Sponsor: The Spotswood Garden Club

Tickets: $25; single-site, $10; ages 6-12, half-price

Info: (540) 434-3104; www.VAGardenweek.org

Harrisonburg, in the heart of Virginia's Shenandoah Valley, offers vistas of rolling hills and the mountains that are home to Massanutten, one of Virginia's ski resorts. The area offers the benefits of city amenities and the serenity of the surrounding countryside.

Tour highlights:

At 915 Broadview Drive, Harrisonburg (Terry and Joyce Overby, owners), each room features eclectic collections of antiques, many pieces adorned by the owner's hand painting and 23-carat gold leafing.

Kitchen cabinets have been hand-painted in the style of a 19th-century Winterthur desk. Outside, the gardens have fountains, paths and rooms.

At 1880 Keezletown Road garden only, Harrisonburg (Mrs. Charles O. Strickler, owner), the house overlooks multi-terraced gardens with a backdrop of the Massanutten Mountains. Features include a rose garden, sports court for croquet, bocce ball and disk golf, tennis courts, volleyball and badminton areas and a children's castle playground.

2946 Mountain Valley Road, Keezletown (Chad and Jill McGlaughlin, owners), has an 800-square-foot bungalow that was home before the owners built their Arts and Crafts-style stone and brick home with 7,000-square feet.

Inside, a fireplace rises 28 feet to anchor the open kitchen, great room and formal dining room. The home is surrounded by informal gardens and outdoor living spaces.

1616 Martz Road, Harrisonburg (Dr. and Mrs. Robert Eggleston, owners), is a 1790s stone house that was reassembled on its present site, a 300-acre working farm. A renovation preserved the original doors, staircase and some paint.

The décor includes a collection of furnishings, textiles and artwork from 1740 to the present. Mountain views and informal gardens surround the house.

2621 Smithland Road, Harrisonburg (Mr. and Mrs. A. Wesley Graves VI, owners), a manor house built in 1845, retains much original interior woodwork, windows and five fireplaces.

Walnut and oak parquet floors and leaded glass provide a backdrop for the owners' family furnishings. Perennial gardens and old trees flank the property.

*An original slave house remains at 2621 Smithland Road. It is architecturally significant because the two-story structure was built with each of the four rooms accessible only from the outside.