Virginia's National Parks and Historic Sites

Virginia’s National Park Service sites range from mountain drives and coastal landscapes to battlefields, historic homes, and places central to the nation’s founding. Use this guide to find a starting point by region and interest, then check the National Park Service’s current alerts, maps, hours, and access information before setting out.

Start with the kind of visit you want

For mountain scenery and outdoor time, Shenandoah National Park and the Blue Ridge Parkway in Virginia offer different ways to experience the Blue Ridge. For a day built around American history, Colonial National Historical Park connects Jamestown and Yorktown, while Appomattox Court House National Historical Park preserves the village where the Army of Northern Virginia surrendered in 1865.

The NPS list includes more than traditional national parks: Virginia’s sites also include national monuments, historic sites, trails, and battlefield parks. Some parks span multiple states, and some trails connect a series of separate places rather than one central destination.

Mountain, coast, and outdoor destinations

• Shenandoah National Park — A Blue Ridge landscape of wooded hollows, waterfalls, and overlooks. Skyline Drive is a scenic route through the park; check NPS alerts and current conditions before driving or hiking.
• Blue Ridge Parkway in Virginia — A long, scenic drive through the Blue Ridge, with overlooks and access to nearby trails and mountain destinations. Road conditions and closures can change.
• Assateague Island National Seashore in Virginia — A shared Maryland–Virginia barrier-island park with beaches, salt marshes, maritime forests, and coastal bays.
• Prince William Forest Park — A forested escape in Northern Virginia with trails and camping, on land that first served as a Depression-era recreation area.
• Great Falls Park — Potomac River scenery and the historic Patowmack Canal, within the George Washington Memorial Parkway.
• Appalachian Trail in Virginia — A long-distance footpath crossing the state; choose a section and check trail conditions before heading out.

These places offer very different experiences, from a roadside overlook to a longer hike or a coastal visit. Confirm current access, operating conditions, and any restrictions on the official park pages before travel.

Historic sites and stories of the nation

• Colonial National Historical Park — Brings together sites associated with Jamestown and Yorktown, including the settlement’s early colonial history and the Revolutionary War campaign that ended with the British surrender in 1781.
• Fort Monroe National Monument — A coastal fort with stories reaching from Indigenous presence and early colonization to people seeking freedom during the Civil War.
• George Washington Birthplace National Monument — A Potomac-side historic landscape associated with George Washington’s early life.
• Booker T. Washington National Monument — Preserves the birthplace and early-life landscape of educator, author, and public figure Booker T. Washington.
• Maggie L. Walker National Historic Site — The Richmond home of the pioneering banker and civil-rights leader.
• Arlington House, The Robert E. Lee Memorial — A historic house and memorial whose interpretation includes military service, slavery, freedom, and the meaning of reunion after the Civil War.

For places that are part of a larger park, such as Yorktown Battlefield and Cape Henry Memorial, check the main park’s visitor information as well as the site listing.

Battlefields and military history

Virginia’s NPS battlefields make history tangible through preserved landscapes, earthworks, roads, and visitor exhibits. They also invite reflection on the people whose lives were shaped by war, including soldiers, civilians, and enslaved people.

• Manassas National Battlefield Park — The landscapes of the First and Second Battles of Bull Run, fought in 1861 and 1862.
• Fredericksburg & Spotsylvania National Military Park — A group of major Civil War battlefields, including Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, the Wilderness, and Spotsylvania Court House.
• Richmond National Battlefield Park — Sites and earthworks connected to the campaigns around the Confederate capital.
• Petersburg National Battlefield — A spread-out park interpreting the long siege of Petersburg. Its areas include the Eastern Front, Five Forks, and City Point; the Eastern Front visitor center has exhibits and a film.
• Appomattox Court House National Historical Park — A village landscape associated with the April 9, 1865, surrender and the unresolved questions of reunion and emancipation that followed.
• Cedar Creek and Belle Grove National Historical Park — A Shenandoah Valley park interpreting the Civil War’s Battle of Cedar Creek alongside the region’s broader history.

Petersburg National Battlefield’s sites are spread across a wide area, so it is worth planning a route rather than assuming every stop is beside the visitor center. The NPS recommends checking its directions, visitor-center details, activities, accessibility information, and current conditions before a visit.

Plan a visit

• **Choose a region and pace.** A scenic drive, a battlefield loop, and a visit to several sites in one historic park call for different amounts of time. Check maps and directions to understand distances between stops.
• **Check alerts close to departure.** Roads, trails, facilities, and access can change with weather, maintenance, or other conditions. Use each park’s official alerts and current-conditions pages.
• **Confirm hours and fees.** Visitor centers, historic buildings, and individual park areas may have different schedules or access arrangements. Verify the current details on the official NPS site rather than relying on an old itinerary.
• **Look beyond the battlefield.** Many sites interpret more than military events, including the lives of civilians, enslaved people, Indigenous communities, and people who lived on the land before and after the conflict.

Related guides

• Virginia's National Park Service Sites
• Virginia's Civil War battlefields
• Virginia's National Park Destinations
• Virginia's Historic Triangle
• Virginia's Shenandoah Valley

Related books: Browse related Virginia books on Amazon

As an Amazon Associate, this site earns from qualifying purchases.

References

External links

• National Park Service: Virginia parks and sites
• National Park Service: Plan a visit to Petersburg National Battlefield