Virginia

Top attractions in Virginia

185 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.

Parks & monuments 21Mountains & skiing 4Natural wonders 3Things to do 124History 33

Attractions

185

179 ranked

National Park Service sites

1 national park

Most visited

Shenandoah National Park

1.7M visitors in 2025

Top ranked

Appalachian Trail

3M visitors · 307K readers

Ranked

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.

All 185 →

Park & preserve · 9 mi from Blacksburg, VAAppalachian Trail3M visitors · 307K readers

2 Landmark · in Arlington, VAArlington National Cemetery305K readers

3 Landmark · 5 mi from Paris, VAMount Weather Emergency Operations Center127K readers

4 Landmark · in Arlington, VATomb of the Unknown Soldier127K readers

5 Museum · 2 mi from Chantilly, VASteven F. Udvar-Hazy Center1.6M visitors (2015) · 98K readers

Kings Dominion Theme park · 6 mi from Ashland, VA79Kreaders a year 7

Colonial Williamsburg Museum · in Williamsburg, VA72Kreaders a year 8

Busch Gardens Williamsburg Theme park · 4 mi from Williamsburg, VA65Kreaders a year 9

Marine Corps War Memorial Landmark · in Arlington, VA54Kreaders a year 10

CIA Memorial Wall Landmark · in McLean, VA54Kreaders a year 11

Pentagon Memorial Landmark · in Arlington, VA50Kreaders a year 12

Hollywood Cemetery Landmark · in Richmond, VA50Kreaders a year 13

Fort Monroe National Monument National Monument · in Hampton, VA47Kreaders a year 14

Lane Stadium Stadium & arena · in Blacksburg, VA47Kreaders a year 15

John F. Kennedy Eternal Flame Landmark · in Arlington, VA42Kreaders a year 16

USS Texas Ancient site · 9 mi from Tangier, VA39Kreaders a year 17

Shenandoah National Park National Park · 6 mi from Stanley, VA1.7Mvisitors 2025 18

Luray Caverns Cave · in Luray, VA33Kreaders a year 19

Mountain Lake Lake · 7 mi from Eggleston, VA32Kreaders a year 20

Cameron Run Regional Park Park & preserve · in Alexandria, VA32Kreaders a year

Photo credits

Appalachian Trail: Paulba. Original uploader was Paulbalegend at en.wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Arlington National Cemetery: Protoant, Public domain · Mount Weather Emergency Operations Center: Unknown, Public domain · Tomb of the Unknown Soldier: Arlington National Cemetery, Public domain · Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center: Unknown, CC BY-SA 3.0

This month

Best to visit in November

Places with a real season where November is one of the best months: mild weather and, where the Park Service counts visitors, quieter than average.

Park & preserve · in Chesapeake, VAGreat Dismal Swamp National Wildlife Refuge8K readers

Garden · in Chesapeake, VAChesapeake Arboretum1.5K readers

Photo credits

Great Dismal Swamp National Wildlife Refuge: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Northeast Region, CC BY 2.0 · Chesapeake Arboretum: Puddin Tain, CC BY-SA 2.0

Ranked

Most visited

Latest yearly visitor counts (National Park Service, else Wikidata).

Shenandoah National Park National Park · 6 mi from Stanley, VA1.7M2025 2

Colonial National Historical Park National Historical Park · 1 mi from Yorktown, VA1.6M2025 3

Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania County Battlefields Memorial National Military Park National Military Park · in Fredericksburg, VA766K2025 4

Water Country USA Theme park · 4 mi from Williamsburg, VA730K2024 5

Petersburg National Battlefield National Battlefield · in Petersburg, VA494K2025 6

Manassas National Battlefield Park National park site · 2 mi from Sudley, VA473K2025 7

Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts National park site · in Wolf Trap, VA437K2025 8

Virginia Museum of Fine Arts Museum · in Richmond, VA411K2021 9

Arlington House, The Robert E. Lee Memorial National Memorial · in Arlington, VA363K2025 10

Prince William Forest Park National park site · 3 mi from Quantico Base, VA339K2025

Browse

By type

Parks & monuments21 · Appalachian Trail Mountains & skiing4 · Mount Rogers Natural wonders3 · Luray Caverns Things to do124 · Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center History33 · Arlington National Cemetery

Keep exploring

Attractions in nearby states

All of America →

District of Columbia 161United States Triumphal Arch Maryland 116Northwest Stadium Delaware 22Fort Christina West Virginia 39Dolly Sods Wilderness Pennsylvania 328Fallingwater North Carolina 137Queen Anne's Revenge

Every attraction in Virginia

185 attractions

Appalachian Trail Park & preserve · 9 mi from Blacksburg, VA3Mvisitors 2

Arlington National Cemetery Landmark · in Arlington, VA305Kreaders a year 3

Mount Weather Emergency Operations Center Landmark · 5 mi from Paris, VA127Kreaders a year 4

Tomb of the Unknown Soldier Landmark · in Arlington, VA127Kreaders a year 5

Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center Museum · 2 mi from Chantilly, VA1.6Mvisitors 2015 6

Kings Dominion Theme park · 6 mi from Ashland, VA79Kreaders a year 7

Colonial Williamsburg Museum · in Williamsburg, VA72Kreaders a year 8

Busch Gardens Williamsburg Theme park · 4 mi from Williamsburg, VA65Kreaders a year 9

Marine Corps War Memorial Landmark · in Arlington, VA54Kreaders a year 10

CIA Memorial Wall Landmark · in McLean, VA54Kreaders a year 11

Pentagon Memorial Landmark · in Arlington, VA50Kreaders a year 12

Hollywood Cemetery Landmark · in Richmond, VA50Kreaders a year 13

Fort Monroe National Monument National Monument · in Hampton, VA47Kreaders a year 14

Lane Stadium Stadium & arena · in Blacksburg, VA47Kreaders a year 15

John F. Kennedy Eternal Flame Landmark · in Arlington, VA42Kreaders a year 16

USS Texas Ancient site · 9 mi from Tangier, VA39Kreaders a year 17

Shenandoah National Park National Park · 6 mi from Stanley, VA1.7Mvisitors 2025 18

Luray Caverns Cave · in Luray, VA33Kreaders a year 19

Mountain Lake Lake · 7 mi from Eggleston, VA32Kreaders a year 20

Cameron Run Regional Park Park & preserve · in Alexandria, VA32Kreaders a year 21

Smith Mountain Lake Lake · 7 mi from Penhook, VA30Kreaders a year 22

Lake Fairfax Park Theme park · in Reston, VA30Kreaders a year 23

Skyline Drive Scenic drive · 3 mi from Stanley, VA30Kreaders a year 24

Scott Stadium Stadium & arena · in University of Virginia, VA30Kreaders a year 25

George Washington Masonic National Memorial Landmark · in Alexandria, VA29Kreaders a year 26

Jamestown Settlement Museum · 5 mi from Williamsburg, VA28Kreaders a year 27

Werowocomoco Ancient site · 7 mi from Gloucester Courthouse, VA27Kreaders a year 28

Mount Rogers Mountain · 6 mi from Troutdale, VA26Kreaders a year 29

Robert E. Lee Monument Landmark · in Richmond, VA26Kreaders a year 30

United States Penitentiary Ancient site · 4 mi from Pennington Gap, VA25Kreaders a year 31

White House of the Confederacy Museum · in Richmond, VA25Kreaders a year 32

MacArthur Memorial Museum · in Norfolk, VA24Kreaders a year 33

Black Mountain Mountain · 7 mi from Big Stone Gap, VA22Kreaders a year 34

Richmond Coliseum Stadium & arena · in Richmond, VA22Kreaders a year 35

National Museum of the Marine Corps Museum · 2 mi from Quantico Base, VA22Kreaders a year 36

United States Air Force Memorial Landmark · in Arlington, VA18Kreaders a year 37

Norfolk Scope Stadium & arena · in Norfolk, VA16Kreaders a year 38

Henricus Ancient site · 4 mi from Enon, VA16Kreaders a year 39

John Paul Jones Arena Stadium & arena · in University of Virginia, VA16Kreaders a year 40

Victims of Terrorist Attack on the Pentagon Memorial Landmark · in Arlington, VA15Kreaders a year

How 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.

Common questions

Attractions in Virginia

What are the top attractions in Virginia?

Appalachian Trail, Arlington National Cemetery, Mount Weather Emergency Operations Center, Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center, 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 November?

Great Dismal Swamp National Wildlife Refuge and Chesapeake Arboretum: November is one of their best months, with mild weather.