Looking for a fun, family-friendly attraction in the Shenandoah Valley? Look no further than the Frontier Culture Museum.
This massive outdoor living-history museum educates and entertains as you walk around a dozen historic buildings. Some of the buildings date back to the mid-1600s and were shipped over from Europe!
It’s the perfect place to spend a beautiful day in the Virginia Valley. And it’s not super expensive (compared to similar attractions).
If you think your family would enjoy this fascinating museum, check out the guide below with what to expect and how to prepare for your visit.
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What is the Frontier Culture Museum?
The Frontier Culture Museum is a massive outdoor living history museum in the Shenandoah Valley region of Virginia.
Located in Staunton (pronounced Stanton), it’s not far from the Rockfish Gap entrance of Shenandoah National Park and is less than an hour from Charlottesville, Natural Bridge, and Luray.
The museum has 11 exhibits featuring structures that were built in the 1650s through the 1850s. Many of the buildings were shipped over from countries like England, Ireland, and Germany!
The museum is designed to show how people lived before they came to America and what life was like in Virginia from the colonial times through the mid-19th century.
There is an almost two-mile paved path that takes you through all of the structures. So put on your comfy walking shoes!
What to Know Before You Visit the Frontier Culture Museum
Address
1290 Richmond Ave, Staunton, VA 24401
Parking
There is a large parking lot at the Frontier Culture Museum! There were plenty of available spaces the day we visited, even on a holiday weekend.
Side note: When we arrived, you could see construction going on. They are building an indoor museum with an exhibit to complement the outdoor living history museum. I think that will be a nice addition to the museum! Kind of similar to the Jamestown Settlement Museum and the Yorktown American Revolution Museum in Williamsburg.
Admission
After visiting many of these kinds of places, I think the cost of admission to the Frontier Culture Museum is pretty fair. As of publication, it costs $12.00 for adults, $7 for kids 6-12, and anyone under 6 is FREE!
As mentioned above, we visited over a holiday weekend (July 4th). They were having a special event, and the admission was pay-what-you-wish. Keep an eye out for any future events with that offer!
Hours
Frontier Culture Museum is open seven days a week (only closed Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s Day). Hours vary depending on the time of year.
From March 15 – December 1, the museum is open 9:00 am until 5:00 pm. The rest of the year, the hours are 10:00 am to 4:00 pm.
Food
Typically, there are no food sales at the Frontier Culture Museum. During special events, they may have food trucks available. But most of the time, there are only small snacks and drinks available for purchase at the Welcome Center.
However, there are several picnic areas throughout the museum! So feel free to bring a picnic lunch.
We didn’t have a stroller or a large backpack to carry our food, so we chose to eat just outside the entrance at one of the small cafe tables. But there are more seating options inside the museum.
Good to Know: There are several food retailers just outside the entrance of the Frontier Culture Museum including Chick-Fil-A, McDonald’s, and also a Sheetz.
Golf Cart and Wagon Rentals
This is a very large museum where you will be doing a lot of walking! The path through the museum is about two miles long. And because of the design of the museum, it’s not a true loop, so you’ll have to walk back about halfway to get to the exit.
If you have a stroller or wagon for your young children, bring it! They’ll be tired before you get to “England”.
If you need something to help you or your kids get around, they rent out golf carts for $25 (first-come, first-served). They even have little wagons for kids that you can rent for $5.
Good to Know: During some of the special events, they offer complimentary rides on the golf carts.
What You’ll See at Frontier Culture Museum
Old World
The museum is divided into two sections. The first section you’ll walk through is the “Old World” section.
Here, there are five different exhibits showcasing what life was like for different groups of people before they came to America. Exhibits include West African, German, Irish, and English homesteads.
It’s crazy to think about, but the buildings in the exhibits were transported from their original countries! They were carefully taken apart, labeled, shipped overseas, and then reassembled at the museum.
It’s not just one building, but several for each exhibit. There are guides inside each building, sharing information about the families who lived there and about the structures themself.
America
The American section of the museum focuses on the Shenandoah Valley. Exhibits include information about the indigenous people in the area, as well as life during the early colonial era up through the pre-Civil War.
These exhibits include a log cabin, a schoolhouse, a church, and more. It’s interesting to see the progression in design and living spaces over those 100+ years.
Animals
Throughout the museum, there are a variety of animals. We saw cattle, sheep, pigs, and even a cat who didn’t give a lick about our presence.
Nearby Activities
There are many fun things to do in the Shenandoah Valley near the Frontier Culture Museum. You may have time after your visit to explore some of the other nearby fun attractions.
Less than 30 minutes away is the Blue Ridge Tunnel Trail, a 4,273-foot-long tunnel that runs through Afton Mountain in Virginia (full trail length is just over 2 miles one way). It’s right next to the Rockfish Gap entrance of Shenandoah National Park.
You can also head towards Harrisonburg and visit the beautiful Edith J. Carrier Arboretum at James Madison University. It’s FREE to visit and there are plenty of fun activities for the kids (even a giant troll!).
If you want to drive a little further (still less than one hour), don’t skip Charlottesville and Monticello. That area of Virginia is worth visiting!
Frontier Culture Museum Wrap-Up
I enjoy living history museums (like Williamsburg and Genesee County Village), so I very much enjoyed our visit to the Frontier Culture Museum.
As it stands, I think it is worth the visit and something worth doing while visiting the Shenandoah Valley. I think once the museum is completed (probably not until 2027?), it’ll make it even better.
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