Sherando Park is Frederick County's flagship recreation area, 330 scenic acres in the Shenandoah Valley of northern Virginia, just east of Interstate 81 near Stephens City. It's a genuinely well-rounded park, and for disc golfers it's a regional draw thanks to a well-regarded 18-hole course, but that course sits amid a deep bench of other facilities that make the park an easy all-day destination for families.

The disc golf course is the headliner for many visitors. It offers a good mix of open and wooded holes, so the short holes demand accuracy and touch while the longer ones reward power, a balance that keeps it interesting for players of different styles and skill levels. Set among the park's mature trees and open ground, it's the kind of course locals return to regularly and travelers detour off I-81 to play.

Beyond disc golf, Sherando spreads out generously. There's a nearly 5-acre fishing lake, hiking trails and mountain biking trails winding through the wooded sections, and a large slate of built facilities: lighted ball fields, a 25-meter outdoor pool, soccer fields, a volleyball court, bocce courts, outdoor basketball courts, tennis courts, and picnic shelters and tables scattered for group use. It's a park built to hold a lot of different activities at once.

That variety is the real appeal. A family can bring disc golf bags, fishing rods, a picnic and a soccer ball and keep everyone happy in one place, with the Shenandoah Valley scenery and the Blue Ridge on the horizon as a backdrop. The location, 1.8 miles east of I-81 on Route 277, makes it an easy stop for travelers as well as a staple for Winchester and Frederick County residents.

Virginia's valley seasons shape the year: spring and fall are ideal, summer brings warmth that the pool answers nicely, and the wooded holes hold shade and, in the warm months, mosquitoes. The pool runs on a summer schedule.

Come with discs, sun protection, insect repellent for the wooded stretches, and whatever gear fits the rest of your day, since there's room here for most of it. For a free round on a well-liked course wrapped inside a full-service county park in the Shenandoah Valley, Sherando is a genuinely good pick.