Five regional programs fill in the gaps between the National Parks and highlight some of the less-known but no less interesting stories Virginia has to offer. Hundreds of Trails' interpretive signs give visitors the chance to explore Virginia's back roads, learning some history while driving and walking through some of the most beautiful landscapes anywhere. Each regional Trail is outlined in free full-color maps available at state welcome centers and local/regional visitor centers. Find out more about Virginia's Civil War Trails program!

Peninsula Campaign | Avenue of Invasion
Crossroads of Conflict | Lee vs. Grant | Lee's Retreat

1862 Peninsula Campaign, Civil War in Tidewater

Drive the tour of the Peninsula Campaign, beginning at Fort Monroe in Hampton and ending on the bloody battlefields near Richmond. Several interpreted stops relating to the March 1862 Battle of Hampton Roads - the first action between two ironclad ships, the USS Monitor and the CSS Virginia - are available.

• Lee Hall Mansion, Newport News
• Endview Plantation, Newport News
• USS Monitor and The Mariners' Museum, Newport News
• Fort Monroe Casemate Museum, Hampton

Shenandoah Valley, Avenue of Invasion

Trails stops uncover the often desperate action in the great breadbasket, the Valley of Virginia. Highlights are Stonewall Jackson's famous 1862 Valley Campaign and the final Union campaigns in 1864.

• Shenandoah Valley Battlefields National Historic District
• New Market Battlefield State Park and Hall of Valor Civil War Museum, New Market
• Virginia Military Institute Museum, Lexington
• Cedar Creek Battlefield, Middletown
• Hunter's Raid Tour

Northern Virginia, Crossroads of Conflict

The events leading up to the Battles of Manassas and Mosby Country, the defenses of Washington, and many other topics are explained at dozens of Trails sites from the rolling hills of Fauquier County to the DC suburbs.

• Fort Ward Museum, Alexandria
• Arlington House, Arlington
• Ball's Bluff Regional Park, Leesburg
• Mosby Heritage Area, Marshall

Lee vs. Grant, The 1864 Campaign

Central Virginia is considered the bloodiest ground in the country - the 1864 Overland Campaign began west of Fredericksburg and ended with the siege of Petersburg.

• Museum of the Confederacy, Richmond
• Virginia Historical Society, Richmond
• American Civil War Center at Historic Tredegar, Richmond
• Pamplin Historical Park & The Museum of the Civil War Soldier, Petersburg

Lee's Retreat, The Final Campaigns

Cover the route of Robert E. Lee's final march from Petersburg to Appomattox. Visit the battlefield at Sailor's Creek, where Lee lost a substantial part of his army, and explore the 1864 Wilson/Kautz Raid, as well as the critical battle at Lynchburg.

• High Bridge Trail State Park, Green Bay
• Sailor's Creek Battlefield Historic State Park, Rice
• Staunton River Battlefield State Park, Randolph
• Danville Museum of Fine Arts and History, Danville

The National Parks | Civil War in Virginia Timeline