# Road trips in Virginia > 8 road trips and 26 hand-picked places in Virginia, with routes, stops and practical tips for driving and camping. Source: https://camping-spirit.com/roadtrips/virginia/ 8 road trips and 26 hand-picked places in Virginia, with routes, stops and practical tips for driving and camping. ## Road trips through Virginia - [Virginia’s Historic Triangle: Jamestown, Williamsburg and Yorktown](https://camping-spirit.com/guides/b20-historic-triangle/): Along the James River and the Colonial Parkway from Richmond to Jamestown, Colonial Williamsburg, Yorktown and Fort Monroe before ending in Norfolk. - [Jefferson and Madison country: Montpelier to the Peaks of Otter](https://camping-spirit.com/guides/b20-jefferson-madison/): Presidents’ homes in the Virginia Piedmont: Montpelier, Monticello and Poplar Forest, with Appomattox, Lynchburg and a finish on the Blue Ridge Parkway. - [Southwest Virginia highlands: Grayson ponies to the Breaks](https://camping-spirit.com/guides/b20-sw-virginia-highlands/): Wild ponies on the balds of Grayson Highlands, the Virginia Creeper Trail, a railroad through a natural tunnel and the deep gorge of Breaks Interstate Park. - [Virginia’s Eastern Shore and the Bay Bridge-Tunnel](https://camping-spirit.com/guides/b10-eastern-shore-va/): Wild ponies at Chincoteague, sleepy harbor towns and a 17-mile crossing of the Chesapeake Bay. - [Skyline Drive, Shenandoah](https://camping-spirit.com/guides/skyline-shenandoah/): Along the Blue Ridge crest from Front Royal, with caverns at Luray. - [Along the Potomac: Mount Vernon, Great Falls and Harpers Ferry](https://camping-spirit.com/guides/b20-potomac-harpers-ferry/): Follow the Potomac out of Washington, from Arlington and Mount Vernon to the gorge at Great Falls, Leesburg and historic Harpers Ferry. - [The Blue Ridge Parkway, end to end](https://camping-spirit.com/guides/blue-ridge/): All 469 miles from Shenandoah to the Smokies, at 45 mph, with plenty of overlooks. - [Outer Banks](https://camping-spirit.com/guides/outer-banks/): The dunes of the first flight, Cape Hatteras lighthouse and the ferry to Ocracoke. ## Places worth the detour in Virginia - [Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge](https://camping-spirit.com/places/b10-chincoteague-refuge/): The Virginia end of Assateague Island, with the red-and-white Assateague Lighthouse, a wildlife loop and the famous wild ponies in the marsh. - [Historic Jamestowne](https://camping-spirit.com/places/b20-historic-jamestowne/): The site of the 1607 English settlement on Jamestown Island, where archaeologists still dig the fort and a museum displays their finds. Park entrance fee; a loop drive around the island passes marsh and forest. - [Colonial Williamsburg Historic Area](https://camping-spirit.com/places/b20-colonial-williamsburg/): The restored 18th-century capital of Virginia, with Duke of Gloucester Street, the Governor’s Palace and costumed interpreters. The streets are free to walk, buildings need a ticket; park at the visitor center and take the shuttle. - [Monticello](https://camping-spirit.com/places/b20-monticello/): Thomas Jefferson’s hilltop house and plantation, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, with gardens and the Mulberry Row exhibits on slavery. Timed tickets; park at the visitor center at the foot of the hill and ride the shuttle up. - [Arlington National Cemetery](https://camping-spirit.com/places/b20-arlington-cemetery/): The national military cemetery above the Potomac, with the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, the Kennedy graves and Arlington House. Free; the guard changes every half hour or hour. Use the paid garage at the welcome center. - [George Washington’s Mount Vernon](https://camping-spirit.com/places/b20-mount-vernon/): Washington’s estate on the Potomac, with the mansion, gardens, farm, his tomb and a large museum. Buy timed tickets ahead in spring; the George Washington Memorial Parkway links it with Alexandria and Arlington. - [Grayson Highlands State Park](https://camping-spirit.com/places/b20-grayson-highlands/): High grassy balds and rock outcrops near Mount Rogers where wild ponies graze along the Appalachian Trail. From the Massie Gap lot it is about a mile to the pony areas; the park road is steep and winding. - [Mabry Mill](https://camping-spirit.com/places/mabry-mill/): A water-powered gristmill at Blue Ridge Parkway milepost 176. The restaurant next door serves buckwheat pancakes. - [Humpback Rocks](https://camping-spirit.com/places/humpback-rocks/): A steep one-mile climb near milepost 6 to a rocky outcrop. There is a reconstructed mountain farm at the trailhead. - [Big Meadows, Shenandoah](https://camping-spirit.com/places/big-meadows/): An open highland meadow on Skyline Drive where deer graze at dusk, with a lodge, camping and short trails to waterfalls. - [Luray Caverns](https://camping-spirit.com/places/luray-caverns/): Huge limestone caverns with the Great Stalacpipe Organ, which taps stalactites to play music. - [Natural Bridge State Park](https://camping-spirit.com/places/natural-bridge/): A 215-foot limestone arch over Cedar Creek that Thomas Jefferson once owned. - [Skyline Drive overlooks](https://camping-spirit.com/places/skyline-drive/): Seventy-five overlooks along the Blue Ridge crest in Shenandoah National Park. - [NASA Wallops Visitor Center](https://camping-spirit.com/places/b10-wallops-visitor-center/): A small space museum at NASA’s rocket launch base on the Eastern Shore. Check the launch schedule; night launches are visible from Chincoteague. - [Kiptopeke State Park](https://camping-spirit.com/places/b10-kiptopeke/): A bayside park where a line of sunken concrete ships from World War II forms a breakwater. A key stop for migrating hawks and songbirds in fall. - [First Landing State Park](https://camping-spirit.com/places/b10-first-landing/): Cypress swamps, maritime forest and a bay beach where the Jamestown colonists first landed in 1607. The large campground is close to the beach. - [Yorktown Battlefield](https://camping-spirit.com/places/b20-yorktown-battlefield/): Where American and French forces besieged Cornwallis and forced his surrender in October 1781. Two tour roads from the visitor center pass earthworks, the Moore House and Surrender Field; park entrance fee. - [Fort Monroe National Monument](https://camping-spirit.com/places/b20-fort-monroe/): The largest stone fort built in the US, ringed by a moat at the mouth of Hampton Roads, where enslaved people seeking freedom found refuge in 1861. The Casemate Museum is free; walls and beach are open to walk. - [James Madison’s Montpelier](https://camping-spirit.com/places/b20-montpelier/): The restored home of the fourth president and chief author of the Bill of Rights, with exhibits on the enslaved community and trails into an old-growth forest. Admission is charged; the estate lies about 4 miles southwest of Orange. - [Appomattox Court House National Historical Park](https://camping-spirit.com/places/b20-appomattox/): The village where Robert E. Lee surrendered to Ulysses S. Grant in the McLean House in April 1865, effectively ending the Civil War. The restored buildings are reached on foot from the parking lot; allow two hours. - [Thomas Jefferson’s Poplar Forest](https://camping-spirit.com/places/b20-poplar-forest/): The octagonal retreat Jefferson designed for himself southwest of Lynchburg, restored over several decades from a near ruin. Guided house tours run through the day; admission is charged and parking is easy. - [Peaks of Otter](https://camping-spirit.com/places/b20-peaks-of-otter/): Three peaks around Abbott Lake at Blue Ridge Parkway milepost 86, with a lakeside loop and a steep 1.5-mile trail to the boulder summit of Sharp Top. Visitor center, picnic area and campground. - [Great Falls Park](https://camping-spirit.com/places/b20-great-falls-va/): Where the Potomac drops through a series of rapids and cascades into Mather Gorge, seen from three overlooks near the visitor center. Park entrance fee; the lots fill on warm weekends, so arrive before 10 am. - [Hungry Mother State Park](https://camping-spirit.com/places/b20-hungry-mother/): A wooded lake with a sandy swimming beach, boat rentals and a trail up Molly’s Knob, a few miles north of I-81 at Marion. One of Virginia’s six original state parks from 1936, with cabins and campgrounds. - [Natural Tunnel State Park](https://camping-spirit.com/places/b20-natural-tunnel/): A natural tunnel more than 850 feet long, carved through a limestone ridge by Stock Creek and still used by trains. A seasonal chairlift or a steep trail leads down to the viewing platform; parking fee. - [Breaks Interstate Park](https://camping-spirit.com/places/b20-breaks-interstate-park/): A gorge more than 1,600 feet deep on the Kentucky–Virginia line, often called the Grand Canyon of the South, with rim overlooks and trails. The park has a lodge, campground and small lake; approach roads are winding. ## FAQs **What are the best road trips in Virginia?** Popular routes include Virginia’s Historic Triangle: Jamestown, Williamsburg and Yorktown, Jefferson and Madison country: Montpelier to the Peaks of Otter, Southwest Virginia highlands: Grayson ponies to the Breaks and Virginia’s Eastern Shore and the Bay Bridge-Tunnel. CampingSpirit has 8 trip guides that pass through Virginia, each with a stop-by-stop itinerary and a route map. **Which places in Virginia are worth a detour?** Our editors recommend Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge, Historic Jamestowne, Colonial Williamsburg Historic Area, Monticello, Arlington National Cemetery and George Washington’s Mount Vernon.