Crossing Paths
Nature and history intersect at Crossroads Inn
words and photography by Blair Knobel
EARLIER THIS SUMMER, my soul craved Virginia’s generous woods and two-lane roads, its broken barns and historic homes. So, in June, my partner and I hit the road. We stopped in Richmond, then made our way northwest toward the Shenandoah Valley’s swelling Blue Ridge. Charlottesville was our camp for two days before an overnight at a special place—Crossroads Inn—tucked next to the magical Pippin Hill Farm & Vineyards.
Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt, and Franklin Delano Roosevelt each stopped at the historic inn, originally opened in 1820 as the Crossroads Tavern. Dean and Lynn Easton Andrews, owners of the luxury hospitality company Easton Porter Group, purchased the inn, now on the National Historic Register, in 2022. With plush amenities and homemade breakfasts, integrated with the authentic details of the centuries’ old property, Crossroads Inn offers a dreamy stop only minutes outside of Charlottesville along the Monticello Wine Trail. Originally built as a tavern for road-weary travelers hauling goods across the Blue Ridge Mountains, the quaint inn remains virtually unchanged after two centuries.
We headed next door after tasting the reserve flight at Pippin Hill Farm, a culinary vineyard that Dean and Lynn opened in 2010. As we made our way up the gravel drive, we passed an old well and a smaller building, once the tavern’s original kitchen that has been converted into a private cottage. Checking us in, the innkeeper Joe gave us a weighty key with the word TRAVELER engraved on the ring. It opened the lock to the Traveler Suite—one of the spacious options at the boutique inn, whose other rooms include the Roosevelt Suite, The Dabney Room, Sutherland Room, The Monticello Suite, and The Pippin Cottage.
A trained chef, Joe lives in the home next door and tends a vegetable garden that fuels scratch-made complimentary breakfasts. He noted that sunset shouldn’t be missed at Pippin Hill, and we took his advice, bringing along glasses from our room and a bottle from our trip. As we walked to the vineyard at dusk, nature mirrored our excitement: several creatures crossed our path, as if showing us the way. When the sun dipped, fireflies turned up their lights in droves.
THE NEXT MORNING, after Nespresso on the front porch—a pleasurable anachronism—we roamed the dewy acreage before heading downstairs for breakfast, which featured a vegetable frittata along with biscuits, cinnamon rolls, coffee, and juice.
Admittedly, it was difficult staying only one night. My suggestion is to book at least two while you’re passing through. Just like for travelers 200 years ago, Crossroads Inn remains a welcoming, and now luxurious, stop to rest well.
Crossroads Inn, 5010 Plank Rd, North Garden, VA. (434) 260-8792, crossroadsinn.com
