitchen and air conditioning even as we enjoy what Shrine Mont offers!

The Water is Fine!

Our family loves to swim and fish in Lake Laura.  Bryce Resort offers boats for rental and provides a swimming beach down by the dam, complete with rafts and a sandy beach area for kids.  You can walk to the Resort's beach area following the path by the lake from the cabin (turn to your right once you reach the path), or you can drive to the parking area. 

We've provided a variety of water floats & toys for you.  Have fun!

A Beautiful Spring Day at the Cabin

Chestnut Oak Lodge is wonderful in the springtime. 

After a long winter, it's great to enjoy hikes, fishing in Lake Laura, and just hanging out on the porch swing.

Happy Spring!

A View From the Upstairs Loft

Our family loves the view from the upstairs loft windows.   This is just a part of the view, but we think it's pretty special.

Skiing at Bryce Resort

Since winter is very much present at Chestnut Oak Lodge, we decided to take full advantage of the season with some ski lessons at Bryce Resort.   We had some great instructors and had a wonderful time. 

Although the slopes have been quite busy on the weekends, we pretty much had them to ourselves on a weekday morning, which was good for us beginners-- we needed all the space we could get!

The Living Room

This is a photo of the cabin's living room, taken from the loft area above:

Snow, Snow, Snow!

We enjoyed a beautiful, snowy day at the cabin this past weeekend. 

Here are some photos from the various decks of the cabin:

And, here's a photo from a brief walk we took on the road leading up to the cabin: