Places to visit with kids in Virginia.

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	Kids & Family Activities at Virginia
	Virginia Beach
	Colonial Williamsburg / Jamestown / Yorktown
	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 destination with long sandy beaches including Chesapeake Bay Beach, Virginia Beach Resort and Sandbridge. Enjoy swimming, surfing, boating, fishing, cycling, running and skating along Virginia's Coast. Stroll, bike or skate along Virginia Beach Oceanfront - where families relax on the beach and enjoy amusement parks, an amphitheater, golf courses, an aquarium, restaurants and activities. Families 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 Cape Henry Lighthouse. Spot 300 species of birds in Back Bay National Wildlife Refuge, a barrier island with 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, bald eagles, and 10,000 snow geese and ducks. See stingrays, sea turtles and native wildlife at the Virginia Aquarium and climb an 18th-century lighthouse at Fort Story. Cross the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel - one of the longest bridge-tunnels in the world and a modern marvel - to Virginia's Eastern shore. Explore First Landing State Park and False Cape, a mile wide barrier to the Back Bay with miles of pristine beach and hiking/biking trails. Enjoy sweeping views of sand dunes and ocean from the 72-foot Old Cape Henry Lighthouse, built in 1792, or see humpback whales at the mouth of Chesapeake Bay. Hop aboard a sport fishing charter, enjoy summer beach concerts and shop for surf gear. [Top]

Colonial Williamsburg / Jamestown / Yorktown

Historic Williamsburg is a family vacation spot with diverse entertainment and attractions. Discover the restored capital of 18th century England's largest and most important colony. Enjoy a sightseeing tour of Colonial Williamsburg and see 500 restored buildings and accurate accounts of life in the 17th and 18th centuries. This outdoor living-history museum, with public buildings, private homes, stores, taverns and gardens, is brought to life with tradesmen and historical interpreters in 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 with exhibits of the American Revolution and accounts of the 1781 siege of Yorktown. [Top]

Busch Gardens Williamsburg

This European-themed amusement park is Virginia's ultimate family attraction. With dozens of adrenaline boosting rides, entertaining stage shows, delightful attractions and shops, and delicious foods, Busch Gardens has won countless awards by amusement park critics. Have 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 Budweiser Clydesdales, and stroll through the French village of Aquitaine with charming shops and 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 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 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

Children's Museum of Richmond inspires children's imaginations through hands-on exhibits, creative play environments and sensory experiences that foster discovery and exploration of the world around us all. Explore the nature 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 Richmond, climb a tall tree and crawl through a riverbed to find an aquarium swimming with aquatic 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 through this natural wonder, which canopies U.S. Highway 11. See where it's initialed 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. The largest collection of childhood memorabilia in the world, Toy Museum at Natural Bridge features 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 a 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 magnificent coastline of Virginia Beach to the historic sites of Alexandria, Ramada Hotels of Virginia offers family-friendly hotels everywhere your family roams in the Commonwealth. Whether you are looking for an inviting hotel near Williamsburg or a relaxing vacation getaway by the beach, Ramada Hotels of Virginia offer comfortable, contemporary accommodations, impressive services and deluxe lifestyle amenities like Wi-Fi, breakfast, pools and hot tubs and fitness facilities. Grab the kids, hop in the car and head to our delightful Virginia hotels.

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