Vacation ideas
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Anonymous
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I need to book a weeklong vacation this summer that can be enjoyed by a 5 year old, a 3 year old, and my husband and I, and it must be a place we can also easily take an infant (so everything should be stroller accessible because I don't want to be baby-wearing in the summer heat). Must be drivable from the DC area, because we're NOT doing an airplane with three kids. Not happening. It can't be a super long drive because of the infant so we would prefer a location in Virginia. Husband's only request is proximity to water (so a pool, beach, or nearby waterpark, etc.). The 5 year old is currently obsessed with cabins and "nature" so cabin accommodations or proximity to a zoo or stroller-accessible nature trails or something like that would be a plus. The 3 year old is really into transportation of all kinds (boats, trains, trucks, planes...) if that can somehow be worked in (see battleship note below). Some possibilities we're considering, but looking for other options:
Colonial Beach (beach) Virginia Beach (beach, battleship) Pohick Bay Regional Park (cabins, waterpark) Cacapon Resort State Park in WV (cabins, pool) Westmoreland State Park(cabins, beach) |
Anonymous
| You need a good air bb outfitted for kids. Any of the places would work. |
Anonymous
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What about Jellystone in Luray?
Water, nearby zoo, cabins, driving distance, pools, splash pad? https://campluray.com/ |
Anonymous
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We did Colonial Beach with a 10 month old in August. The drive was as short and water calm, but there were jelly fish and poop on the beach, so the water aspect was lacking.
Berkeley Springs and surrounding areas are nice. There are some summer retreat areas in state parks just south of there where I think I’d enjoy a summer vacation with little ones. |
Anonymous
| We did OBX with kids those ages (infant was OK but not fabulous in the car). |
Anonymous
| First, this is a trip, not a vacation. Jellystone is a good suggestion. I haven't been to VA beach boardwalk in years (we go North), but that might be an option. You could daytrip to "nature." |
Anonymous
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Cape Charles, VA could also work well. There is a calm bay beach. Lots of nature options. Most rentals there are geared toward families.
The Young House Love couple used to have a rental there and it is perfect for families with lots of small children. Nearly all restaurants are family friendly. https://www.chesapeakebaymagazine.com/cape-charles-virginia/ |
Anonymous
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I'm more of a city person for vacations, so I would and have done Newport News/Hampton:
The Virginia Living Museum - exhibits, boardwalk animal trail, dinosaur trail and play area Mariner's Museum - tons of ship models, USS Monitor replica you can walk on the deck of, playground has a wooden boat, a few short accessible trails overlooking the lake. Best part is it's $1 admission so low stakes as far as kid attention span. These are also close to the Lion's Bridge on the James River where you can have a picnic and see lots of birds around. Bluebird Gap Farm (free unless you want to feed animals- need quarters) - animals, regular playground and some other play areas , water (creek) - I think the path in the woods would be okay for strollers but you'd have to verify. Rest of it would be fine. Virgina Air and Space Center - haven't managed to get my kids there but went as a kid Air Power Park (free) which also has Waterwalk trail Could day trip to Portsmouth for their children's museum which has trains and a container shipping interactive thingy. Buckroe Beach -on the bay, easier than ocean for me but depends what you want Day trip to Williamsburg for Water Country or check if Great Wolf Lodge has day passes. Kidsburg in Williamsburg is a nice playground If you want to walk in Colonial Williamsburg there are animals you can see without paying for admission. |
Anonymous
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Jellystone is a good option, although the cabins tend to book up early. The one out at Natural Bridge is on the river. The one at Luray doesn't have the river access, but still has plenty of pools and slides and mountains.
Cape Charles in VA is another option. The water is calm and it's an easy to navigate town. You could do a day trip to the NASA place on Wallops Island (if rockets count as 'transportation' for your 3 yo) and see the horses at Assateague for nature. You would NOT want to do any of this in August, when the jellyfish are plentiful and the mosquitos are out of control. Another option might be Snowshoe. I've never been there in the summer but they're supposed to have lots of activities, including a pool and a lake. You could do the Cass Scenic Railroad tour, which is about 30 minutes from Snowshoe. It doesn't check your box for being entirely stroller friendly, but it's also not going to be as hot there. |
Anonymous
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11:52 again. If you day trip to Portsmouth from NN, I forgot it has some ships docked there, at least one you can go on, but I have not done it.
https://portsmouthlightship.com/ |
Anonymous
| With three young kids, presumably who don't swim, you're definitely going to want a lifeguard. |
Anonymous
Nope. And we loved OBX post infant stage. |
Anonymous
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Anonymous
| Lake Anna? |
Anonymous
| Deep Creek Lake is great for those ages. |