Historic Rivermont and Lynchburg

Historic Rivermont

Rivermont is the most beautiful of all Lynchburg's neighborhoods. It's a veritable feast of the eyes for architecture buffs featuring a diverse range of century-old mansions splayed out on spacious lawns. Here you'll find plenty to see and do including Riverside Park with its sweeping views of the James River and the nearby Blue Ridge mountains, as well as Randolph College's picturesque 100 acre campus, the Blackwater Creek walking and biking trail, and over a dozen restaurants and cafes. All of it is within walking distance of 2123 Rivermont's front door. Check out this this article of how to spend a day in Rivermont.

Rookie's Hand Crafted Ice Cream Sandwiches

174 Norfolk Ave

Always start with dessert first! We love Rookie's because its genius idea of creating made-to-order ice cream sandwich with two different cookies if you prefer. They have a great selection of ice cream and are located across the street from the beautiful Randolph College campus that you can explore while you indulge in the finest ice cream this side of the Atlantic Ocean.

Rivermont Restaurants

Bentley's on Bedford

2302 Bedford Avenue

This unique dining spot is housed in a beautifully restored fueling station, adding to its charm and character. The menu includes small plates and other American cuisine. They offer fantastic happy hour specials and have killer wings!

Oliver's on Rivermont

2496 Rivermont Avenue

The newest restaurant in Rivermont. Oliver's is a dog-friendly establishment with great outdoor seating. They offer a spectacular weekend brunch, a varied lunch and dinner menu along with a lively bar area with plenty on tap and lots of specials.

We couldn't be happier that Scratch is our closest neighbor for food! Just 500 feet out our back door is every pasta lover's dream come true. A place that makes delicious pasta from scratch everyday and then sells it along with homemade frozen meals (including a killer crab mac and cheese). It really is possible to have a delicious meal home cooked meal at home every day!

Scratch Pasta

2204 Bedford Avenue

Rivermont Pizza

2496 Rivermont Avenue

A dive bar delight! Rivermont Pizza is the local hangout of the neighborhood. It serves delicious pizzas topped with varieties that only a true chef could conjure up. The Thurman Thomas is our unanimous suggestion. A regular rotation of the taps also makes this a great place to visit often. Open late on Friday and Saturday when you can get pizza by the slice.

The Dhalia

2221 Bedford Avenue

Fresh seafood! The Dhalia has been a staple of Bedford Avenue for well over 50 years. It's a deceptively large restaurant, with a downstairs bar area that feels like a true neighborhood pub, dart board and all. The menu is a wide variety of seafood and burgers, with a variety of specials that make popping in often worthwhile. 

The Cavalier Store

2920 Rivermont Avenue

Everyone in Lynchburg knows about the Cavalier Store and everyone agrees they have great burgers. It's a place shrouded in local legends and decor that is a feast for curious eyes. It's a pub fare menu paired with tap beer, a pool table, darts, juke box and sticky table tops. It's perfect, really and, yes, the burgers really are delicious.

Golf Park Coffee

2306 Bedford Avenue

Truss is the long awaited upscale restaurant of Rivermont. It's posh interior and swanky bar will make you want to dress up. It offers a wide variety of mains and appetizers across a spectrum of styles, which means you can eat there often and still feel like you haven't tried everything. Open for lunch, Sunday brunch, and dinner.

Magnolia Foods

2476 Rivermont Avenue

Calling all sandwich lovers! Magnolia Foods offers a wide variety of freshly prepared and healthy lunch and early dinner items at this deli-style restaurant. On top of that, they boast one of the best wine and beer selections in the city. Plenty of seating both indoors and out.

Truss

2204 Bedford Avenue

Coffee lovers go to Golf Park. Strong, black and beautiful coffee made to order just how you like it. This is the coffee shop of students and young professionals with stylish decor, comfortable couches, and of course, fantastic coffee, espresso and teas prepared however you wish.

We're lucky to have Flour District just 500 feet from our back door. That means breakfast and delicious coffee are available bright and early, and getting a delicious brunch on Sunday is an option, too. Flour District has a great variety of pastries, sandwiches, coffees and teas, and a fantastic, stylish interior where working on your laptop all day is somehow a pleasure.

Flour District

2204 Bedford Avenue

Taco Jesús

2309 Bedford Avenue

As authentic as tacos can get. This father/son duo makes fantastic tacos using a family recipe that is older than Rivermont. The menu offers six different styles of tacos, so we always order one of each and then share. The setup is deli-style and the food comes out quick, so take out or eat in are a no nonsense affair.

Historic Riverside Park

Riverside Park is Lynchburg's second oldest park. Its a 49-acre haven of rolling hills along the banks of the sleepy James River that offers wonderful panoramic views, a strenuous alpine trail, basketball courts, tennis courts, a playground, and several historic installations that tell some of the many tales of Lynchburg. Most outstanding is the Miller-Claytor house, the city's oldest home that once served as an inn frequented by Thomas Jefferson on his way to his nearby Poplar Forest retreat home.

In addition to being a great place to walk and play, Riverside Park is the setting for many of Lynchburg's local events, including the annual Christmas lights drive through, family events, vendor events, the city's annual Art in the Park event, and several other events that make it worth living nearby.

Rails to Trails in Lynchburg

Blackwater Creeek Walking Trail

Blackwater Creek is one of the most popular walking trails in the city and offers a great way to experience the best of Lynchburg outdoors. It's comprised of paved trail built along a three mile corridor of uprooted railroad tracks. Diverging from the main trail are several earthen trails for those seeking the more natural feel of the outdoors. Download a free PDF copy of the trail map to see the entire trail system.

Randolph College

The beautiful campus of Randolph College has been a staple of the Rivermont neighborhood for more than a century. It's a small, liberal arts college of roughly 600 students; just the right size to add some young life to the neighborhood during the semesters without making noticeable changes to traffic or crowding the local restaurants. In recent years, the school has expanded its athletic programs and invested in a new, open to the public, rubberized track, which makes it a great place for locals to get in shape when the teams aren't using it. The campus grounds also boast a frisbee golf course and a free, well curated Maier Museum that displays its collection of great American art through the centuries.