Road Tripping Through the National Parks: Virginia, Part 2
For our next edition of “Road Tripping Through the National Parks” we are going back to Virginia. This state has so many national park sites to explore that I couldn’t fit them all in on my last blog about the state. So this time around we are wrapping up the state. You can begin by flying into Reagan Airport. Grab a rental car as it’s an hour and forty-five minute drive to your first and only stop for day one.
George Washington Birthplace National Monument preserves the area in which George Washington was born. The national monument is situated in a beautiful location as it’s right on Chesapeake Bay. The park has an interesting visitor center that overlooks the bay. A soundtrack of old music plays over loudspeakers adding to the ambience of the place. There are multiple trails that lead through the farm and bayside. The farm is kept in the 18th century fashion that would have existed during George Washington’s youth, and there is a marker of where the original Washington household was located. The bayside has a bridge that goes right over the water as well as some nice wooded sections that you can picnic in. If you have time, take the two hour drive to Newport News to get a hotel and set yourself up for a big day tomorrow.
Day two is spent exploring Colonial National Historical Park. This park preserves early American history. It’s composed of three districts: the Yorktown district, the Colonial Parkway district and the Jamestown district. The Yorktown district preserves the area in which the Siege of Yorktown occurred. It was the decisive military engagement in the American Revolution. You can spend your time here doing the auto tour, which features beautiful forested areas filled with monuments to the colonist fighters. The Colonial Parkway preserves a swath of Chesapeake land where you can enjoy picnicking or auto touring. The Jamestown district preserves the first permanent settlement by the English in America. There is a fee that the America the Beautiful pass will only partly cover to get into this district, but it’s still worth it to see this part of the park. It’s, in my opinion, the most expansive part as you can take a hike on some nature trails to see bald eagles, crabs and all sorts of other wildlife. I haven’t even mentioned the historic area which has some of the oldest buildings in the country on display, numerous informational waysides, a museum about archeology and a deli where you can eat lunch right on the water. Take a ride back into Newport News to stay the night. You can get a good dinner at Second Street American Bistro, which has top notch bar food.
Day three begins at Fort Monroe National Monument. This park preserves a major Union fort during the American Civil War that eventually became where Jefferson Davis was imprisoned. It’s also the site of where slaves were first brought to this country. As one of the newer parks in the system (established in 2011) it surprisingly feels up to date with an expansive visitor center and an interesting museum. Make sure you go to the top of the ramparts to get a great view of the Chesapeake and to the fort’s moat in between the visitor center and museum as it’s a great place to spot jellyfish. Your next stop is a ninety minute drive away. Petersburg National Battlefield preserves some of the final battles and military engagements of the American Civil War including the Siege of Petersburg and the Battle of the Five Forks. Start your adventure here at the Eastern Front Visitor Center. The battlefield is in the middle of a city, but the visitor center does a great job of making sure it’s in a bit of wooded area that overlooks some of the battlefield. Do the auto tour of the Eastern Front and the Home Front to see most of the major highlights of the park including the Crater, a still visible bit of destruction that occurred when Union forces desperately tried to enter into Petersburg. If you have time, take the drive over to the Five Forks area, and do the small auto tour over there. Set yourself up well for the next day by taking the thirty minute drive to Downtown Richmond. You can get a great dinner at Capital Ale House.
Richmond National Battlefield Park is an expansive park that covers many areas over Richmond and its suburbs as it tries to preserve the immense American Civil War history of the area. You can start your day by driving over to the Cold Harbor district, which has one of the park’s visitor centers. This was the site of one of the deadliest battles in the American Civil War as Union forces made a dangerous uphill charge on Confederate forces. This has some of the best hiking opportunities in the park so it’s a great way to get the blood pumping in the morning. After you’re done, you can drive on over to the Gaines’ Mill district (or one of the many other districts) to get some more hiking in or go back to downtown Richmond to walk through the city. Park Headquarters and Tredegar Iron Works (which you can tour) are located here in the downtown area, and a nice boardwalk explains the area’s Civil War history quite well as it crosses the James River. Take the thirty minute walk through the Jackson Ward neighborhood to enjoy the scenery and get to your next park: Maggie L. Walker National Historic Site. This park preserves the home of Maggie L. Walker, who was a major civil rights leader who eventually became the first woman of any race to serve as president of a bank in the country. The park has a modest visitor center on the main floor and a courtyard in the back that you can picnic in. The main focus of the park is the ranger led tour through the upper levels of the building. When you are done, take the hour long drive to Fredericksburg to spend the night.
Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania County Battlefields Memorial National Military Park is quite a mouthful and that’s because it covers a lot of American Civil War history. Situated right in between Washington D.C. and Richmond it saw multiple battles including the two eponymous battles as well as the Battle of the Wilderness and Battle of Chancellorsville. You will need a full day to fully enjoy this park. You can do auto tours of all four battlefields. However, I would recommend taking more time to walk around the Fredericksburg battlefield (which has the park’s main visitor center and is probably the largest battlefield in the park meaning there are hiking trails aplenty) and completely foregoing the auto tour of the Spotsylvania Court House Battlefield for a hike through it (it’s located in a forest and it’s quite nice to be with nature here). Finish the day by taking the hour and fifteen minute drive to Manassas.
Your final day is centered around exploring Manassas National Battlefield Park. This park preserves the two battles that occurred here (the first and second battles of Manassas/Bull Run). The battlefield for the first battle is more centrally located as it’s situated right out the door from the visitor center. It does a great job explaining how the opposing forces moved through the landscape so it’s easy to picture what actually occurred on the ground during the battle. The second battlefield is the less historically known one so I would advise taking a hike through it to truly see the landscape and feel less stress to rush through the informational waysides. Once you conclude your time here your trip is over.
