CITY OF HARRISONBURG

City Offices
409 South Main Street
Harrisonburg 540-432-7701
www.harrisonburgva.gov

Chamber of Commerce
800 Country Club Road
Harrisonburg 540-434-3862
www.hrchamber.org

Serving as the county seat of Rockingham County but maintaining an independent government, the City of Harrisburg was awarded a 5-star Quality of Life Metro by Expansion Management magazine. The city is ideally situated along the Interstate 81 corridor and offers easy access to Interstates 64 and 66 as well as other major highways. Along with the major industries of education and food processing, the city supports diverse businesses and industries including a growing high-tech sector. The closest commercial airline service is available at Shenandoah Regional Airport in Weyers Cave.

Services
Few locales can rival Harrisonburg for access to quality educational institutions and opportunities on every academic level. The Harrisonburg and Rockingham County school systems are two of the highest ranking in Virginia for Standards of Learning scores and overall value of education, and Harrisonburg High School garnered national recognition in US News & World Report as one of the Best High Schools. Options for career and technical training are as close as the Massanutten Technical Center (MTC) in Harrisonburg or the nearby campus for Blue Ridge Community College (BRCC) in Weyers Cave. Harrisonburg is also home to the private Eastern Mennonite University and James Madison University—the latter ranked by US News & World Report as the Number 2 public masters-level university in the South. This fast-growing institution enrolls more than 1,200 students in 115 degree programs including a new College of Visual and Performing Arts. Eastern Mennonite University offers undergraduate and graduate programs that combine rigorous academics with the core values of peace building, cross-cultural awareness, human relationships, and sustainability for the earth. The private Bridgewater College in Bridgewater near Harrisonburg was listed among the best liberal arts colleges in the Southeast by Princeton Review.

Harrisonburg also serves as a regional access point for state-of-the-art healthcare services and facilities, anchored by Sentara RMH Medical Center. This 218-bed Magnet® hospital provides exceptional care and clinical excellence to residents in a seven-county region. The medical center offers comprehensive medical, general, and specialized services including an efficient, well-staffed emergency department that treats as many as 200 patients a day. In addition to Women’s Health, the hospital maintains a Family Birthplace that combines a warm, home-like environment with access to the most advanced technologies. Recognition for Sentara RMH includes a ranking among Virginia’s top hospitals by US News & World Report and rankings of “high performing” in the specialty areas of gastroenterology and related surgery, geriatrics, and pulmonology. The Harrisonburg area is also home to convenient urgent care centers that provide fast, effective treatment for most illnesses and injuries. Primary care physicians as well as skilled professionals in private practice are available in every major specialty and a number of sub-specialties.

Lifestyle
Few cities in America can rival Harrisonburg for historic charm, cultural enrichment, educational excellence, and access to world-class recreation. Beautiful neighborhoods from quaint to contemporary showcase a remarkable variety of architectural styles and home settings. In the heart of the city, Downtown Harrisonburg brims over with historic charm and vitality, the first “Culinary District” in Virginia and the first designated “Arts and Cultural District.” Court Square Theater draws enthusiastic crowds to eclectic performances and events, while the majestic Forbes Center for the Performing Arts showcases masterful productions of dance, music, art, and theater. A thriving arts community has ensured the city’s place as a hub for individual artists, studios, galleries, museum exhibitions, quilting sessions, and cooperative art spaces. Local highlights include the Edith J. Carrier Arboretum, the Virginia Quilt Museum, and the Harrisonburg Children’s Museum. The city even holds an annual Super Gr8 Film Festival that gives filmmakers a place to screen original, unedited, in-camera productions.

Outdoor enthusiasts will appreciate Harrisonburg’s designation as the Cycling Capital of the Shenandoah Valley based on bike-friendly roads, trail systems, and an exceptionally active cycling community. Multiple levels of road and mountain bicycling trails combine with social and competitive events that appeal to every skill level. No less than 12 lovely parks dot the cityscape, offering natural surface trails, athletic fields, picnic shelters, playgrounds, basketball courts, and many other amenities. The city-owned Heritage Oaks Golf Course challenges golfers of all levels, consistently voted “Best of the Valley.” Some of the nation’s most celebrated recreational sites are easily accessible from Harrisonburg, including Shenandoah National Park, George Washington National Forest, and the Blue Ridge Parkway. Anglers will want to visit Lake Shenandoah and Silver Lake in Dayton, while Shenandoah River is ideal for canoeing and kayaking. Nearby Massanutten Resort offers winter snow sports along with an indoor/outdoor water park, two golf courses, and zip-line thrills. From world-class recreational opportunities to cultural richness, historic charm and urban vitality, Harrisonburg manages to bring together the best of all worlds.