When students want to relax with friends, they can take a VES shuttle and head out to Starbucks, La Caretta, or any number of local restaurants. Downtown Lynchburg is just minutes away and offers numerous eclectic eateries, shopping and museums. There are trips to the mall, where students can see a movie in a state-of–the-art theater with fourteen screens and stadium seating.
The nearby LaHaye Ice Center offers skating and ice hockey leagues year-round. Rise Up Climbing is a massive indoor rock climbing center. Trips to the Painted Forest offer paintball wars. Students can ski, snowboard, or tube year-round at the Snowflex Centre – one of the nation’s only synthetic ski slopes. The Riverfront Skate Park, a 14,000 square foot skateboarding complex is complete with an eight foot deep bowl. The James River Float Company offers opportunities to tube, canoe, or kayak on the James River with guided and unguided tours.
Access to five local colleges, offers continual sporting events, art exhibits, and theater productions. The Lynchburg Academy of Fine Arts hosts many musicals, plays, art exhibits, operas, and dance performances.
Just a short drive to the Appalachian Trail and the Blue Ridge Mountains, there are great opportunities for outdoor activities like mountain biking, hiking, camping, and fishing. An hour away, Wintergreen Ski Resort offers in season winter activities. Amtrak offers daily direct service to Washington, D.C.