Massanutten: Your Backyard Mountain Resort for Mountain Biking, Trails, and Shenandoah Valley Adventures with Morgan Mowbry and Charles Sexton (Ep 83, Pt 2)

We’re heading to Massanutten - “your backyard mountain resort” and one of the best places in Virginia to dive into mountain biking. For Morgan Mowbry and Charles Sexton, it’s more than a destination, it’s home turf for adventure. As dedicated trail builders and volunteers, they’ve helped shape the riding experience on Massanutten’s Western Slope, where passion for both riding and community come together on the trails.

We explore how Massanutten Resort works collaboratively with the local community to create access to an incredible network of trails for every skill level - from smooth beginner and family- friendly trails to technical, expert-level singletrack. Morgan and Charles break down what makes Massanutten an ideal place to get started in mountain biking, including group rides and events for locals and visitors alike. Beyond the trails, Massanutten offers a full lineup of four-season activities, from skiing and snow tubing to waterparks, ziplining, hiking, and more, making it a true all-around adventure destination. And with Shenandoah National Park and the George Washington National Forest just minutes away, there are endless opportunities to expand your adventure.

We also dive into everything waiting nearby in downtown Harrisonburg, including local outfitters who can help you gear up, small businesses shaped by the region’s outdoor culture, and the restaurants Morgan and Charles recommend for refueling after a day on the bike. It’s a celebration of mountain biking, community collaboration, and the vibrant outdoor scene that makes the Shenandoah Valley a hub for riders and adventurers of all levels. Let’s Go!

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Mentioned in this Episode:

Massanutten Resort

Shenandoah Valley Bicycle Coalition (SVBC)

Episode 21: Mountain Biking with Thomas Jenkins

Western Slope Info, Passes, and Trail Maps

Massanutten Mountain Biking

Massanutten Snow Sports

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Shenandoah Bicycle Company

Rocktown Bikes

Bluestone Bike and Run

Walkabout Outfitter

Mossy Creek Flyfishing

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Transcript

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From the Blue Ridge Mountains to the Chesapeake Bay, Virginia is a mecca for outdoor travel and adventure. Virginia outdoor adventures Podcast is your local guide for hiking, camping, kayaking, travel and so much more. Get the information and the inspiration to plan your own adventure right here in Virginia. I'm your host, Jessica Bowser, we're heading to massanutton, your backyard Mountain Resort, and one of the best places in Virginia to dive into mountain biking for Morgan Mowbray and Charles Sexton, it's more than a destination. It's home turf for adventure as dedicated trail builders and volunteers, they've helped shape the riding experience on massanutten's western slope, where a passion for both riding and community come together on the trails, we explore how Massanutten resort works collaboratively with the local community to create access to an incredible network of trails for every skill level, from smooth, beginner and family friendly trails to technical expert level. Single track Morgan and Charles break down. What makes massanutton an ideal place to get started in mountain biking, including group rides and events for locals and visitors alike. Beyond the trails, Massanutten offers a full lineup of four season activities, from skiing and snow tubing to water parks, zip lining hiking and more, making it a true all around adventure destination. And with Shenandoah National Park and the George Washington National Forest just minutes away, there are endless opportunities to expand your adventure. We also dive into everything waiting nearby in downtown Harrisonburg, including local outfitters who can help you gear up, small businesses shaped by the region's outdoor culture and the restaurants Morgan and Charles recommend for refueling after a day on the bike. It's a celebration of mountain biking community collaboration and the vibrant outdoor scene that makes the Shenandoah Valley a hub for riders and adventurers of all levels. Let's go. This is part two of a two part episode. What other outdoor activities does massanutton offer throughout the year? It's more than just mountain biking trails. They are a Four Seasons Resort. So beyond mountain biking, they have skiing and snowboarding and winter tubing that always sells out. They have an indoor outdoor water park, which I just took my daughter to for the first time the other weekend, and she keeps asking, When are we going back? They have got golf and they have the family adventure park, I believe their new mountain coaster just opened. I might be wrong, but I know it's the newest thing they have to offer. And then hiking, of course, they have a spa if you're not really into everything outdoors, or you could be into both. So it just depends. Yeah, every once in a while, even for us locals, to take a break from mountain bikes. It's really nice, too. When you have family visiting, like this weekend, my parents, who are in their 70s, are coming up to visit, and you can point at the resort and find something active to do with them as well. We're going to do the leaf peeping chair rides this weekend, and that's really cool for them, as old ski bums, to take the lift up and look at the look at the leaves for the fall. But the hiking is really great. I think we should mention there's a ton of people that come to master nothing and don't know that the western slopes exist for hiking. And I think maybe we haven't mentioned that clearly, but they are multi use trails. They get jogged on, and trail ran on, and dog walked on. And you can access those right from the top of Del Webb Road, which is in the resort. And there's a there's a ton of hiking to do as well. And I think that's really cool for families. But yeah, there's a ton to do. We have some great rivers around. Obviously, the Shenandoah is pretty close. So whether you're like, a real purist of outdoor activities type of person, or whether you're like, hey, I want to hang out at the resort and experience all of these things like tubing or steel coaster. I think they have a golf simulator over there. There's tons to get into, so you won't be bored if you stay at Massanutten, that's for sure. Yeah, I had a hard time picking what activities I was going to do, and I'll be honest, I have never really spent a lot of time at Massanutten before this last visit with you two, so I was really unfamiliar with it. And when I was presented with the options, I was like, Oh my gosh. Like, I only have a couple of days here. How am I going to choose between, like, a guided paddle tour and rappelling and zip lining and hiking and all of the things? It was just, it was a lot, but also it was, it was awesome, like, the selection was amazing, and I was super excited to sort of dive right in one of my favorite the. Things that I did was taking the chairlift to the Massanutten peak trail. I was told there was a hiking trail at the top of the mountain, and the only way to get up there was to take the chair lift. And it just makes the hiking experience so much more unique when you have to take a chair lift to it right and it was beautiful. The views on the way up were epic, and they just kept getting better and better. And then once I got up there, it was a very easy, leisurely hike to a couple of different overlooks with stunning vistas that were really beautiful. And then, of course, taking the chair lift back down is just as fun. Yeah, that's a really fun trail. And I will say there, there is trail to access that from the bottom, from Del Webb two or three different ways, but it is not easy hiking. It's a lot of rock scrambling. Probably would take you two or three hours. For those adventurous folks that want to go, you want to be a purist and get your butt kicked on some rock. You can do that at Massanutten, or you can take that lift up and get there in about 10 minutes. Well, what's crazy is, I get my butt kicked every Monday during our group ride. And some of those same women also trail run in a separate group, just for trail running on the western slope on Wednesdays. And I'm like, one, how are you fitting both of those activities in the same week without dying? And two, I didn't even know you did this, like you are a triathlete at this point. So it's just cool. What it what it offers for people? Yeah, it's cool. And I think some of the popular trails, other than that, massanutt and peak trail I just mentioned, but like Kaylor knob trail and peak Ridge Trail, I saw a lot of people on those two, and I think it's because they're so easily accessible from the overlook that lots of people like to enjoy. Yes, I'm laughing. Because, again, you know kind of drawing that reach from like, Oh, I'm just gonna stay at master nothing for a weekend. Well, there is a 100 mile Ridge ride or run that leaves from the top of Del Webb that you can access, that people will go do it goes the Massanutten Ridge is extremely unique. It's almost 50 miles long, pushing up to like Front Royal and all of that area. And it's some of the most Rocky Ridge terrain, super old school, Appalachian style Ridge, technical trail that looks like a goat made it, you know, or that the Civil War guys were in there, you know, hiking through, and they were, which is even more insane, but you can leave the resort and hike for 50 miles north, like on a trail. It's there. Go for it. There's a shelter down there, you know, there's a great swimming lake. I think that's really cool. It really is like you can stick around the resort and do some of those basic things, like playing golf or hanging out and having a very nice chill weekend, or use it as a base camp to really do some insane stuff. Yes, absolutely you've got the options, which is great, because most people don't travel alone. They travel with friends or family. So you have to make everybody happy to have the options of doing all those different things is fantastic for groups of people, or even just like two people, because not every couple is going to be interested in the same thing. So I think that's awesome. There's no shortage of trails like you mentioned, and there is easy access to the George Washington forest and Shenandoah National Park are nearby. And honestly, like, how could you possibly run out of trails when you have access to all those things? And then for me personally, I You mentioned the spa Morgan, and I had to laugh, because I found myself in the spa like there was one day that there were thunderstorms predicted, and so I knew I wasn't going to be up on the ridge. And after like, all of the hiking, the mountain biking and everything else we had done, I was like, it's going to be thunderstorming. Yeah, I'm going to the spa. So I went there and had a massage, and then I had some kind of sauna thing that they set me up in. I forget what the heck it was. Apparently it's supposed to be good for you to sit in really hot temperatures. I don't know, I don't know what the science is behind those things, but I was like, Okay, I'm doing it. And that was perfect. I mean, let's be honest. Like, after a hard day on the trails, like, what's better than relaxation and recovering from that, and then I had that much more energy the next day, so I highly recommend the spa as well. I can't tell you how many parents, I would say, either a dad or a mom, the water park saves their day, right? I The locals kind of cringe at the site of a water park, right? But I come from Virginia Beach, the land of water parks and the Massanutten Water Park, which is indoor, outdoors, actually really awesome, taking my family over there a couple times, but it also it's enabler to parents that need to, like, switch out while one's doing an adventure. You know, that day that the family's down chilling at the water park, or either they have a big day and they wear the kids out and everybody's grumpy and it's like kids just hike this trail. Tomorrow we're going to the water park. Average, you see a lot of those folks on trail. It's just great to have variety. There's not a lot of places where it's all in one spot. So it's kind of cool. Yeah, the indoor water park also has a whole floor for arcade games. Not only do they have, you know, swimming and slides, but if you want to stay dry, there's a whole floor dedicated to that. There's so much for kids to do. It's wild. I mean, you cannot be bored at Massanutten. You just can't like if you are something's wrong. You're not paying attention to what's around you. There's so much to do. Are you implying that you have to be a kid to enjoy the water park? I have a feeling, Charles, that you would absolutely fit right in with all the kids there. Hit it hard true for visitors coming to Massanutten, why should they also check out downtown Harrisonburg? So they should check out downtown Harrisonburg because there's a lot of great local restaurants and things that have to do with arts and culture, you know. Or if you want to get a drink, we have a few cool bars to check out and things for kids as well. So if you have the whole family at the resort, you can still take them outside of the resort, go downtown and find something to do for everyone in your group. And we are called the friendly city. So I will add that I don't think you'll meet someone on the street who is not willing to give you, you know, advice or directions or anything like that. Yeah, downtown is pretty cool. It's all new for us. We kind of move here for that small town vibe and and you get it in Harrisonburg, cute little downtown. We have three really great bike shops. I want to make sure that folks know where to go, since this is an outdoor and we also have a great outfitter downtown as well. So there's plenty of you know, even if just outdoors is your your thing, check out the various bike shops. There's a lot of history there. Shenandoah SBC has pulp inside of it. They serve up great food too. But shout out Billy jacks and Jack Brown's downtown, if you need after ride grub. That's usually my go to for greasy burgers. And they're pretty amazing. And fried Oreos. Don't leave without those. Oh my gosh, they have fried Oreos. Yeah, you got to go for the fried Oreos. Yeah. How did I not know about this? I feel like you two held out on me, if you would have told me. Sometimes we make the transfer over from other restaurants just to get the fried Oreos. But don't tell anybody. There's a there's a reason I ride an E bike. Sometimes it's the fried Oreo and the Greg Brady. That's my favorite burger over there. Yeah, I was just going to ask if you two had favorite restaurants or locations downtown. I have always loved downtown Harrisonburg. I think it's fantastic. There is no shortage of great restaurants and food options, and everything is super walkable. It's easy to park nearby and to walk to almost anything you want to get to. And then, of course, there's like so many great Outfitters. You mentioned Shenandoah bicycle company, but there are others too. Do you want to mention some of the other Outfitters? So Rocktown bicycles is another great supporter of the community, Ken and Adam and the team over there. Really, really stand up. And then we also, at the end of town, have bluestone bike and run. And each bike shop kind of has its own character. I would say I've never been to a place where three bike shops that technically compete against each other all ride together. It's kind of kind of wild how everybody gets along. They all know each other strength and weaknesses, and we see them out on the mountain and at events all the time. Charlie and the folks down at bluestone really specialize also in in shoes and trail running as well. So think they're the only one that really has trail running shoes, and so they kind of keep things unique down there. These are the same folks that are leading group rides from their shops each week. I mean, we didn't really talk about at all the great road and gravel riding that is legendary out of Harrisonburg. Some people literally move here just for gravel riding, and you can do it right from downtown, which is amazing. So that's not to be forgotten, either. So whatever type of bike you want to ride, you can get into but we do have three really great bicycle shops here. Yeah, we have walkabout outfitters downtown that can outfit you for any adventure you want to go on. And they have a really large variety of things to choose from. They're a pretty large store when you go in there for the first time. And then you can walk up the street if you want, or drive to mossy Creek, fly fishing, if you're into that kind of thing. They'll hook you up with everything you need. And if you're a first timer, they offer tours out on the river, and they'll guide you to catch your first fish. So that's pretty neat. They've been around forever since I can remember, so it's pretty cool to see them downtown now, as part of the downtown community, for sure, I. Love that both of those outfitters are family owned, and I think there's something unique and special about walking into a family owned outfitter, and you get immediate attention and service, and everybody's so friendly, and they're very plugged into the community. So, you know, unlike large retailers, they don't necessarily know much about the area outside. They're just there to work and go home. But like in family owned places, they're really plugged in, and they're very invested in making sure that you have what you need and that you have a great experience while you're visiting. So I love both of those shops, any more restaurants that you'd like to mention, or maybe even breweries too, two of my favorites, Cuban burger. Amazing burgers, Cuban fare. And Steve, that owns it, is a mountain biker that always makes it a little easier to go there and spend money. Not that all of our stuff, mostly downtown, isn't owned locally. Steve was at the community event this weekend with us, and he brought his family out rode bikes, and just a really good dude. And then I spend a lot of time at restless moons, which is kind of off the beaten path for a brewery. I'm not a drinker, so they always have a really good kombucha and a on tap for me. But they also are probably the biggest spot for the music scene downtown. So if you want to see music, I play bluegrass there twice a week, where they just open the place up for us to have community jams for hours and hours at a time, which is really, really cool community vibes. If you want to meet locals and have some good beverages, I would mention restless for sure, good spot to go. If I'm going for like a casual bite, I really like pale fire or which is a brewing company, or Billy Jack's for the Greg Brady. And if you're looking for something that's a little nicer, like sit down, or you're taking out, like a first date or something, you could check out Bella Luna. They have wood fired pizza that's always a go to for me if I want pizza. And then, I mean, there's not a restaurant in downtown that I don't like, and like I mentioned, you can go for casual sit down or a nice dinner with whatever you want. They offer it. And then I can't not mention Klein's, which has, in my opinion, the best ice cream around here, even though there's others that also have ice cream. Clients has a different flavor every week, and I always check it on their website to to see which which time I need to go take my lunch break to get ice cream. So that's always a good time. I think that would be me, too, if I lived in the area, because doesn't clients have two locations in Harrisonburg. There's two in Harrisonburg, one from the bottom of the mountain at Massanutten, it's like right down the road. And then there's a few other locations in the valley. So they, they keep growing, because they're good. Did we mention sagebird Cider works? Sageburg Cider works, if you like cider is also downtown. And they have, they have, like, other weekly events, I believe, in the evenings, and they also typically have their garage doors open. So like, they're a very inviting place to be, even if you don't want to drink and just want to go meet some local people. Yeah, I like sage bird because of the vibe. Like it's a very cute little place. And they had a food truck outside when I was there, so I was able to get food, and I just enjoyed it because of the scenery, like it was real chill, and everybody was just sort of hanging. And it's cute. It's very cute. And Bella Luna is one of my favorites, because you can get Italian food there, and for people who are vegetarian, there's lots of options. So Bella Luna is often one of my go to places. The food's amazing. In fact, I ran into one of my listeners last time I was there. Like, I sat down at the bar with my friend and I heard, are you? Jessica Bowser, look over and like, there's somebody that I have been talking to online for a while, but hadn't met in person yet. It was awesome to meet him and his wife, but they were making food recommendations for me because they go there a lot. They're from the area, and they're like, Yeah, you need to try this and this. And I was and he was not wrong, like, the food was so good, and then the three of us ate there. So I was super happy to go back. I'm like, Yes, please. Let's go back to Bella Luna, because it was awesome. Oh, magnolias taco and tequila bar is also one of my favorites, because I love Mexican, like, so much, so I love going there, and then clementines was also really good, and they're, like, right on Main Street. So there's so many great options. And I just, I feel like Harrisonburg downtown vibe is always so full of energy. And maybe it's the college students from JMU, or maybe it's the locals, but it just feels like there's always something going on in Harrisonburg. Yeah, I work at the local university. The students definitely add another layer of vibe and welcoming atmosphere downtown, and they certainly keep it running. But even when they're away during the summertime, it's still a really great place to be. And like you mentioned, there is always. Something going on there. They have huge events down there every year, and one of the best Christmas parades. Yep, there's always something to do down there. For sure. I feel like we could just turn this into a food podcast, I know, and that's what makes it so amazing. But the visit Harrisonburg website lists all of the downtown shops and restaurants, and I will link that in the show notes so we don't have to list all of them, because people can find them by clicking on the link in their show notes. The holidays are nearly here, and I've got the perfect gifts for the adventurers in your life, or maybe for yourself. Check out my exclusive holiday merch collection featuring cozy hoodies, insulated mugs, warm beanies and custom gear you won't find anywhere else. Whether you're curling up with your favorite episode or showing off your fandom on the go, the merch store has something special just for you. Your purchase will support the podcast, enabling me to produce more adventure packed episodes. Shop now by clicking on Virginia outdoor adventures merch store in the show notes of your listening app, hurry. Orders must be placed by December 10 for holiday delivery. Massanutton is a unique resort. They were recently recognized as Virginia green travels attraction of the year. I'm curious for you two as locals, what does that mean to you as outdoor enthusiasts? The fact that they invest a lot of time and money, of course, in making the mountain sustainable is important just in this time and age when everything's moving so fast and there's less and less land to enjoy goes far. And I think that the fact that they were Virginia green travels attraction of the year just points out how important it is for them. And, you know, myself being a local, just the things that they do, like the solar panel installations on their buildings, and then, you know, updating their snow guns to you know, use less power and water is cool as well. It's interesting in the outdoor space, how much we focus on sustainability and textiles. Patagonia and those guys and other various entities that are producing textiles are vastly involved in sustainability and recycling, and you could look at mountain bike frames and carbon carbon footprints and all that stuff, and then the places that we go and enjoy, such as a resort, we as families, never really think about it. So it's kind of nice that even though I don't think most of us are necessarily keying in on this just yet, that Massanutten seems to be a little bit ahead of the curve in their focus, which is kind of a feel good thing, and they're actually taking some physical steps. And when I thought about it, I think the only thing that blows my mind is the snow making capabilities that we've had to focus on as winners have gotten a little bit tougher and Massanutten can throw down feet of snow. Most of the average visitors that come once or twice a year don't realize, just because they're in for a short amount of time, that all that water is designed through geography to flow back through the creeks and down into ponds over and over throughout the course of the year, like we're not just pumping water out of the Harrisonburg or Rockingham County system onto the ski slopes. Like I don't I don't know how many average users think, Where did all this snow come from? But it comes out of those ponds. And then sometimes the ponds are empty. If you show up and you see the ponds empty, that's a good sign, because we've had cold weather and it's all on the mountain. And then if we have two weeks of warm weather, it melts, and it's all draining and raging down the creeks back into those retaining ponds, and then they just blow it back onto the mountain again the next two weeks. And so they're constantly using water in a pretty efficient way for our size. We have that dialed through, like a sustainability aspect, and it's really cool to watch it week after week, how it how it operates. And I'm kind of a nerd, and I love it. I'm kind of a nerd about this too, which is why I even bring this up. Virginia green travels is a fantastic organization here in Virginia that promotes sustainable tourism, and I was at their annual conference few months ago, when Massanutten won this award for attraction of the year, and I was so impressed with some of the different projects, just the fact that there's a staff person like they employ somebody specifically to focus on sustainability efforts at the resort. And I think that really speaks volumes to their dedication to sustainability. I got to meet her when I was visiting, and she was telling me about invasive species removal programs that they have, and highway trash cleanups. And so it's not even just in and at the resort, but it's in the community as well. So they extend beyond the resort and do some of these projects in the community. They have solar panels like if you go to Massanutten and you. Check in, then you're going to see, as soon as you pull up, that there's solar panels all over the tops of the buildings. And then, of course, like the recycled water that you mentioned, but they also use it, not just for snow making, but they use it on their golf course for irrigation. And I just thought this was really fantastic, because Charles, like you said, I don't know how many people are really thinking about this. But as we move into the future where we have to start thinking about these things, it seemed to me, from what I can tell, that Massanutten is way ahead of the game on this, and I just wanted to bring it to people's attentions, because we do need to start thinking about these things, and and Massanutten appears to be leading the way and on sustainability efforts, I 100% agree. I think ski seasons are getting shorter. The community involvement piece that you just mentioned, I was just even thinking, I know that they have a farmers market up there most weeks, and that's really cool. I mean, I know that we didn't mention that, but we have a great one down in Harrisonburg each week too. But a resort that has farmers market for the local ag system that is actually what's all around us here to show up and offer goods is really cool for guests as well. Yeah, and I would point out I remember when I was little, growing up around here, my dad taught me how to ski, so Massanutten has always been around for me, but winter seasons would start like late November, sometimes mid November, if we got a snow early enough. And now, I think East Coast resorts are struggling to open up just by the beginning of December and stay open through mid March. It's just really challenging, so they have to think outside of the box on how to make snow when they need it, but also how to make that sustainable. And they Massanutten and the, you know, other resorts around us, I think, do a great job at that to the best of their ability with what we have to work with around here. What advice would you give to someone visiting Massanutten for the first time? My advice for new folks at Massanutten would be to just ask questions. I know not everybody's like, super outgoing all the time, but there's a lot going on, and I think the staff at Massanutten is really great. And whether you visit the bike shop or the adventure park or the water park, planning your kind of weekend here is really easy. And even if you show up to town and you need to figure it out, there's a lot of people that you can just ask. It might be the lifeguard or the guy wrenching on your mountain bike or fitting you for a session, or everybody here is just super nice, and I wouldn't be afraid to ask those questions of people to help dial your trip in once you get here, but also the community is just really cool and visiting, taking into some of the stuff that we've talked about, visiting a local bike shop, and trying to figure out outside of the resort, what you can do is really great as well, and just plan for more than you probably expected, and add an extra day to Your trip. You know, it's like, people pop in for that, like, two or three days, and you're like, that's probably not enough, once you get here and realize what, what's actually available. So adding some time in is probably really great advice. Yeah, and I would say, don't be afraid to try new things. If it's your first time visiting, it's a great mountain to learn things like, of course, mountain biking or skiing or the flow rider at the water park. There's just so many things you can try where people are willing to help you, or you can, you know, pay for a lesson. I think it's well worth your time and money. How can people get involved with Shenandoah Valley Bicycle Coalition or other community trail projects. It's pretty easy to get involved with svbc. The website is probably the main focal point for ways to do that. There's ways that you can engage in the community events or community rides. There's ways that you can sign up to volunteer. You can donate through the web page. You know, a lot of people are short on time, and at the end of the year, they want to offer up some funding for time and efforts that they just can't put in. So I think the website's often a place to go, and I think social media is a great way to connect with sbbc. They stay pretty active on engaging the community, on what's going on around which, again, they're they're encompassing a lot of different things. These days, you've got to kind of focus. If western slopes is your focus, we have a team for that, and we can get engaged with you. Morgan made the point earlier. It's as little or as much as you want to be engaged at this point, we always need volunteers and time. Everybody's tight for time and time is that one commodity that is just the hardest thing to come by. So volunteerism, I think, across the board, for a lot of organizations, has just gone down a little bit as things have tightened up. And so time and energy is is really where I feel like at least at Mass and nothing on the western slope side, we need people's help. But it's easy to do. Many of us can engage and help get people involved. What do you hope listeners take away about Massanutten as your backyard mountain resorts? I think we've covered a lot in that there's always something new to try. You can never be bored there. But for me personally, I would add that it's so easy to get lost in our screens these days, or lost in your work when I realized, you know, how close I am to mass nothing, and how easy it is for me to get away and just enjoy the outdoors and not worry about the to do list, I think that's important and that people should take advantage of you know, no matter where they're at their closest park or their closest resort, just always remember that there's things more important than what you have to do. You also have to go enjoy your life, and there's no better place to do that than the great outdoors. Yeah, it's interesting. You took the 30,000 foot view, because I think that's where I was headed to is, I hope people just understand that, you know, this area in general, to me, is just one of the best locations in all of Virginia for outdoors. And again, it goes back to what I said at the beginning of our chat about, if you stay anywhere close to massanutton and are willing to make a 30 minute drive to go do your favorite thing. The world is endless. You could spend I'm in year three of living here, and it's still a honeymoon. The only problem in my life is figuring out how to find more time to do cool stuff, and Massanutten just happens to be a tremendous base camp for that. For a lot of people, we don't have a lot of campgrounds around here, so there's really no nowhere to stay. But I would just encourage people to book the trip anywhere near here and utilize what we have on the ground. It's amazing, and all the seasons, right? So come back once or twice and experience it. Right now, we're in the fall season, which is probably the busiest, but man, it's beautiful out right now. The leaves are changing, and then, of course, when spring hits, we have blooming Laurel and all the other beautiful things. Every every piece of the year has its own experience and group of activities that are available. So yeah, it's a good spot to be. And I forgot to add that one of my favorite things about the western slope side of the mountain is there's no cell phone service. So I can I can unplug, and nobody can reach me, and it's the best feeling in the world. So you should at least tell someone where you're going and when you know you're expected back. But that's just, that's just incredible to me, just to get away from it all and not look at your phone. Yeah, that's, that's life hack. 101, right there you can, you can pull into the parking lot and just feel the barometer check of anxiety and day's activity just dropping. It's amazing. How can listeners connect with you? I typically post a lot of my rides and mountain bike content on my Instagram. I usually spend the most time there as far as social media accounts go. Yeah, so stories are a great place to find information about, you know, where I'm riding right now, and even volunteer information for sbbc. I do a lot of posts with that as well, and Charles already mentioned it, but we do have, you know, that small discount code for for mountain bike passes and even winter activities as well. Yeah, it's pretty easy. I think one thing we didn't mention is Strava seems to be the new way for a lot of outdoors enthusiasts to connect and locating us on Strava. It's a great way to watch locally. Is the folks here out doing activities, and you can see where we're riding and what we're riding. That's always a unique way to connect with people outdoors that doesn't get chatted about too much, but I think it's evolving. And then social media the necessary evil of the day. It feels like I, along with a couple of folks, run a independent Instagram page. Here, we can link to it. I am not a social media expert. It's not my my day job by any aspect, but good, just view of what's going on on the mountain. So first ride checks in the winter, first lift up, you know, kind of vibes, what's going on on the mountain? What's it look like? When are we blowing snow? What are the trail conditions like? When are we doing trail work? And I'm engaging with both mass and nothing, and svbc is kind of an intermediate player between those two zones to I'll call it the independent look at what's happening at Mass and nothing these days, and I can stir the pot a little bit from time to time too. So, but those are easy ways to connect with us. You'll find that most of the community here is engaging. Show up, ask questions and and find us online, and we're glad to help. There's also a few threads Jessica on mtbr project and. Some other places out there for massanutton as well, where folks can ask questions about trail conditions and stuff, and we're actively engaged in those as well. I will drop those links in the show notes. I'll also add links to svbc, the Shenandoah Valley Bicycle Coalition, Massanutten resort, of course, downtown Harrisonburg, all the info that people are looking for that we have discussed in this episode will be there. So Morgan and Charles, thank you so much for being guests on Virginia outdoor adventures. Thank you for taking me out on the western slope. We had an amazing day that ended in downtown Harrisonburg with fantastic food, and it was a blast. So I appreciate your passion, your enthusiasm, giving back to your community, and for all that you have done for the community in and around Harrisonburg, yeah, it definitely was a pleasure to have you out. I'm glad you made the time. We appreciated that, and look forward to seeing you again soon out here doing something fun. Yeah, thanks for having us. It's been a blast. Yeah, absolutely hope to see you on the trails adventure on Virginia Outdoor Adventures is inspired by and supported by listeners like you, which is why your messages and feedback means so much to me. You can text me directly by clicking on Send Jessica a text message in your show notes, I answer questions, respond to comments and share your feedback on the show. Never miss a new episode. Sign up for my email newsletter and receive my listener resource guide with the top podcast episodes, a Virginia outdoor bucket list and exclusive brand discounts for my listeners. Click on newsletter. Sign up in your show notes or visit Virginia outdoor adventures.com thanks for listening until next time. Adventure on you.