Shenandoah National Park. All photography is ours.
Home/Destinations/United States/Virginia
Virginia with Kids
If you’re planning Virginia with kids, start with the Blue Ridge Parkway. It’s called America’s Favorite Drive for a reason, and the Virginia half runs from Shenandoah National Park south to the North Carolina line. We drove it, stopped at every overlook that looked good, and would tell any family to do the same.
Virginia has more National Park Service sites than almost any state. We’ve also been to Shenandoah. Colonial Williamsburg and the Chincoteague ponies are the rest of the trip, and they’re on our list.
Destination guide · Updated November 2026 · Last visited July 2019
Best months
April–May, Sept–Oct
National parks
1 + 22 NPS sites
Fly into
IAD · DCA · RIC · ORF
How long
5 days, a week for mountains and coast
Book ahead
Skyland & Big Meadows lodges · Old Rag day ticket · Chincoteague pony swim
Our time in Virginia was mostly on the Blue Ridge Parkway. We drove it as part of a bigger Appalachian trip. The visitor centers had closed by the time we decided to stop, so no passport stamps that day, but the views made up for it. The parkway winds through the mountains with a pullout every few minutes, which was great.
We picked up Skyline Drive through Shenandoah on the same trip, so the two together are the Virginia we know best. Williamsburg and the coast are still on our list, and you’ll find ideas for both as you keep reading.
Your Virginia guide
Enjoy exploring Virginia with kids!
Keep scrolling for the essentials, three road trips, and where to stay.
Essential Virginia
Why we love Virginia
We think you’ll love it too.
Virginia is where we’d send a family that wants Skyline Drive and the Blue Ridge Parkway back to back, with a postcard at every pullout. From Skyline Drive and the parkway, the Blue Ridge rolls on as far as you can see, and every overlook is a new postcard. Scroll down for the Virginia essentials, from Shenandoah to the ponies of Chincoteague.
Blue Ridge Parkway Guide
The parkway serves up view after view through the Appalachians. We drove it and stopped constantly, but we missed the stamps because the visitor centers had closed, so check the hours.
The overlooks Guide
There’s a pullout every few minutes, and the kids can get out at every one. That’s the whole trick to the parkway with a family.
The parkway in the mountains Guide
Tunnels and ridgelines keep the road floating above the valleys. Our photos give you a sense of what the drive looks like.
Toward Shenandoah Guide
The parkway’s north end at Rockfish Gap is where Skyline Drive begins. It’s easy to keep going right into Shenandoah.
And the rest we’d cross the state for
Shenandoah National Park AftT Visit
We drove Skyline Drive on the same trip as the parkway, with an overlook every mile or two. Dark Hollow Falls and the deer at Big Meadows at dusk make it an easy national park to do with kids. Are you looking for more national park sites? See our guide to Virginia national parks.
Colonial Williamsburg
Colonial Williamsburg is a living town where kids can join the fife and drum. They can even get put in the stocks!
Jamestown & Yorktown
Jamestown was the first permanent English settlement, and Yorktown is where the Revolution was won. Both sit on the Colonial Parkway. Want more NPS sites nearby? Check out our Virginia national parks guide.
Chincoteague & Assateague
Chincoteague and Assateague have wild ponies, a lighthouse, and a wildlife refuge with a beach. The pony swim is the last Wednesday in July. There are more park sites to explore in our Virginia national parks guide.
Luray Caverns
Luray Caverns is the biggest cave in the East, with a stalactite organ. It’s about twenty minutes from Shenandoah’s Thornton Gap entrance.
Richmond
Richmond has the Children’s Museum, the Science Museum, and Belle Isle. The island in the James has rapids and a footbridge to get there.
Virginia Beach
Virginia Beach has a three-mile boardwalk and the aquarium. First Landing State Park’s cypress swamps make a great break from the sand.
Natural Bridge
Natural Bridge is a 215-foot limestone arch that Thomas Jefferson once owned. It’s an easy stop near the parkway.
Browse
Find your next adventure in Virginia
Tell us what you’re planning and we’ll match it up with some great trip ideas.
-
AftT #ParkPics: Blue Ridge Parkway
Blue Ridge Parkway in Pictures With view after scenic view through the Appalachian Mountains, the Blue Ridge Parkway has long…
Routes
Three Virginia road trip itineraries
One state gives you three very different trips. Pick Shenandoah and the parkway, the Historic Triangle, or the Eastern Shore and the beach. See all the best stops on a map.
Start
The Blue Ridge Parkway
Pick a stretch and drive it slowly. Our parkway photos show what the stops look like. Get to the visitor centers before they close if the kids collect stamps.
Then head to
Skyline Drive
The parkway ends at Rockfish Gap where Shenandoah’s Skyline Drive begins. Stop at Dark Hollow Falls, and go to Big Meadows for deer at dusk.
Finish
Luray
Come off the mountain at Thornton Gap for Luray Caverns and a night in town.
Home base
Williamsburg
Fly into RIC or PHF. Two days in Colonial Williamsburg, plus Busch Gardens if the kids need a break from the 18th century.
Then head to
Jamestown
It’s twenty minutes down the Colonial Parkway. Go to Historic Jamestowne for the archaeology and Jamestown Settlement for the ships.
Finish
Yorktown
Yorktown is twenty minutes the other way, with the battlefield tour road and the American Revolution Museum.
Start
Virginia Beach
Fly into ORF. Visit the boardwalk, the aquarium, and First Landing State Park.
Then head to
Chincoteague
It’s two hours north across the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel. Head for the refuge beach and the lighthouse, and watch for ponies from the wildlife loop.
Add on
Assateague, Maryland
An hour further north to the Maryland side, where the ponies walk right through the campground.
When to go
Time your visits with the weather and the region
Virginia has four real seasons. The mountains are cooler and snow can close Skyline Drive and the parkway’s high sections in winter. The coast is warm from May through October. Spring and fall are the easy answer, and fall color on the ridge in mid-October is the week the lodges are hard to book.
Swipe the chart sideways to see the full year.
April – May
Dogwoods and redbuds bloom along the parkway, waterfalls run at full flow, and Williamsburg is still ahead of the summer crowds.
June – August
It’s hot and humid in the lowlands and pleasant on the ridge. This is beach season at Virginia Beach and Chincoteague. The pony swim in late July is the busiest week on the Eastern Shore.
September – October
The ocean is still warm, the humidity breaks, and the ridge turns in mid-October. Book Shenandoah’s lodges for fall by spring.
November – March
It’s quiet and cheap. Skyline Drive and the parkway close for ice and snow. Williamsburg’s Grand Illumination in December is worth the trip.
Where to stay
Pick a good base to start your Virginia adventure
Our Virginia trip started in DC and followed the mountains south. Here’s where we’d stay for each part of the state.
City starts
Washington, DC
Our Virginia road trip started in DC, and Shenandoah’s Front Royal entrance is about ninety minutes west. A night or two downtown puts the free Smithsonian museums in walking distance before you head for the mountains.
- Downtown near the National Mall
- Arlington and Crystal City hotels on points
- Front Royal and Skyline Drive ninety minutes west
Mountain trips
Shenandoah & the Blue Ridge Parkway
From Shenandoah we picked up the parkway at Rockfish Gap and followed it south toward the Smoky Mountains and Gatlinburg. Skyland and Big Meadows are the lodges on Skyline Drive, and Peaks of Otter Lodge is the one on the parkway itself.
- Skyland or Big Meadows for sunrise on the ridge
- Peaks of Otter Lodge on the parkway
- Luray for the caverns and points hotels
History & beach trips
Williamsburg & the coast
The Colonial Williamsburg hotels put you in walking distance of the historic area. Virginia Beach’s oceanfront is lined with chains that are easy on points, and Chincoteague’s small inns book solid for pony week.
- Williamsburg Lodge or Woodlands for walking in
- Oceanfront Virginia Beach on points
- Book pony swim week a year ahead
Good to know
Questions families ask us about Virginia
Yes, if you stop. It’s a slow road by design, and the trick is to treat every overlook as a chance to let the kids out. We drove it that way and it was one of the better drives we’ve done as a family. One thing we learned: the visitor centers close earlier than you’d think, and we missed the passport stamps because of it. Our parkway photos show what the stops look like.
Fly into IAD or DCA for Shenandoah and northern Virginia, RIC for Richmond and Williamsburg, or ORF for Virginia Beach and the Eastern Shore. Roanoke (ROA) is the closest to the middle of the parkway.
Yes, you’ll need one everywhere. The parks and the Historic Triangle are only doable by car.
Give the historic area two, plus a half day each for Jamestown and Yorktown. Add a day for Busch Gardens if the kids need a break. It’s on our list, and that’s how we’d plan it.
All year on Chincoteague’s wildlife loop and from the refuge beach, though they’re not always close. The swim across the channel is the last Wednesday in July, and the town fills up for the whole week.
Map
Essential Virginia, mapped
Keep exploring
Where to go next
