Virginia is a huge state.  The Appalachian Trail spends almost 600 miles within the state leading many thru-hikers to get the Virginia Blues.  Harper's Ferry to Front Royal is a nice 50 mile section which includes a couple of highlights.  The first of which is the ATC building itself located in Harper's Ferry.  Not only is there Harper's Ferry to explore with much of its original architecture, but the ATC has yearbooks of all the hikers who sign in.  It is fun to look through the trail yearbooks and finally figure out if that person in front of you is male or female and what they look like. 

The next famous highlight is the Rollercoaster.  This section of land claim is so narrow that the AT maintainers had no choice but to follow the claim literally up and down over the rolling hills.  In this section, over the course of 13.5 miles, the AT goes over at least 11 tightly packed ascents and descents.  The Blackburn Center is located just north of the rollercoaster and is a nice place to stop.  The small cabin has a woodstove and much appreciated on those cooler fall nights.  The caretakers are also nice to chat with, sometimes having trail magic for the thru-hikers.  Finally the AT passes a Smithsonian animal center just before Front Royal and it isn't unusual to see exotic animals roaming around the fenced area from the AT.