Family Fun In Virginia's Chesapeake Bay

A Chesapeake Bay family vacation is a water-lover's delight! Myriad marinas and boat ramps provide opportunities for motorboating and sailing. Look for native wildlife, such as bald eagles, soaring majestically overhead during a canoe or kayak excursion.

 

Colonial Beach

Starting at the northern tip of the Northen Neck, visit the town of Colonial Beach, one of the few remaining small seaport towns on the Potomac River.

Travel southeast to Westmoreland State Park and stand on the park's Horsehead Cliffs, which overlook the Potomac River. Down the road a way is George Washington's Birthplace National Monument, a colonial farm where costumed interpreters recreate the sights, sounds and smells of 18th-century plantation life.

 

King George County

Practically nextdoor is Stratford Hall Plantation, birthplace of Robert E. Lee and boyhood home of Richard Henry Lee and Francis Lightfoot Lee, the only brothers to sign the Declaration of Independence. Costumed interpreters lead guests through the Great House. The site also includes nature trails, a gristmill and the Log Cabin restaurant.

Also in King George County is the Caledon Natural Area, summer home to one of the largest concentrations of American bald eagles on the East Coast!

 

Westmoreland County

A bit further southeast in Westmoreland County is the Westmoreland County Museum & Library, the oldest museum in the Northern Neck and a great place to find out more about the area.

Across the Piankatank River is Gwynn's Island. Visit Gwynn's Island Museum, which served as the island's first public school. Children can see what some school supplies looked like 100 years ago, as well as Indian and colonial aritfacts, maritime and Merchant Marine displays.

 

Mathews County

In Mathews County is the New Point Comfort Nature Preserve and the New Point Comfort Lighthouse, commissioned by Thomas Jefferson in 1801 and the third oldest lighthouse still standing on the Chesapeake Bay.