There are any number of reasons to stay in Charlottesville this summer.
Summer classes. Summer jobs. Not wanting to go home and live with the parents.
But Charlottesville without the crush of students is a very different place, as any resident will gratefully tell you. So with no one on the Corner, hardly any frat parties on the weekend and most of your friends out of town, what are you going to do with your free time?
As it turns out, there's plenty to do in Charlottesville this summer -- you just have to know where to look.
Enjoy the Great Outdoors
One of the area's best qualities is its scenery -- take advantage of the fact that the University lies near mountains, rivers and a valley. Hiking, camping and tubing are all good options for this summer.
If your high-paying summer job doesn't quite leave you with the resources to buy camping equipment, you can rent anything from a camp stove to a sleeping bag from the Outdoor Recreation Center, a part of U.Va. Intramural-Recreational Sports.
Mark Voorhees, director of outdoor recreation for IM-Rec, says the center has information on all kinds of hiking and camping expeditions.
"There are opportunities from a thirty-minute drive to an hour-and-a-half away to explore Blue Ridge Park and Shenandoah Park," Vorhees said. "There are day hikes or overnight camping, from trail hike opportunities to campground opportunities."
Events such as day hikes are free, and the center also offers instructional opportunities in areas such as horseback riding, climbing and kayaking.
Scottsville resident Noah Mayo, who will soon move to Charlottesville, recommends camping along the James River, but other venues include the Misty Mountain camping resort, Triple C Camp off of Interstate 64 or the top of Observatory Hill, if you can avoid the police.
The James River is also a prime spot for tubing, an activity that many University students recommend -- James River Runners, Inc. will even rent you a little raft to take a cooler down the river with you. The Outdoor Recreation Center also rents equipment for other types of water sports, including canoes, wetsuits and whitewater rafting equipment.
Other outdoor activities include hiking, with any number of trails within reasonable driving distance of Grounds. If you've ever thought about taking on a portion of the Appalachian Trail, you're in the perfect place to do so. The Outdoor Recreation Center even rents climbing shoes if you'd rather tackle a mountain. For prices on all of this rental equipment, plus hours of operation, check out www.virginia.edu/ims/outdoor/orc. The center also has a resource library, links and guidebooks and informational packets for things you can do.
"We have everything from books on waterfall hikes, short day hikes or long day hikes, to if people wanted to go over to West Virginia," Vorhees said.
Or for a taste of traditional American summer, try fishing. Mayo mentioned the James River, the reservoir and Walnut Creek as favorite fishing spots. You can get your fishing license online at the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries Web site. For fishing equipment, however, you're on your own.
Patronize the Arts
In an ideal world, you would have already discovered that Charlottesville is the cultural center of this part of Virginia. But if you haven't, now is the perfect time to look around.
Fridays After Five, a 17-year Charlottesville tradition, is an excellent place to begin. Every Friday through September 24, local bands take the stage in the amphitheater at the end of the Downtown Mall at -- you guessed it -- 5 p.m. Actually, it starts at 5:30, but get there early if you want to get a great seat, or a place to park. This week's concert will feature Wanda and the White Boys (if it doesn't get rained out, as last week's concert did). For a complete schedule of bands, try www.cvilledowntown.org/fridays.
If you'd like to see local and non-local bands in more intimate settings, many bars and restaurants host live music acts on the weekends. Charlottesville resident Kevin Heuer said he gets most of his information about concerts from The Hook and C-Ville Weekly, two local weekly news magazines. (For their lists of things to do in Charlottesville, check out the May 20 issue of The Hook and the May 25 issue of C-Ville.) Heuer listed several different venues for different kinds of music -- Gravity Lounge for acoustic or folksy, Orbit for jam bands and Outback Lodge for rock and funk. He also mentioned Tokyo Rose and Rapture as good spots. "We go to Miller's to play pool because it's cheap," Heuer said.
Charlottesville is also home to a number of theater and other cultural organizations. The Ash-Lawn Opera Festival, for example, hosts full-length operas, lectures and other events throughout the summer, just down the road from Monticello. For a complete calendar, go to www.ashlawnopera.org/season. Live Arts and Heritage Repertory Theatre also have summer seasons.
And of course, summer is the season of blockbuster movies, and although not every title comes through Charlottesville, we have enough theaters to get most of the big ones. If you're low on funds, don't forget that Jefferson Theater on the Downtown Mall shows less current movies for $3. For example, "Cold Mountain" is playing there right now. For complete local movie listings, go to www.cvillemovies.com.
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