Virginia is a beautiful state with a rich history and breathtaking natural beauty.

It offers many fantastic choices for a memorable driving vacation or road trip. Here are six destinations to enjoy a lovely road trip with friends and family.

Places To Hit on Your Next Virginia Road Trip

Assateague Island

Assateague Island is a barrier island in the Chesapeake Bay that lies between the Atlantic Ocean and Delaware Bay. 

Drive about the island in your car and see various wildlife, including wild ponies, deer, and birds. Birdwatchers flock to the island to observe migrating species such as Sandhill cranes and Wilson’s snipe.

Ocean temperatures mean the best time of year for swimming here is the end of June to early Sep, when the air temperature is also warm.

Throw a tent in the back of the car as there’s plenty of camping available, and you can pull up to camp at the beach. Hiking, biking, and horseback riding are among the great things to do here, as well as fishing, crabbing, and watersports.

Virginia Beach

Virginia Beach is where the Chesapeake Bay meets the Atlantic Ocean, and is a great place to stop for a coastal city vibe. It has all the great perks of a city; great food, rich history, and a huge range of arts and entertainment, while also being on the beach.

The pace slows down here, and there are multiple beaches to explore across 7 unique districts. Head to Sandbridge, south of the Boardwalk for sand dunes and dancing sea oats, and to Pungo to break up the citylife for a rural country experience.

Oceanfront is where you have all your hotels along the ocean, and where your live music, street performers and outdoor cafes are all lined up, and the Town Center is where you’ve got high-end shopping, dining, and entertainment.

The Blue Ridge Parkway

The Blue Ridge Parkway is a 469-mile road that runs through the Appalachian Mountains. It is one of the most visited National Park Service units, featuring stunning vistas and adventure opportunities.

Millions of people take this drive every year because the scenery is truly stunning; it runs along the Appalachian Mountains, and there are plenty of stops for accessing hiking routes and wildlife observation.

If hiking isn’t your style, the park also provides horseback riding tours of the surrounding area.

Shenandoah National Park & Skyline Drive

Shenandoah National Park is only 75 miles out of Washington, D.C., and once there you have access to 200,000 acres which include waterfalls, spectacular vistas, fields of wildflowers, and quiet wooded hollows. 

Hiking is the most common reason people drive in, with over 500 miles of trails, you can slot in time for both quick walks to stretch your legs, or extended backcountry camping trips.

Skyline Drive is here, which follows the ridge of the Blue Ridge Mountains for 105 miles north and south. Highly recommend you subscribe to Shenandoah’s alert system as the roads often close based on weather.

Virginia Wine Trails

Virginia has several wine trails, including six American Viticultural Areas and nearly 300 wineries. 

You will find wine trails from the Eastern Shore to the western mountains, close to charming villages, historic structures and attractions, and there are often wine and food festivals you can include. 

There are Artisanal Wineries of Rappahannock, only an hour from DC, and six wineries along the Bedford Wine Trail through the Blue Ridge Mountains and Smith Mountain Lake. The Blue Ridge Whisky Wine Loop includes distilleries as well, and the Heart of Virginia Wine Trail is a great choice if you’re around Richmond.

The biggest consideration, beyond choosing where you’ll stop, is choosing who will be your designated driver! Make sure you don’t drink and drive.

If you’re looking for a place to enjoy a road trip adventure with your car, Virginia is a perfect choice. It offers some of the best locations and scenery in the country, and there’s also plenty of history and culture for you to discover.

If you are visiting from another state, you can use car shipping services to have your car delivered immediately to your hotel.