Places to visit with kids in Washington DC, Maryland & Virginia.

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	Kids & Family Activities at Virginia
	Virginia Beach
	Colonial Williamsburg
	Busch Gardens Williamsburg
	Water Country USA
	Paramount's King Dominion
	Virginia Zoo
	Children's Museum of Richmond
	Natural Bridge/Toy Museum
	Mill Mountain Zoo

Virginia Beach

With 35 miles of beautiful coastline, Virginia Beach is a family beach resort with long sandy beaches - Chesapeake Bay Beach, Virginia Beach Resort and Sandbridge - and sparkling Atlantic Ocean. Enjoy swimming, surfing, boating, sailing, kayaking, fishing, cycling, running and skating along this stretch of Virginia's Coast. Stroll, bike or skate along the Virginia Beach Oceanfront - a vacation spot where families can relax on the beach and enjoy rides at the amusement parks, an amphitheater, golf courses, an aquarium, restaurants and fun activities. Families seeking quiet spots can catch rays in Sandbridge and at Fort Story, a U.S. Army base with a peaceful public beach. Enjoy family outings to Virginia Science Museum, Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel, Mariners Museum and the Cape Henry Lighthouse. Spot 300 species of birds in Back Bay National Wildlife Refuge, a barrier island off the Virginia coastline with over 9,000 acres of beach, dunes, woodland, fields, marshlands and hiking trails. The refuge is habitat for a diversity of wildlife, including threatened and endangered species such as loggerhead sea turtles, peregrine falcons, and bald eagles, and 10,000 snow geese and ducks. See stingrays and sea turtles and find out about native wildlife at the Virginia Aquarium, climb an 18th-century lighthouse at Fort Story and cross the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel - one of the longest bridge-tunnels in the world and a modern engineering marvel - to Virginia''s Eastern shore. Explore First Landing State Park and False Cape, a mile wide barrier between the Ocean and Back Bay with miles of pristine beach and hiking/biking trails. Enjoy sweeping views of the sand dunes and ocean from the 72-foot Old Cape Henry Lighthouse, built in 1792, or see the humpback whales at the mouth of Chesapeake Bay. Hop aboard a sport fishing charter, enjoy summer beach concerts and shop for beach and surf gear. [Top]

Colonial Williamsburg

Historic Williamsburg is a fun family vacation spot with diverse entertainment and attractions. Journey back in time and you discover the restored capital of 18th century England''s largest and most important colony. Enjoy a sightseeing tour of Colonial Williamsburg and see more than 500 restored buildings and accurate accounts of life in the 17th and 18th centuries. This vast outdoor living-history museum, with public buildings, private homes, stores, taverns and gardens, is brought to life with tradesmen and historical interpreters in full period costume. Relive the adventure of 1607 when 104 Englishmen dropped anchor on the banks of the James River and created America's first English colony in Jamestown. Explore life at the dawn of the 17th century at the recreated colonial fort, three ships and a Powhatan Indian Village at Jamestown Settlement. Learn about the people who founded Jamestown through film, gallery exhibits and living history. Take a guided tour of Yorktown Battlefield, site of the last major battle of the American Revolutionary War. Yorktown Victory Center chronicles America''s struggle for independence and the American Revolution with exhibits of the revolutionary era and accounts of "Yorktown''s sunken fleet," lost during the 1781 siege of Yorktown. [Top]

Busch Gardens Williamsburg

This world-famous European-themed amusement park is Virginia's ultimate family attractions. With dozens of adrenaline boosting rides, tons of entertaining stage shows, delightful attractions and shops, and an array of delicious foods, Busch Gardens has won countless awards by amusement park critics. Have adrenaline-pumping adventures on thrill rides such as Griffon, Loch Ness Monster, The Big Bad Wolf, Alpengeist - the world''s tallest, most twisted inverted roller coaster - and Apollo''s Chariot - a thrilling hypercoaster. Enjoy family rides like Escape from Pompeii and Corkscrew Hill, a magical and mystical Celtic journey. Check out the high-energy dance show "Emerald Beat," meet the Budweiser Clydesdales, and stroll through the delightful French village of Aquitaine with charming shops and spectacular evening shows in the Royal Palace Theatre. Visit www.buschgardens.com. [Top]

Water Country USA

Cool of at Water Country USA, the mid-Atlantic''s largest family water play park, featuring over 35 state-of-the-art water rides and attractions set to a 1950s and ''60s surf theme. Ride the country's wettest and wildest water rides - exciting slides, pipes, tubing rivers, wave pools and heated swimming pools. Float down Hubba Hubba Highway, enjoy a thrilling slide down Wild Thang, race down the super-speed slide Nitro Racer, catch a wave on Big Daddy Falls and boogie away on Rock ''n'' Roll Island. Water Country USA also features Surfer's Bay - Virginia''s largest wave pool - the Adventure Isle obstacle course, "Island Quest" dive show, lounge chairs for sunbathing, a theatre with music performances and stage shows, and the Catalina Grill. Visit www.watercountryusa.com. [Top]

Paramount's King Dominion

Voted Virginia's most exciting theme park, Paramount's King Dominion is a 400-acre adventure park with family entertainment, hair-raising thrill rides, a wet ‘n wild water park, sizzling stage shows, 13 wild coasters - the coolest collection on the East Coast - and an array of family rides, shows, restaurants and events. Adrenaline pumping coasters such as Dominator, Anaconda, Berserker, Hurler and Flight of Fear will thrill the teens, while family rides like Avalanche, Eiffel Tower and Flying Eagles put smiles on young faces as you soar about the sights and enjoy breathtaking views. Splash down at WaterWorks, a water-themed park with more than 20 acres of water slides, rides and attractions such as Tidal Wave Bay, Tornado, Pipeline Peak and Zoom Flume. Enjoy dazzling family entertainment and shows or hug your favorite Nickelodeon characters. Visit www.kingsdominion.com. [Top]

Virginia Zoo

A wonderful family attraction, the Virginia Zoo exhibits over 400 animals on its beautiful Norfolk grounds. For more than a century, the Virginia Zoo has devoted its programs and presentations to wildlife, conservation and education. The Virginia Zoo displays 400 animals, representing 110 different species, ranging from African elephants to Siberian tigers. Experience the Africa exhibit, the most exciting expansion in the Virginia Zoo''s history, and meet nine new species to the Zoo, including a zebra, lion, giraffe, red river hog and meerkat. The Zoo offers a variety of children's' programs and activities and special events, such as Rock n' Roar, live music with fantastic eats under a canopy of stars. Visit www.virginiazoo.org. [Top]

Children's Museum of Richmond

The Children's Museum of Richmond inspires children's impaginations through hands-on exhibits, creative play environments and multi-sensory experiences that foster discovery and exploration of the world around us all. Explore the ntaure of Virginia at the Great Outdoors exhibit, where kids tour a Virginia limestone cave with beautiful stalactites and stalagmites, float a miniature boat down the James River through Richmind, climb a tall tree and crawl through a riverbed to find an aquarium swimming with aqautic life. Discover the Backyard with a big sandbox, water squirts and flowing stream, musical instruments, a performance stage, and weaving and painting with water. Stop by the Feeling Good Neighborhood, Apple-a-Day-Orchard and Art Studio, where children discover artistic expression by creating and exploring art. Visit www.c-mor.org. [Top]

Natural Bridge/Toy Museum

One of the 7 natural wonders of the world and a Virginia Historical Landmark, Natural Bridge is a geological formation in the mountains of Shenandoah Valley - where Cedar Creek carved out a gorge in the mountainous limestone to form an arch 215 feet high and 90 feet wide. Walk throough this natural wonder of horizontal limestone which canopies U.S. Highway 11. See where its intitaled by George Washington and enjoy the mile hike along Cedar Creek Trail to Lost River and Saltpeter Cave. Explore the spectacular landscape of Natural Bridge Caverns, the deepest on the East Coast, as you descend 34 stories into the earth. Kids adore the Toy Museum at Natural Bridge - the largest collection of childhood memorabilia on display in the world - which features sets and series of collectible toys since 1975. See hundreds of thousands of parts to 45,000 toys, games and dolls that date from 1740 to 2000. Learn about the sacred site of the Monacan Indians at the Native American Village and experience the night lighting spectacle of Drama of Creation, when Natural Bridge is transformed into luminous living stone. Visit www.naturalbridgeva.com. [Top]

Mill Mountain Zoo

On top of Roanoke''s Mill Mountain, off Blue Ridge Parkway and alongside the famous Roanoke Star, the five acre Mill Mountain Zoo exhibits over 50 species of mammals, birds and reptiles. Your family will enjoy seeing animals such as a Siberian Tiger, Snow Leopards, Red Pandas, Japanese Macaques, Bald Eagle and many more amazing creatures. Families can also enjoy the wildflower garden, scenic picnic facilities, a breathtaking overlook view of the Roanoke Valley, special events and educational programs throughout the year. Hop on board the ZooChoo train and enjoy a sightseeing ride around the beautiful zoo grounds. [Top]

Our Hotels in Virginia

1-800-272-6232

From the vibrant suburbs of Washington, DC to the magnificent coastline of Virginia Beach and Ocean City, the Mid-Atlantic region offers a diversity of family vacation retreats and family-friendly hotels. Whether you are looking for a high-tech business hotel near the nation's capital or a relaxing family vacation getaway by the beach, the Ramada Hotels of the Mid-Atlantic offer beautiful accommodations, impressive services and deluxe lifestyle amenities everywhere your family roams in Virginia, Maryland and the Washington, DC Area.

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