Lynchburg

Lynchburg's nickname, the "City of Seven Hills," is very descriptive of the geography of the city. Though it refers most directly to the hills near where the city was founded, these hills extend far beyond the riverfront at the James River. The area includes much of Candlers Mountain.

Spring in Lynchburg is short-lived, often it is simply a period of wide fluctuation between mid-late winter and early-mid summer temperatures. Summers are humid and hot with temperatures generally reaching 90°F. Autumns are mild; temperatures stay somewhere between 40°F and 55°F. Once winter hits, temperatures will top out near freezing until February and, perhaps, beyond. Winters can bring lots of snow to the Lynchburg area: about three one-foot snowstorms each winter.

Generally, storms will pass through over the course of a few hours, but rain systems without lightning and thunder will stick in Lynchburg for days at a time, lending to the nickname "Drenchburg." When there is wind in Lynchburg, it tends to be a very high wind. Unlike nearby areas, the warmest part of the day in this part of Virginia is generally 5PM.

• Lynchburg Visitors Center, 216 12th Street, ☏ +1 434-485-7290. M-Sa 10AM-4PM, Su noon-4PM. (updated Dec 2020)

Lynchburg does not have direct interstate access. Instead, you can get to Lynchburg by one of three major U.S. Routes: U.S. 29 North and South, U.S. 460 East and West, and U.S. 501 North and South. U.S. 501, however, is generally only convenient for travel from the immediate northwest and southeast.

U.S. 29 merges with U.S. 460 at a three-way junction. When traveling to Lynchburg via U.S. 29S, a right exit is required to continue along U.S. 29S / U.S. 460W.

After US 29 and US 460 align together, they mostly bypass all of Lynchburg. To really enter Lynchburg from US 460, one can take US 460 Business (Timberlake Rd) and to enter Lynchburg from US 29 one can take US 29 Business (Wards Road).

• 🌍 Lynchburg Regional Airport (LYH  ^IATA) (just south of the city limits alongside U.S. 29). American Eagle operates a regional flight between Lynchburg Regional Airport and Charlotte Douglas International Airport (CLT ^IATA). These flights operate on a schedule of approximately one plane arriving and departing every two hours. The airport offers a café with free wireless access. 

Lynchburg is a stop on the Northeast Regional offering twice daily service between Roanoke and the Northeast with stops in Washington, D.C., New York City, and Boston. Lynchburg is also a stop on the Crescent offering daily service between New Orleans and New York City. Both of these services are operated by Amtrak. 🌍 Kemper Street station is located at 825 Kemper St, about one mile southwest of downtown.

• Greyhound offers bus service to Lynchburg. The buses stop at the Greater Lynchburg Transit Company transfer center adjacent to Kemper Street Station.
• Megabus services Kemper Street Station and provides service from Danville to the south and from New York City via Washington DC to the north.

Driving is perhaps the most convenient way to get around Lynchburg. Apart from the Downtown area and the area on and around the campus of Liberty University, most of the city is not very friendly to pedestrian traffic.

The Lynchburg Expressway connects most of the major roadways in Lynchburg, intersecting and merging with the business segments of U.S. 29, U.S. 460, and U.S. 501.

While the city limits are very clearly marked, they are drawn in such a way that some places within the city are inaccessible without first traveling outside the city. For instance, the planned community at Wyndhurst can only be accessed via Enterprise Dr, which terminates in two different counties.

Newcomers can find the roads in Lynchburg highly confusing. A few major roads change names with no clear indication as to where these changes take place. For examples, Lakeside Dr becomes Forest Rd, Fort Ave becomes Timberlake Rd, and Memorial Ave becomes Fifth St. Further, the highway alignments can be confusing as there are multiple places where the "Northbound" lanes of one highway are aligned with the "Southbound" lanes of another. Also there are multiple sets of unrelated roads with confusingly similar names. One example is Langhorne Road, Langhorne Lane, Langhorne Avenue which are all totally separate roads in different parts of the city.

Several lots and limited on-street parking are available in Downtown Lynchburg. Two lots, the Midtown and Clay Street Parking Decks, are metered, operating on the mPARK system used in several other cities in the United States and abroad.

During the afternoon rush hour (4:45PM - 5:45PM), Candlers Mountain Rd, Wards Rd, and Timberlake Rd experience significantly increased traffic.

Several dispatch taxi services operate in Lynchburg.

• Lyh Taxi, 413 Jackson St, ☏ +1 434-847-5555. 
• Hill City Cab, 200 Oakley Ave, ☏ +1 434 845-8554. 

Greater Lynchburg Transit Company (GLTC) offers bus services to the area. Single-segment trips are $2.00, and day and multi-day passes are also available. Most routes run to the central transfer center on Kemper Street and operate on 1 hour schedules. Because of this layout, however, travel from some points in the city to others may take in excess of an hour in spite of being only a few miles away. Liberty University operates an intra-campus bus service as well. This service is free to students, faculty, and visitors.

While Lynchburg has a number of bike lanes and bike trails, they are disjointed and do not always provide an easy way to get around the city. The Blackwater Creek Trail and the Kemper Station Trail provide bike access from downtown to the Langhorne Rd area and train station/bus transfer center respectively. Bike lanes along (most of) Rivermont Avenue allow cyclists to access Rivermont from downtown. Near the train station/ bus transfer center, there are bike lanes on a few roads but they are connected poorly. There are a few other bike lanes and mixed use walking/biking paths around the city but they do not connect to form a coherent cycling network. All buses by GLTC provide bike racks so cyclists can bring bikes on the buses.

• 🌍 Daura Gallery, 1501 Lakeside Dr (In the Dillard Fine Arts Center at Lynchburg College), ☏ +1 434 544-8343. M-F 9AM-4PM, Su 1-4PM (one Sunday a month). Open during the college academic year only. Free, donations encouraged. 
• 🌍 Historic Sandusky, 757 Sandusky Dr, ☏ +1 434 832-0162, fax: +1 434 832-0182, civilwar@historicsandusky.org. This historic house served as the Union Headquarters during the Civil War Battle of Lynchburg. Sandusky is open by appointment. Adults $5, seniors $3, students $2. (updated Jul 2022)
• 🌍 Lynchburg Museum, 901 Court St, ☏ +1 434 455-6226. In the former Lynchburg court house. Parking is available in the Clay Parking Deck immediately behind the building. Adults $6, seniors $5, college student $4, children 6-17 $3, children under 6 free. 
• 🌍 Maier Museum of Art, 1 Quinlan St (on the campus of Randolph College), ☏ +1 434 947-8136. Academic year: Tu-Su 1PM-5PM; Summer: W-Su 1PM-4PM. Free, donations encouraged. (updated Mar 2017)
• 🌍 Monument Terrace, 9th St and Church St. Commemorates Lynchburg citizens who fought and died in the Civil War, Spanish American War, World Wars I and II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War. A 139-step staircase, the terrace's base is at the intersection of 9th and Church Streets and ends at Court Street in front of the Lynchburg Museum. 
• 🌍 Old City Cemetery, 401 Taylor St, ☏ +1 434 847-1465, fax: +1 434 856-2004, occ@gravegarden.org. Daily dawn-dusk. The oldest continuously-operated public cemetery in Virginia, museums on-site give a glimpse into rituals of mourning over the centuries. Free, guided tours by appointment $8/adult $3/child. (updated Feb 2020)
• 🌍 Point of Honor, 112 Cabell St. M–Sa 10AM-4PM, Su noon-4PM. Adults $6, seniors $5, college student $4, children 6-17 $3, children under 6 free. 

• 🌍 Miller Park, 2100 Park Ave. 37-acre park includes a pool and a beautiful historic aviary, now used as a banquet hall. 
• 🌍 Peaks View Park, 170 Ivy Creek Ln. 250-acre park includes many walking/biking trails, sports fields, a frisbee golf course, and picnic facilities. 
• 🌍 Riverside Park, 2270 Rivermont Ave. 47-acre park includes the Sprayground, an outdoor water playground. 

Lynchburg hosts a minor-league professional baseball team as well as several colleges with active athletics departments.

• 🌍 Liberty Flames and Lady Flames, 1971 University Blvd (Box office is in the Vines Center), ☏ +1 434 582-7328, tickets@liberty.edu. NCAA Division I teams representing Liberty University, mostly in Conference USA, which it joined in July 2023. The main sports venues are on campus, most notably Williams Stadium (football) and the Liberty Arena (basketball and women's volleyball; also hosts many university events). The Liberty Arena is attached to the larger Vines Center that hosts basketball games expected to draw bigger crowds. (updated Oct 2021)
• 🌍 Lynchburg Hillcats Baseball, 3180 Fort Ave, ☏ +1 434 528-1144, fax: +1 434 846-0768. Low-A affiliate of the Cleveland Guardians. Free parking for all games behind the stadium. 
• Lynchburg Hornets, 1501 Lakeside Dr, ☏ +1 434 544-8286, fax: +1 434 544-8365. NCAA Division III teams representing the University of Lynchburg, playing in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference. 
• Randolph WildCats, 2500 Rivermont Ave, ☏ +1 434 947-8536, fax: +1 434 947-8859. NCAA Division III teams representing Randolph College, playing in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference. 
• VUL Dragons (Virginia University of Lynchburg), 2058 Garfield Ave. Virginia University of Lynchburg is an HBCU and competes in the National Christian College Athletic Association (NCCAA). VUL fields teams in football (men), basketball, volleyball (women), and track/field. (updated Jul 2022)

• 🌍 Renaissance Theatre, 1022 Commerce St, ☏ +1 434 845-4427, RTC@rtc-lynchburg.info. 
• 🌍 Liberty University Tower Theater, 1971 University Blvd (inside Campus North beside the Tilley Student Union), ☏ +1 434 582-7328. Adults $12, seniors $10, students $7. 
• University of Lynchburg Theater, ☏ +1 434 544-8380, theatre@lynchburg.edu. Adults $10, seniors $8, students $5. 
• Randolph College Theater, 2500 Rivermont Ave, ☏ +1 434 947-8562, kparks@randolphcollege.edu. Adults $12, seniors $7, students $5. 
• 🌍 Regal Cinemas River Ridge Stadium 14, 3411 Candlers Mountain Rd (Inside the River Ridge Mall), toll-free: +1-800-326-3264. This movie theater is accessible through the mall. Premium 3D showings. $8-10. (updated Jul 2022)
• 🌍 Venue Cinemas, 901 Lakeside Drive (in Pittman Plaza Shopping Center), ☏ +1 434 845 2398. Commonly known as the "Dollar Theater," this theater shows second-run films at a discounted price. $4, Tuesdays and matinee showings $3. 

• La Carreta Mexican. M-F 11AM-2:30PM & 5PM-11PM, Sa noon-10PM, Su noon-2:30PM & 5PM-9PM. Authentic Mexican restaurant with several locations in the area. $7-11. 

• 🌍 2245 Langhorne Rd, ☏ +1 434 528-6800. 
• 🌍 8210 Timberlake Rd, ☏ +1 434 239-9701. 
• 🌍 120 Simons Run, ☏ +1 434 237-4009. 

• 🌍 Texas Inn, 422 Main St, ☏ +1 434 846-3823. M-Sa, 24 hours, closed Christmas. 

• 🌍 King's Island Restaurant, 2804 Old Forest Road, ☏ +1 434 384-0066, fax: +1 434 384-0068, info@kingsislandrestaurant.com. Voted best Chinese year after year. 
• 🌍 WaterStone Pizza. M-Th 11AM-10PM, F Sa 11AM-11PM, Su noon-10PM. $10-15. 
• 🌍 Depot Grille. M-Th 11AM-10PM, F Sa 11AM-11PM, Su 11AM-9PM. 

• 🌍 Koto, 2160 Wards Rd, ☏ +1 434 237-9134. Teppanyaki-style Japanese steakhouse with sushi bar. Offers free dinner meals for birthdays (dine-in only, show ID for verification). 
• 🌍 Shoemakers American Grille, 1312 Commerce St, ☏ +1 434 455-1510, fax: +1 434 455-1511. M-F 11AM-2:30PM & 4:30PM-10PM, Sa 4:30PM-10PM. Offers private rooms and extensive wine selection. $12-40.