Top attractions in Virginia
37 national parks, ski areas, museums, landmarks and natural wonders in Virginia, each with when to go, where to stay and what’s nearby. Ranked by how many people look them up and how many visit.
The 20 top attractions in Virginia
An even mix of how many people read about each place and, where it’s counted, how many visit.
Colonial Williamsburg🏛 Museum · in Williamsburg, VA70Kreaders a year7
Shenandoah National Park🏞 National Park · 6 mi from Stanley, VA1.7Mvisitors 20258
Marine Corps War Memorial📍 Landmark · in Arlington, VA54Kreaders a year9
CIA Memorial Wall📍 Landmark · in McLean, VA53Kreaders a year10
Fort Monroe National Monument🏞 National Monument · in Hampton, VA50Kreaders a year11
John F. Kennedy Eternal Flame📍 Landmark · in Arlington, VA46Kreaders a year12
George Washington Masonic National Memorial📍 Landmark · in Alexandria, VA30Kreaders a year13
Arlington House, The Robert E. Lee Memorial🏛 National Memorial · in Arlington, VA363Kvisitors 202514
Black Mountain⛰ Mountain · 7 mi from Big Stone Gap, VA22Kreaders a year15
Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts🏞 National park site · in Wolf Trap, VA437Kvisitors 202516
George Washington Birthplace National Monument🏞 National Monument · 7 mi from Cobb Island, VA72Kvisitors 202517
Manassas National Battlefield Park🏞 National park site · 2 mi from Sudley, VA473Kvisitors 202518🌲Foxstone Park🌲 Park & preserve · in Wolf Trap, VA13Kreaders a year19
Appomattox Court House National Historical Park🏞 National Historical Park · 2 mi from Appomattox, VA77Kvisitors 202520
Colonial National Historical Park🏞 National Historical Park · 1 mi from Yorktown, VA1.6Mvisitors 2025Photo credits
Appalachian Trail: Paulba. Original uploader was Paulbalegend at en.wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Arlington National Cemetery: Protoant, Public domain · Kryptos: Jim Sanborn, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center: Unknown, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Busch Gardens Williamsburg: Cjh1452000, CC BY-SA 4.0
Best to visit in October
Places with a real season where October is one of the best months: mild weather and, where the Park Service counts visitors, quieter than average.
📍 Landmark · in Arlington, VAArlington National Cemetery305K readers
📍 Landmark · in McLean, VAKryptos175K readers
🏛 Museum · 2 mi from Chantilly, VASteven F. Udvar-Hazy Center1.6M visitors (2015) · 101K readers
🎢 Theme park · 4 mi from Williamsburg, VABusch Gardens Williamsburg73K readers🏛 Museum · in Williamsburg, VAColonial Williamsburg70K readers📍 Landmark · in Arlington, VAMarine Corps War Memorial54K readers📍 Landmark · in McLean, VACIA Memorial Wall53K readers🏞 National Monument · in Hampton, VAFort Monroe National Monument50K readersPhoto credits
Arlington National Cemetery: Protoant, Public domain · Kryptos: Jim Sanborn, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center: Unknown, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Busch Gardens Williamsburg: Cjh1452000, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Colonial Williamsburg: Humberto Moreno, CC BY 2.0 · Marine Corps War Memorial: dbking, Public domain · CIA Memorial Wall: Unknown authorUnknown author, Public domain · Fort Monroe National Monument: Unknown, Public domain
.jpg){kind=link}
Most visited
Latest yearly visitor counts (National Park Service, else Wikidata).
Shenandoah National Park🏞 National Park · 6 mi from Stanley, VA1.7M20252Colonial National Historical Park🏞 National Historical Park · 1 mi from Yorktown, VA1.6M20253
Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania County Battlefields Memorial National Military Park🏛 National Military Park · in Fredericksburg, VA766K20254
Petersburg National Battlefield🏛 National Battlefield · in Petersburg, VA494K20255Manassas National Battlefield Park🏞 National park site · 2 mi from Sudley, VA473K20256Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts🏞 National park site · in Wolf Trap, VA437K20257Arlington House, The Robert E. Lee Memorial🏛 National Memorial · in Arlington, VA363K20258
Prince William Forest Park🏞 National park site · 3 mi from Quantico Base, VA339K20259
Richmond National Battlefield Park🏞 National park site · 2 mi from Montrose, VA150K202510Appomattox Court House National Historical Park🏞 National Historical Park · 2 mi from Appomattox, VA77K2025By type
Attractions in nearby states
Every attraction in Virginia
37 attractions
Appalachian Trail🌲 Park & preserve · 9 mi from Blacksburg, VA3Mvisitors2Arlington National Cemetery📍 Landmark · in Arlington, VA305Kreaders a year3Kryptos📍 Landmark · in McLean, VA175Kreaders a year4Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center🏛 Museum · 2 mi from Chantilly, VA1.6Mvisitors 20155Busch Gardens Williamsburg🎢 Theme park · 4 mi from Williamsburg, VA73Kreaders a year6Colonial Williamsburg🏛 Museum · in Williamsburg, VA70Kreaders a year7Shenandoah National Park🏞 National Park · 6 mi from Stanley, VA1.7Mvisitors 20258Marine Corps War Memorial📍 Landmark · in Arlington, VA54Kreaders a year9CIA Memorial Wall📍 Landmark · in McLean, VA53Kreaders a year10Fort Monroe National Monument🏞 National Monument · in Hampton, VA50Kreaders a year11John F. Kennedy Eternal Flame📍 Landmark · in Arlington, VA46Kreaders a year12George Washington Masonic National Memorial📍 Landmark · in Alexandria, VA30Kreaders a year13Arlington House, The Robert E. Lee Memorial🏛 National Memorial · in Arlington, VA363Kvisitors 202514Black Mountain⛰ Mountain · 7 mi from Big Stone Gap, VA22Kreaders a year15Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts🏞 National park site · in Wolf Trap, VA437Kvisitors 202516George Washington Birthplace National Monument🏞 National Monument · 7 mi from Cobb Island, VA72Kvisitors 202517Manassas National Battlefield Park🏞 National park site · 2 mi from Sudley, VA473Kvisitors 202518🌲Foxstone Park🌲 Park & preserve · in Wolf Trap, VA13Kreaders a year19Appomattox Court House National Historical Park🏞 National Historical Park · 2 mi from Appomattox, VA77Kvisitors 202520Colonial National Historical Park🏞 National Historical Park · 1 mi from Yorktown, VA1.6Mvisitors 202521🏺Cactus Hill🏺 Ancient site · 5 mi from Stony Creek, VA11Kreaders a year22
Great Falls Park🌲 Park & preserve · in Great Falls, VA11Kreaders a year23Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania County Battlefields Memorial National Military Park🏛 National Military Park · in Fredericksburg, VA766Kvisitors 202524
American Civil War Museum🏛 Museum · in Richmond, VA9.9Kreaders a year25
Colonial Parkway🌲 Park & preserve · 4 mi from Williamsburg, VA9.1Kreaders a year26Petersburg National Battlefield🏛 National Battlefield · in Petersburg, VA494Kvisitors 202527
Franklin and Armfield Office🏛 Museum · in Alexandria, VA8.8Kreaders a year28
Breaks Interstate Park🌲 State park · 1 mi from Breaks, VA8.4Kreaders a year29Prince William Forest Park🏞 National park site · 3 mi from Quantico Base, VA339Kvisitors 202530Richmond National Battlefield Park🏞 National park site · 2 mi from Montrose, VA150Kvisitors 202531
Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge🌲 Park & preserve · 2 mi from Chincoteague, VA6.9Kreaders a year32
Netherlands Carillon📍 Landmark · in Arlington, VA6.6Kreaders a year33
Cedar Creek and Belle Grove National Historical Park🏞 National Historical Park · in Middletown, VA2.6Kreaders a year34
Booker T. Washington National Monument🏞 National Monument · in Westlake Corner, VA22Kvisitors 202535
Maggie L. Walker National Historic Site🏛 National Historic Site · in Richmond, VA4.7Kvisitors 202536⛷Massanutten Resort⛷ Ski area · in Massanutten, VA37⛷Wintergreen Ski Resort⛷ Ski area · in Wintergreen, VAHow we rank: an even mix of how many people read about each place on Wikipedia (a typical month, so one viral week can’t sway it) and, where it’s counted, how many visit (National Park Service for park units, else Wikidata, last 5 years). Places without a visitor count rank on readers alone. Closed, destroyed and private places stay listed but aren’t ranked. Sources: National Park Service · OpenSkiMap / OpenStreetMap contributors · Wikidata · Wikipedia · photos via Wikimedia Commons.
Attractions in Virginia
What are the top attractions in Virginia?
Appalachian Trail, Arlington National Cemetery, Kryptos, Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center and Busch Gardens Williamsburg, ranked by how many people read about them and, where counted, how many visit.
What is the most visited attraction in Virginia?
Shenandoah National Park, with about 1,682,152 visitors in 2025 (National Park Service).
How many national parks are in Virginia?
1 national park (Shenandoah National Park), plus 14 other National Park Service sites.
Where should I go in Virginia in October?
Arlington National Cemetery, Kryptos and Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center: October is one of their best months, with mild weather.