Virginia’s Historic Triangle: Jamestown, Williamsburg and Yorktown

Route description

Instead of I-64, leave Richmond on VA-5, a quiet road past the old James River plantations of Charles City County, several of which are open for tours. After about 80 km you reach Jamestown, where two sites stand side by side: Historic Jamestowne, the real 1607 fort site run by the park service and Preservation Virginia, and Jamestown Settlement, a state museum with replica ships and a reconstructed Powhatan village.

The 23-mile Colonial Parkway links Jamestown, Williamsburg and Yorktown without a single commercial sign. It has a low speed limit, no shoulders and a surface of river gravel set in concrete that can be rough; commercial vehicles are banned. Stop at the Colonial Williamsburg visitor center, where the lots are large, and take the shuttle or walk the path into the Historic Area.

Colonial Williamsburg needs at least a full day: the Capitol, the Governor’s Palace, trade shops and taverns along Duke of Gloucester Street, with interpreters in period dress. Walking the streets is free, while entering the buildings needs a ticket. Williamsburg has plenty of campgrounds and makes a good two-night base; the College of William & Mary, founded in 1693, sits at the west end of the Historic Area.

Follow the parkway east to Yorktown, where the 1781 siege effectively decided the Revolution. Battlefield tour roads start at the visitor center, and the riverside village has a small beach and the American Revolution Museum. Then take US-17 and I-64 to Hampton for Fort Monroe at Old Point Comfort, and on to Norfolk through the Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel; if it is jammed, the I-664 bridge-tunnel is the usual alternative.