Natural Bridge (Virginia)

Natural Bridge is an unincorporated community in Rockbridge County, Virginia, United States. The community is the site of Natural Bridge, a natural arch which gives the town its name. Natural Bridge is located at the junction of U.S. Route 11 and State Route 130. Natural Bridge has a post office with ZIP code 24578, which opened on June 1, 1800.

Dinosaur Kingdom II (also called Escape From Dinosaur Kingdom) is a tourist attraction in Natural Bridge, Virginia, consisting of statues which depict a dinosaur attack on the Union Army. The park contains thirty fiberglass dinosaur statues, a smaller number of Union soldiers, and several other characters, including Abraham Lincoln and a gorilla in a cowboy hat. Dinosaur Kingdom, which opened in 2005, is the work of local artist Mark Cline, who also created nearby Foamhenge. The park's statues are built around the premise that paleontologists discovered dinosaurs in Virginia in 1863; when the Union Army attempted to use the dinosaurs as weapons, the dinosaurs turned on them. Cline originally planned to have the dinosaurs besiege Pancho Villa's army, but chose to use the Union Army instead to win local favor, claiming "people still fight the Civil War down here". Cline had desired to build dinosaur statues ever since stopping at the Dinosaur Land park in White Post, Virginia in his youth; his inspiration for Dinosaur Kingdom's theme came from the movie The Valley of Gwangi, in which cowboys discovered living dinosaurs in a Mexican valley. According to Cline, Northerners have never complained about playing the villain in the attraction; he plans to open a similar park at Gettysburg reenacting Pickett's Charge with dinosaurs, in which the Confederates will be attacked.

The Caverns at Natural Bridge are a series of commercial show caves in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia, close in proximity to both the Natural Bridge and Natural Bridge State Park. Discovered in the 1890s, it was opened to the public in 1977. The Caverns at Natural Bridge are the deepest commercial cavern on the east coast. The Caverns are home to two unique species — a beetle called the Natural Bridge Cave Beetle (Pseudanophthalmus pontis) and the Natural Bridge Isopod (Caecidotea bowmani).

Foamhenge is a full-scale styrofoam replica of Stonehenge, which was originally located in Natural Bridge, Virginia. It was conceived and built by artist Mark Cline as a roadside attraction, and opened on April 1, 2004. In 2017, Foamhenge was relocated to Centreville, Virginia.

Gilmore Mills is an unincorporated community in Rockbridge County, Virginia, United States. Gilmore Mills is located on the James River 5.3 miles (8.5 km) west-southwest of Glasgow. Annandale and the Varney's Falls Dam were listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1993.

Cedar Creek is a 12.0-mile-long (19.3 km) tributary of the James River in the U.S. state of Virginia. It is notable for flowing through the Natural Bridge rock formation, a National Historic Landmark.

Vine Forest, also known as Forest Oaks, Forest Tavern, and The Inn at Forest Oaks is a historic home located near Natural Bridge, Rockbridge County, Virginia. The original section was built in 1806 by Matthew Houston, the cousin of famous Texan, Sam Houston. The original house served as a store, tavern, and home for the Houston family, the primary dwelling on their sprawling plantation. In 1812, Houston expanded the house with substantial Colonial Revival additions, adding a two-story center hall with a full arched ceiling, reminiscent of the nearby Natural Bridge. Surviving the ravages of the American Civil War, the house stood virtually unchanged over the following century. In 1916, the property was purchased by Ohio architect Curtis Walton and his aunt Lilly who transformed the original federal style structure into an English country manor reminiscent of Lilly's British ancestry. The two-story center hall remained, however the original arched ceiling was removed and replaced with stunning oak woodwork and arches salvaged from an English estate. Two-story frame wings and a two-story rear verandah were also added. In addition, the Walton's built three Greek revival cottages on the property. The largest, Vine Cottage, served as a temporary home as the Manor House was being renovated. Vine Forest was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1987.

Annandale, also known as Alpine Farms, is a historic home located at Gilmore Mills, Botetourt County, Virginia. It was built in 1835, and is a two-story, Greek Revival-style brick dwelling with a deck-on-hip roof. It has a one-story, three-bay, wooden front porch with tapering square columns. A two-story brick west wing and a single story frame ell, were added in 1969. Also on the property is a contributing brick dairy or meathouse. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1993.

Wilson Mountain is a wildland in the George Washington and Jefferson National Forests of western Virginia that has been recognized by the Wilderness Society as a special place worthy of protection from logging and road construction.Entering this wildland, one is in a world of solitude with a great canopy of forest. It has rarely used, primitive campsites sprinkled along streams and a ravine with a "great view" that gives no evidence of man's activities.The area is part of the Glenwood Cluster.

Varney's Falls Dam is a historic lock and dam structure located on the James River near Gilmore Mills, Botetourt County, Virginia. It was built in 1851, and is a massive limestone structure. The lock chamber measures 100 feet long between gate recesses, 15 feet wide, and approximately 21 feet from the top on the upriver end to ground level. Associated with the lock are the lock and dam abutment structures, the remaining towpaths, canal bed, berm bank, towpath culvert and remnants of a towpath bridge. The dam was destroyed in 1881, and the lock gates removed in 1885.It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1993. It is part of the James River and Kanawha Canal Historic District.

Short Hills Wildlife Management Area is a 4,232-acre (17.13 km2) Wildlife Management Area (WMA) located in Rockbridge and Botetourt counties, Virginia. It covers approximately 10 miles (16 km) of ridgeline along the Short Hills range.

The Reynolds Property is a historic country property at 514 Rocky Road in rural northeastern Botetourt County, Virginia. It consists of 150 acres (61 ha) that are now mainly woodlands, with prominent limestone outcrops, and is located opposite an active limestone quarry. The main house is a single-story stone structure, built about 1800, possibly by Thomas Newell. The property is notable for its mid-19th century ownership by Greenville B.W. Reynolds, who owned a lime works of which only ruined remnants survive.The property was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2016.