Virginia's National Parks

Virginia’s national park destinations range from mountain trails and scenic drives to battlefields, historic settlements, and memorials. Virginia Tourism Corporation highlights outdoor destinations such as Shenandoah National Park, the Blue Ridge Parkway, and the Appalachian Trail alongside places that tell the Commonwealth’s history. The National Park Service’s Virginia listing includes sites with many different designations, so “national parks” here means the broader collection of NPS-managed places, not only sites officially named national parks.

Start with the landscape

For a classic mountain visit, Shenandoah National Park combines scenic overlooks, trails, visitor stops, and designated wilderness. The park’s official visitor guide highlights places such as Old Rag Mountain, Big Meadows, and Skyland; check current park conditions and planning information before setting out.

For a road trip, the Blue Ridge Parkway follows the Blue Ridge through Virginia and North Carolina, with a slower-paced route through mountain scenery. The Appalachian Trail offers a different kind of outing: a long-distance footpath crossing the Appalachian region, with opportunities to plan shorter hikes in Virginia. Both are larger routes, so check official maps, conditions, and access details when choosing a section.

Shenandoah National Park
Mountain scenery, trails, visitor stops, and wilderness in the Blue Ridge.

Blue Ridge Parkway in Virginia
A scenic route through Virginia’s Blue Ridge, suited to a slower drive with stops along the way.

Appalachian Trail in Virginia
Explore a Virginia section of the long-distance trail; check maps and conditions before hiking.

Explore Virginia’s history

NPS destinations also trace pivotal and complicated chapters of American history. At Colonial National Historical Park, visitors can explore places associated with early English colonization and the Revolutionary War, including Historic Jamestowne and Yorktown Battlefield. Other history-focused destinations include Appomattox Court House National Historical Park, where the surrender of the Army of Northern Virginia took place in April 1865, and Petersburg National Battlefield, among the sites that interpret the Civil War.

Colonial National Historical Park
Historic places connected with early English colonization and the Revolutionary War.

Appomattox Court House National Historical Park
Explore the village and historic site associated with the 1865 surrender.

Petersburg National Battlefield
A Civil War destination in and around Petersburg.

Parks near Northern Virginia and Washington

Northern Virginia offers NPS destinations close to the capital region. Great Falls Park centers on the Potomac River’s falls and Mather Gorge, while Manassas National Battlefield Park preserves a major Civil War landscape. Prince William Forest Park offers a wooded retreat, and Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts brings live performance into the national park system. These places differ in character and activities, so use each park’s official visitor information to plan a visit.

Great Falls Park
See the Potomac’s falls and gorge, and explore a landscape with both natural and historic features.

Manassas National Battlefield Park
Visit a preserved Civil War battlefield in Northern Virginia.

Prince William Forest Park
A wooded national park destination in the Washington, D.C., region.

Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts
A national park destination known for performing arts.

Monuments, trails, and other destinations

The wider NPS collection includes memorials and historic sites as well as parks and battlefields. Virginia destinations include Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington House, Fort Monroe National Monument, and Booker T. Washington National Monument. Some NPS routes also connect places across state lines: Assateague Island National Seashore spans Virginia and Maryland, while the Captain John Smith Chesapeake National Historic Trail follows waterways across the Chesapeake Bay watershed.

For additional destinations, browse Virginia's National Park Service Sites and Virginia's National Parks and Historic Sites. The Virginia Tourism Corporation’s overview groups ideas around scenic drives and trails, historic parks, battlefields, monuments, and memorials.

Planning your visit

Start with the specific park’s official NPS page for maps, alerts, conditions, visitor services, and trip-planning details. Access, facilities, and conditions can vary by site and season; confirm current information before traveling. For a broad survey of NPS-managed destinations in the Commonwealth, use the National Park Service’s Virginia listing. Virginia Tourism Corporation’s guide is useful for discovering destinations by theme, while the NPS site is the source to consult for park-specific planning.

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References

External links

• Virginia Tourism Corporation: Virginia National Parks
• National Park Service: Virginia parks
• National Park Service: Parks in the Washington, D.C., region