If you like to learn and you're willing to walk, the area's walking tours can serve as educational exercise.

Clarke County:

• The Berryville Walking Tour, developed by Berryville Main Street, takes visitors to 20 stops on Main, Church and Buckmarsh streets. The tour highlights the historic houses, and commercial and government buildings in town. Brochures are available at the Berryville Planning and Zoning office at 15 E. Main St. or at the Berryville Main Street office at 5 S. Church St. Guided tours are offered during special events. 955-4001. www.berryvillemainstreet.org


• The Berryville Historic Walking Tour & Long Marsh Historic Driving Tour, developed by the Clarke County Historic Preservation Commission, has eight stops in town including the courthouse complex, Grace Episcopal Church, the Coiner house and the old jail and tells the story of the town during Revolutionary and Civil War times. Brochures are available at the kiosk on East Main Street in front of the Clarke County Historic Preservation Commission office.

Frederick County/Winchester:

• The Walking Tour of Stephens City is a walking tour that features 48 stops beginning at the corner of Mulberry and Green streets at the Old Town Cemetery and East Academy. The tour brochure, which is being revised, is available on the town's Web site. stephenscity.vi.virginia.gov


• The Newtown History Center at 5408 Main St., Stephens City, also offers a Civil War Walking Tour of the town. The self-guided tour has nine stops and takes visitors down Main and Mulberry streets, highlighting significant Civil War sites. The Samuel Hull store, where townspeople were forced to pledge their allegiance to the Union when the decision was made not to burn the town, is one stop on the tour. Another stop is the Newtown Hotel, now the Newtown History Center, where a union soldier had his last meal before his execution outside the town. Brochures available at the center. 869-1700. www.newtownhistorycenter.org


• The Middletown Walking Tour has 26 stops, highlighting the historic buildings, many of them homes, that make up the town. Brochures to take the self-guided walking tours are available at the New Market Town Office at 7578 Church St. 869-2226


• The Rose Hill Battlefield Walking Trail at historic Rose Hill, at 1850 Jones Road in Frederick County, is open the third Saturday of every month 1-4 p.m. from April to October. There are seven signs along the trail that tell the story of the Civil War's First Battle of Kernstown and the life of the Glass family who lived in the farm. Admission is $5. Children under 6 and members of the Museum of the Shenandoah Valley are free. 662-1473. www.shenandoahmuseum.org

Shenandoah County:

• The Historic Strasburg Walking Tour, 1.6 miles, features 10 stops on King, Holliday, Washington, Queen, Fort and High streets and tells the story of the town's early history. The walking tour takes about an 1 to 1 1/2 hours. Brochures, published by the Strasburg Heritage Association, are available at the Strasburg Chamber of Commerce, Strasburg Museum and Hotel Strasburg. 465-3187. www.strasburgva.com


• The Mt. Jackson Historic District Walking Tour features 20 stops along Main Street. The tour begins at the Union Church and cemetery at 5971 Main St. and ends at the Hackley House at 6012 Main St. Brochures are available in the center lobby at the Mt. Jackson town hall at 5901 Main St. 477-2121. mountjackson.com


• The Town of New Market Historic District Walking Tour takes visitors on a stroll down Congress, Old Cross and East Lee streets as well as Collins Drive and John Sevier Road to see historic areas of this town chartered in 1796. Brochures are available at the town office, the town's chamber of commerce, the New Market Battlefield State Historical Park and many businesses. The walking tour was developed by the New Market Historic Overlay Review Board. 740-3212. www.newmarketvirginia.com


• The Walking Tour of Woodstock has 26 stops along Muhlenberg, Church, Court, Spring and Main streets. The town was home to the Rev. John Peter Gabriel Muhlenberg, who was called "the fighting parson of the American Revolution," according to the brochure. The brochure is published by the Woodstock Museum and is available at the museum and the town's chamber of commerce. 459-5518 or 459-2542. www.thewoodstockmuseum.org or www.townofwoodstockva.com


• A Civil War Interpretive Walking Trail is available at the Stonewall Jackson Museum at Hupp's Hill Historic Park at 33229 Old Valley Pike in Strasburg. The trail is free and takes visitors past original 1864 trenches and points out strategic points in the area. Brochures are available at the museum's ticket counter. The museum also offers Virginia's only karst interpretive walking trail. Visitors can see sinkholes and an exterior of a cave not opened to the public. 465-5884. www.waysideofva.com

Warren County:

• The Front Royal Walking Tour leads visitors through the historic part of town with 33 stops along the way. Buildings and homes described on the tour date back from the early 1700s to the turn of the century. One of the stops is Belle Boyd Cottage, home of the Confederate spy. Brochures are available at the Front Royal/Warren County Visitors Center at 414 E. Main St. 635-5788. www.frontroyalva.com