The Virginia countryside is justly famous for its beautiful byways. Skyline Drive and the Blue Ridge Parkway are two of the best known scenic drives in the nation. You don’t have to go all the way out to Shenandoah National Park to enjoy a great day in the country, however. There are many terrific scenic routes much nearer to the Washington area that are lesser known. I don’t care for either of the famous routes, myself. Too much slow-moving traffic just means I spend more time focused on the bumper of the car in front of me than I do on the views. I’d rather sacrifice a few scenic overlooks for the joys of feeling a curve in the seat of my pants.
Fauquier County, less than an hour west of Washington, is my favorite destination for a day trip. Somehow Fauquier has so far escaped much of the development fever that’s changed the landscape of Prince William and Loudoun Counties so dramatically. Fauquier County is still mostly small farms and horse barns and two-lane roads. On a warm fall weekend day you’ll share the road with a few motorcyclists and convertible drivers, but not a whole lot else. I’ll share with you one of my favorite routes. This drive will fill a full day, with a stop for lunch. Throughout I’ve given both road names and Virginia State road numbers, as signs may have either.
Scenic Loop through The Plains and Delaplane, Virginia
The drive begins at Manassas Battlefield Park. From the intersection of Route 29 and Sudley Road (VA- 234), right where the stone house that served as a field hospital stands, take Sudley Road to the north. For about a mile you’ll drive past the open fields and rows of cannon that stand in this National Park. Then the road curves to the west and the speed limit rises as you pass out of the park. Keep going until Sudley Road dead-ends at Route 15, the James Madison Highway. Go left at the light and take an immediate right turn onto a small road labeled “Waterfall Road” (VA-601). This is where the drive starts to get interesting. Waterfall Road twists and winds past a few very old settlements of tiny houses right on the road as it passes out of Prince William County and into Fauquier County. Slow down and you can practically shake hands with a few folks enjoying fine weather on their porches.
Once over the county line, the road name changes to Hopewell Road. The smoothly paved asphalt winds like a ribbon through tall overhanging walnut trees, paralleled by ancient-looking stone fences. After you pass the amusingly named Bust Head Road, keep an eye out on your left for an unusual round house made of stone beside where a gated lane comes down to the road. The house looks like a real-life hobbit house, built right into the ground with windows just a foot or so above ground level. Continue heading west on Hopewell and the road narrows as it comes into the small town of The Plains. Turn left of Halfway Road to cross the train tracks and take a right at the top of the hill onto the John Marshall Highway, Route 55.
If you’ve a mind to stop, The Plains is well worth an afternoon of your time. The Farm Store is right on the main drag and sells coffees, wine and other gourmet delicacies. It’s run by a warm Yugoslavian émigré who makes wonderful espresso in a proper ceramic cup for those staying in to enjoy it. If you’re lucky, you might even be able to enjoy it with some fresh pound cake baked by his wife. For a more substantial meal, the Rail Stop across the street has a menu of tasty salads and sandwiches. Next door is a small art gallery called the Blue Peach, a shop specializing in garden ornaments, and down the street a former storefront has been turned into a decorator’s showroom with soft comfy sofas covered in faded floral chintz and several large cages for the owner’s many pet birds. Cockatiels, canaries, lovebirds and parakeets keep up a soft twitter in the background as the afternoon sun pours into the south-facing windows.
If you aren’t done driving yet, get back on Route 55 and head west about two miles, to the town of Marshall. This was the birthplace of nineteenth-century chief justice John Marshall, whom the town is named for. After you pass through the small center of town, leave Route 55 and turn right onto Grove Lane. (If you stay on route 55, it joins I-66 for several miles as it heads west, and that’s no fun.) Grove Lane is the historic road, and parallels I-66 on a well-paved but somewhat narrow road bed. In another three and a half miles, Grove Lane curves right and ends across from the picturesque Emmanuel Episcopal Church. Beyond the church is Route 17. Turn north onto Route 17 and you will briefly join the heavy truck traffic that heads to and from Winchester, Virginia. Within a mile, take the first right after crossing a rail line, onto the Delaplane Grade Road (VA-712). Take a deep sigh of relief, because the grinding trucks are behind you for good.
This is my favorite stretch of the entire drive. The Delaplane Grade Road heads uphill past the tiny Delaplane post office, a small antique store and a century-old schoolhouse. As the road rises, the views open up onto horse farms and small streams. This area has been settled since the eighteenth century, and looks it with the kind of soft, long-settled appearance I associate with the English countryside. At a crossroads named Kerfoot, the road intersects with Rectortown Road (VA-710). Take Rectortown to the right to head back towards the southeast. Here the hills are a bit larger and the curves a little sharper as it winds through pastures with horses and beef cattle. Not only is the scenery lovely, the driving experience is top notch. If this kind of narrow country road doesn’t move you, either check your pulse or get a sportier car. Watch out though—the road is quite narrow, so keep an eye and an ear open for oncoming traffic. Workmen in large pickup trucks can get casual about sharing the road, and at least one of the stream crossings is one-lane-only. You’ll pass the tiny settlement that gives the road its name after nearly three glorious miles.
From Rectortown, continue west on VA-710 for less than a mile. Shortly after you pass the Northwestern Elementary School, take a left onto Frogtown Road (VA-702). Another narrow but well-paved road, this passes through an area that feels quite remote. On the warm Sunday afternoon when I drove here recently, we passed not a single other vehicle for more than a mile. VA-702 takes a sharp bend, gets re-named as the poetic-sounding Rock Hill Mill Road, and eventually arrives at Zulla Road (VA-709). Turn right to go south on Zulla until it takes you back to the John Marshall Highway, Route 55. From there, turn left on 55 to go east and retrace your steps home. If the shadows have gotten long and you prefer the quick way back to the city, turn right, pass through Marshall once more and then take the ramp onto I-66 east to Washington.