Fall is one of the best times to visit Virginia – a brief chill in the morning air makes way to warm, sunny afternoons. Whether you spend time on the coast, where the beaches have waved goodbye to the summer crowds, or in the mountains where the fall colors of red, yellow and orange light up the hillsides, you are sure to enjoy an outdoor autumn vacation in Virginia.
Experience American Farm Life
An ideal time to be outdoors on the farm, fall hallmarks the start of the harvest season. You’ll find food festivals, pumpkin patches, you-pick apple orchards, corn mazes, and hayrides as local farms are transformed into autumn wonderlands. Locations like Great Country Farms in Loudoun County, DC’s Wine Country, and Yoder’s Farm, just south of Lynchburg, offer opportunities to learn about life on the farm, meet animal friends, listen to music and just discover and enjoy the various tastes of Virginia.
Hiking and Biking Trails Abound
Hiking and biking are wonderful ways to take in the lovely Virginia fall foliage. Whether you’re looking for a short stroll or an arduous trek, Virginia has a wide variety of trails in all parts of the state. Arlington has been named the Fittest City in America for five consecutive years and boasts 49 miles of paved trails, many offering amazing views of the nation’s capital city across the Potomac. Or head south to Prince William Forest Park and explore more than 15,000 acres of autumn colors. (The Park has a cool spy history you can learn about as well!)
The Virginia Capital Trail offers a history lesson with your leisurely ride, connecting the current capital of Richmond with its very first, Williamsburg, and the first permanent English settlement in the new world, Jamestown. For those who like it a little more challenging, head for America’s East Coast Mountain Biking Capital in Virginia’s Blue Ridge. Of course, no visit to Virginia would be complete without a hike on the world-famous Appalachian Trail. If you’re looking for the pinnacle, McAfee Knob on Catawba Mountain is it. It’s the most photographed site on the A.T. thanks to its sweeping 270° views.
Drive a Scenic Byway
A fall visit to Virginia offers up some of the most beautiful scenic drives in the United States. You’ll find a vast array of routes that wind through Virginia’s countryside, each corner revealing a new wonder wrapped in brilliant fall colors. Travel the George Washington Memorial Parkway, following the Potomac River through Northern Virginia. Or take Skyline Drive in Shenandoah National Park, winding 105 miles along the crest of the Blue Ridge Mountains connecting to ‘America’s Favorite Drive’, the Blue Ridge Parkway, which offers scenic views and adorable small-town stops no matter which direction you take.
Book a Beach Getaway
While most people don’t think of visiting a beach during the fall, there just might be no better time! Virginia sits in a perfect little pocket on the Mid-Atlantic, making for comfortable beach temperatures even in the fall, especially when combined with water that has had all summer to heat up. When combined with smaller crowds, it’s an ideal time to explore the diverse outdoor landscape of Virginia’s coast. Book a historic cabin at First Landing State Park, where the English colonists first landed in 1607. Or go the upscale route and stay at The Historic Cavalier.
Virginia Beach has more than 200 miles of bikeways and trails, not counting those in their 230+ parks and nature areas so there’s plenty to experience outdoors, even if you don’t want to get out on the water. But with those warm water temperatures, it will be hard to resist taking a dip!
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