The votes are in. Front Royal, VA is the 2026 Medium Town winner in Blue Ridge Outdoors magazine’s Top Adventure Towns contest.
This is the contest’s 16th year. Editors nominated 100 towns across the Southeast and Mid-Atlantic, and readers voted round by round to pick their favorites. Front Royal came out on top of a 25-town Medium bracket.
And it’s not our first time. Front Royal also took the mid-sized title in 2016. Ten years later, the town did it again.
Why Front Royal keeps winning:
🥾 The Appalachian Trail runs about two miles from town, and Front Royal has been an official Appalachian Trail Community since 2012.
🚙 Skyline Drive starts right here, at the northern entrance to Shenandoah National Park, just off Exit 13 on Interstate 66.
🛶 The Shenandoah River flows through town, which is why we’re the Canoe Capital of Virginia.
🌲 Shenandoah River State Park and the George Washington National Forest are minutes away.
🏛️ Then there’s historic Main Street: the gazebo, the murals, local wine, and live music.
For a group, that combination is rare. Paddle the river in the morning. Hold your working session in the afternoon. Gather on Main Street at night. Whether you need a half-day, full-day, or multi-day offsite meeting or retreat, Front Royal has the backdrop. Plan the retreat, stay for the adventure.
When you are ready to build an offsite meeting or retreat in an award-winning adventure town, make Headwaters your first call.
Headwaters — The Passage | headwatersretreats.com
If you want to know who we work with and how we work, take a look at:
What We Offer: Everything Headwaters Brings to Your Offsite Meeting/Retreat
Who We Work With: Everyone Headwaters Brings Together
How We Work: Four Ways Headwaters Brings It All Together
Investment: What Headwaters Brings Back to You and Your People
