Things to Do in Eastern & Central Virginia

Aug 11, 2023

7 min read

Updated: Sep 5

In this article, I'll be sharing some specific options of things to consider doing in central & eastern VA as well as steps to find some additional options.

Introduction Including Where to Find Things to Do

Look Online - Places Like TripAdvisor & Google Maps will be some of the best places to look. TripAdvisor & Google Maps have different systems, and I like TripAdvisor's ranking system, though it doesn't have as friendly of a map as Google Maps for those things to do closest to you. US News & World Report also has some options in some areas, but typically not for anything but very populous cities/counties
See my Virginia map Guides
Ask Your Neighbors - Whether you're considering purchasing in a location or whether you already live there, get to know your neighbors and ask them for suggestions for things to do in the area.
Ask Social Media - Ask on localized trash or treasure groups on Facebook (if not against their rules) and especially on 411 groups for your city/county on Facebook. You can also ask things on your profile directly if you're already connected with a number of people in your area on social media. Reddit & Quora are other examples of where you can ask people about what there is to do in the area.

Notation, Patterns Used Below, & Disclosure

6.25.21 in TA #'d order for traveler favorites in VA.

On the left is the "traveler favorites" rating for VA.

On the right is the "Traveler Favorite" rating for the city/county.

I am excluding some items that wouldn't be considered attractions by most, i.e. the Bay Bridge tunnel and anything rated <4/5.

Cities/Counties are listed in alphabetical order within region.

For cities/counties listed by region go to the bottom of my SE VA page.

Disclosure:

(Ranks as of 6.25.21; by their mention, I am not endorsing visits to all areas below for all people, but many have had positive experiences; for instance, you won't find me at the White House for the Confederacy, while someone that is really into history, a civil war reenactor, or otherwise might like it):

Locations Within Eastern & Central VA:

Eastern Shore

Cape Charles:

#129 in VA Kiptopeke State Park #1

#132 Cape Charles Beach #2

Eastern Shore of Virginia National Wildlife Refuge #3

Cape Charles Brewing Co #4

Cape Charles Museum & Welcome Center #5

Greater Richmond

Above - Richmond waterfront view - image by Adam

Hanover County:

#74 in VA Kings Dominion

#97 Castle Glen Winery

Henrico County:

#10 Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden

Midlothian (Greater Richmond)

#178 Mid-Lothian Mines Park #1 4.5/5

#253. Robious Landing Park #2 4.5/5

Richmond:

#3 Maymont

#4 Virginia Museum of Fine Arts

#21 Virginia Capitol Building

#43 Carytown

#44 Hollywood Cemetery

#45 White House of the Confederacy (see caveat above)

#93 Monument Avenue

#108 Science Museum of Virginia

#109 St. John's Episcopal Church

#124 Belle Isle

#135 Short Pump Mall

#137 Edgar Allan Poe Museum

#141 Virginia Museum of History & Culture

#144 Virginia Capital Trail

#145 Virginia Holocaust Museum

#154 James River

#157 Canal Walk

(Glen Allen) #210 Lavender Fields Herb Farm #3 (GA) 4.5/5

#214. Agecroft Hall & Gardens #9 4.5/5

#215 American Civil War Museum- Historic Tredegar #20 4/5

#218 Maggie L. Walker National Historic Site #14 4.5/5

#221. T. Tyler Potterfield Memorial Bridge #38 4.5/5

#227. Richmond Raceway #21 4.5/5

#245. Tredegar Iron Works #15 4.5/5 Military Museum

Middle Peninsula

Above - Gloucester Point free boat ramp - image by Adam

Gloucester

Beaverdam Park #1 4.5/5

Rosewell Ruins #2 4/5

Gloucester Point Beach Park #3 4/5

The Gloucester Museum of History #5 4/5

Hayes

That Damn Mary Brewing Company #2 5/5 (see caveat above)

Bridgewaters Salon & Spa #3 5/5

The Swamp Paintball Park #4 5/5

West Point

No Limits Skydiving 4.5/5

Northern Neck

King George County:

#112 in VA Caledon State Park

Belle Grove Plantation

Oak Crest Vineyard and Winery

Dahlgren Railroad Heritage Trail

Lancaster County:

#37 Belle Isle State Park

Historic Christ Church

The Dog and Oyster Vineyard

Steamboat Era Museum

Peninsula

Above: City Center of Oyster Point in Newport News - image by Adam

Hampton:

#24 in VA Fort Monroe's Casemate Museum #1

#46 Virginia Air & Space Science Center #2 (pictured above)

#49 Bluebird Gap Farm #3

#57 Fort Monroe National Monument #4

#83 Buckroe Beach & Park #5

#127 Sandy Bottom Nature Park #6

#243. Hampton Coliseum #9 4/5 Arena

Newport News:

#32 The Mariners' Museum & Park #1 5/5

#48 Virginia Living Museum #2 4.5/5

#62 The Noland Trail #3 5/5

#162 Newport News Park #4 4.5/5

#226 U.S. Army Transportation Museum #5 4.5/5

Poquoson

Mission Escape Virginia #1

Chesapeake Bay Adventures #2

Messick Point Public Boat Ramp (4.8/5 on Google Maps)

Williamsburg :

#2 Colonial Williamsburg

#5 Historic Jamestowne

#13 Jamestown Settlement

#22 Jamestown-Scotland Ferry (free)

#27 Governor's Palace

#28 Busch Gardens Williamsburg

#36 Water Country USA

#78 Jamestown Glasshouse

#80 Colonial Williamsburg Visitor Center

#96 Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Folk Art Museum

#98 Bruton Parish Episcopal Church

#100 Williamsburg Winery

#102 The College of William and Mary

#136 Public Hospital Museum

#166 Colonial Williamsburg Capitol Building #10

#167 Merchants Square #20

#174 Bassett Hall #2 5/5

#181 Williamsburg Premium Outlets #23 4/5

#209 George Wythe House #8 5/5

#219 Waller Mill Park #22 4.5/5

#220 Alewerks Brewing Company #16 4.5/5

#236. DeWitt Wallace Decorative Arts Museum #7 4.5/5

#241. Great Wolf Lodge Williamsburg #37 4/5 Water Park

Yorktown:

#51 American Revolution Museum at Yorktown #1

#106 Yorktown Battlefield #2

#122 York River State Park

#133 Colonial National Historic Park #6

#199 Yorktown Beach #3 4.5/5

Colonial Parkway #4

Riverwalk Landing #5

Yorktown Victory Monument #7

Yorktown Farmers Market #8

Yorktown National Cemetery #9

The Watermen's Museum #10

South Side

Above - Battleship Wisconsin in Norfolk w Nauticus behind it - Image by Adam

Chesapeake:

#69 in VA Oak Grove Lake Park #1

Dismal Swamp Canal Trail #2

Hickory Ridge Farm #3

Northwest River Park #4

Chesapeake Arboretum #5

Great Bridge Lock Park #6

Isle of Wight County (includes Smithfield)

St. Luke's Historic Church & Museum #1

Windsor Castle Park #2

Isle of Wight County Museum #3

Smithfield Farmers Market #4

Smithfield and Isle of Wight Visitor Center #5

Norfolk:

#8 Battleship Wisconsin at Nauticus #1

#20 Norfolk Botanical Garden #2

#75 Chrysler Museum of Art #3

#89 Nauticus #4

#121 Virginia Zoo #5

Naval Station Norfolk #6

Hampton Roads Naval Museum #7

MacArthur Memorial #8

Pagoda & Oriental Garden #9

Portsmouth

#212 Children's Museum of Virginia #1 4.5/5

Portsmouth City Park #2

Portsmouth Naval Shipyard Museum #3

Hoffler Creek Wildlife Preserve #4

Lightship Portsmouth Museum #5

The Railroad Museum of Virginia #6

Suffolk

#198 Riddick's Folly House Museum #1 5/5

Great Dismal Swamp National Wildlife Refuge #2

Suffolk Seaboard Station Railroad Museum #3

Suffolk Visitor Center #4

Sleepy Hole Park #5

Surry

#151 Bacon's Castle #2

Virginia Beach

#1 Virginia Beach Boardwalk #1 4.5/5

#18 Sandbridge Beach #2 4.5/5

#30 Military Aviation Museum #4 5/5

#47 Virginia Aquarium & Marine Science Center #5 4.5/5

#52 First Landing State Park #6 4.5/5

#77 Tarnished Truth Distilling Company #7 5/5

#91 Back Bay National Wildlife Refuge #8 4.5/5

#118 Neptune's Park #9 4.5/5

#134 Cape Henry Lighthouse #10 4.5/5

#172 Mount Trashmore Park #11 4.5/5

#183. King Neptune Statue on the Boardwalk #12 4.5/5

#189 Chic's Beach #13 4.5/5

#191 False Cape State Park #14 4.5/5

#196. Hunt Club Farm #16 4.5/5

#206. Ocean Breeze Waterpark #18 4/5

Beyond Eastern & Central VA:

Beyond Eastern & Central VA within 7.5 hr drive of Newport News

Above: The Salamander Hotel Outdoor Heated Pool in Middleburg, VA - Image by Adam

More to do within 7.5 hr driving distance (apx hrs drive from Newport News)

Virginia

Delaware

Maryland

Baltimore (direct flights)

New Jersey

New York (7 hrs drive to NYC; direct flights available to EWR, LGA, & JFK)

#1 in US The National 9/11 Memorial & Museum #2 Historic Site/Museum 4.5/5 7 hrs

North Carolina

#37 in US Biltmore #1 in Asheville - Historic Site/Museum 6.5 hrs -

Closest direct flight is to CLT >2 hrs away

Pennsylvania

#27. in US Eastern State Penitentiary #1 in Philadelphia 4.5/5 History Site/Museum 5.5 hrs

Direct flights available

Pittsburgh - 7 hrs - direct flights available

South Carolina

#24 in US Middleton Place #11 in Charleston (direct flights w/ Breeze) 4.5/5 7 hrs

#36 in US Broadway at the Beach (Myrtle Beach w/ indirect flights only #13) 4.5/5 5.5 hrs

Tennessee

#35 in US Titanic Museum Attraction 4.5/5 Specialty Museum 7.5 hrs

Washington DC

#14 in US Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History #3 4.5/5 3 hrs; direct flights available from ORF

West Virginia - indirect flights only

Great Falls Park near DC above - image by Adam

Direct flights out of SE VA

For more to do beyond 7 hr driving distance (with direct flights from SE VA (updated 10/11/21) out of RIC (Richmond) &/or ORF (Norfolk); PHF (Newport News) direct flights to CLT, PHL on AA, formerly ATL on Delta):

For the most up-to-date list, go here for Norfolk:

& here for Richmond:

Images courtesy Flight Connections

Newport News/Williamsburg airport fluctuates, sometimes only having 1 direct flight destination, but the most consistent flight is on American Airlines to Charlotte.

Here's a list of some options, but they aren't updated daily:

Arizona:

Phoenix

California:

Los Angeles

#4 The Getty Center 5/5 Specialty Museums

San Diego

#12 USS Midway Museum 5/5 Specialty Museums

San Francisco

Colorado:

Denver

Connecticut: