Fall is always special, but it’s particularly special in a few places in America: New England, the Northwest—and Virginia.
Beginning in October, Thomas Jefferson’s home state is a great place for you and your family to enjoy the crisp and crackle of fall. Says Alisa Bailey, president and CEO of the Virginia Tourism Corporation: “For families, a Virginia vacation means more time to spend with those you love and completely connect while visiting iconic historic sites, outdoor activities and traditional favorites like amusement parks and museums.”
Bailey suggests a few of the many events and places in spectacular Virginia.
From Oct. 8–10, the Richmond Folk Festival is a free multi-cultural celebration of traditional music, dance, food and crafts. The festival features 30 acts throughout the weekend on six outdoor stages.
At the Fall Foliage Bike Festival, Oct.15–17, in Staunton, “Queen City” of the Shenandoah Valley, enjoy the shops, theater, restaurants as well as the bike event.
In Mount Vernon, the Fall Harvest Family Days are Oct. 23–24. The four-acre George Washington Pioneer Farmer site celebrates the harvest season with free horse-drawn wagon rides, a straw-bale maze, outdoor cooking demonstrations and an opportunity to meet “General Washington” himself.
A number of venues invite you and the children to partake in apple-picking. On Oct 16–17, the Apple Harvest & Apple Butter Festival at Drumheller’s Orchard in Lovingston showcases many varieties, including red and golden delicious, as well as features wagon rides to the pumpkin patch and the five-acre Corn Maze.
Sinkland Farms in Christiansburg rolls out the area’s largest and longest standing pumpkin festival, with 18 acres of pumpkins, squash and gourds, hayrides, mazes, pony rides, face painting and music.
Halloween is a howl, in Virginia, too. Howl-O-Scream at Bush Gardens Williamsburg, through Oct. 31, transforms the park after dark into a scream. Don’t miss Colonial Williamsburg nearby.
Also through the end of the month, visit Halloween Haunt at Kings Dominion, with scare zones such as the Voodoo Swamp, The Harvest, CarnEvil, Feary Tales and Central Stalkway. Or, try the nine mazes such as Elvira’s Superstition and The Freak Show Deluxe.
Events for the younger children are at Great Country Farms in Loudoun County, which offers hayrides, u-pick fruits and vegetables, a 2,800-square-foot Pumpkin Jumpin’ Pillow, mazes, slides, farm animals and a giant chess set.
In Bluemont–Luray, The Garden Maze at Luray Caverns is one of the Mid-Atlantic’s largest garden mazes at a half-mile long. And, in Oak Grove, at Westmoreland Berry Farm, pick seasonally, picnic along the river and hike trails in the Vorhees Nature Preserve.
For everyone, the Blue Ridge Parkway and Shenandoah National Park are justly famous. In fall, particularly, words fail.
But also don’t forget the “Grand Canyon of the South” at Breaks Interstate National Park on the Virginia/Kentucky border — one of only two interstate parks nationwide, with 500 acres of greenwood lands and mountain scenery.
And, Cumberland Gap National Park comprises approximately 20,000 acres and 70 miles of hiking trails. This historic mountain pass has been used by wildlife, Native Americans and by settlers, including the inimitable Daniel Boone.
For more information, see www.Virginia.org.
