Best Day Trips From Washington DC (Within 2 hours)
These day trips from Washington DC are all realistic to visit in a single day — no overnight stay required. Each destination is within about two hours of DC and works well for travelers who want to explore nearby history, nature, and family-friendly attractions without packing bags or booking a hotel.
There is so much to do in Washington DC that most people end up visiting for a number of days. While DC is wonderful, the area around it is steeped in history and cultural sites. Even if you have just one day to spare on your Washington DC trip, make room for one of these day trips from Washington DC.
Best Day Trips from Washington DC (Quick Picks)
• Closest & easiest: Old Town Alexandria, National Harbor
• Best outdoor escape: Great Falls Park, Harpers Ferry
• Best for families: Annapolis, National Aquarium
• Best history fix: Mount Vernon, Manassas Battlefield
• Best scenic drive: Skyline Drive (Front Royal section)
Annapolis
This seaport town is just a hop skip and a jump form Washington DC and is best known as the home of the US Naval Academy–and the US Naval Academy is the very first place you should visit. Free tours are available year round on the gorgeous campus. The tour takes a little over an hour and is heavy with naval memorabilia.
Visit downtown Annapolis by taking a trolley tour of the old town. This tour detailing the history of Annapolis focuses on the architecture of the town. Annapolis has the highest concentration of Georgian architecture in the United States.
Watch the weekly yacht races on Wednesday nights, or take a 2 hours cruise around the coast line on one of many daily cruises. If you want a shorter ride, you can take a water taxi just to get out and see Annapolis from the water.
National Aquarium
The National Aquarium is also known as the Baltimore Aquarium and is world famous. It is unique because it has recreated very realistic habitats for the sea life. There is a coral reef, a tropical rain forest, and an open ocean display that has large sharks. The large dolphin habitat is one of the biggest exhibits at the aquarium and will delight your kids.
The price to visit the aquarium is steep ($39.99 for adults and $24.99 for children) but there are always ongoing discounts. My favorite is the half price Friday night discount that begins at 5 pm on Friday evenings. Check the website here for ongoing discounts, including Maryland residents discounts, military discounts and more.
Learn about the best aquariums in the US here.
Public transportation is available to get there from DC.
National Harbor
12 miles from Washington DC.
National Harbor in Maryland is a waterfront resort/convention spot along the Potomac River. It is a fabulous place to take kids to spend a day. Plus an MGM casino is coming soon, so it will be a great place for a night out.
There are lots of shops, restaurants, movie theaters and attractions to keep you busy. Plus there are a good number of fun things for families.
Visit the beach and climb on the sculpture “The Awakening”. This sculpture of a man rising from the earth was moved to National Harbor in 2008. It’s a sculpture of an enormous man beginning to emerge from the sand–the likes of which I have never before seen!
Take a ride on the carousel again and again! For $7 you can take as many rides as you can handle in one day. Or take a ride on the large ferris wheel and have a spectacular view of the whole harbor.
Udvar Hazy National Space Museum
This museum with a very strange name is part of the National Air and Space Museum. This spot in Chantilly Virginia allows the Smithsonian to have room to display entire airplanes and spaceships. It feels like a large hangar with some of the most well-known aircraft ever. This is one of the best family-friendly things to do in Northern Virginia.
You can see the space shuttle Discovery up close and personal or see the Enola Gay that brought about the end of World War 2. In addition to the actual aircraft, there are many displays of new inventions in air travel and space. A recent addition to the museum is the Concorde jet which was the fastest commercial jet in the world.
Your kids can try flying a plane in the flight simulator, learn what astronauts eat in space, and search for items on a scavenger hunt. If you have airplane lovers in your life then this is a not-to-be-missed experience.
Admission is free as it is part of the Smithsonian, but parking is $15.
Tip:
This is a great place to visit if you are flying to DC from Dulles airport. It is 6 miles from Dulles and there is luggage storage at the museum. Make a stop on your way to or from DC and Dulles.
Sully Plantation
If you spent any of your youth in Northern Virginia, odds are you have been on a field trip to Sully Plantation. The home of Richard Bland Lee (the uncle of Robert E Lee) was built in 1799 in modern day Chantilly, VA. It is one of Northern Virginia’s few remaining plantations and is a great spot to visit.
Tours operate daily and include a visit to the house and gardens. The home is furnished with time-appropriate furniture and is a great example of a smaller plantation home. The gardens are beautiful with something nearly always in bloom.
But Sully really shines when it comes to activities for kids! Check out their calendar of events to find out what hands-on activities are upcoming. My kids have enjoyed making butter, picking fruit from the gardens, and eating homemade ice cream.
Plan on 1-2 hours.
Tip: If you are visiting during December you will find Sully bedecked in Christmas finery and offering Christmas tours.
Public transportation available from DC.
Great Falls Park
If you love the great outdoors there is a fabulous park not far from Washington DC. This National Park that runs along the Potomac has great hiking trails, waterfalls, bike trails, birdwatching and more. The park is divided between Virginia and Maryland (the Potomac is the dividing line between the states), but the most beautiful views are on the Virginia side.
The park is centered around the waterfall of Great Falls where the Potomac River drops almost 80 feet in a mile. The falls are beautiful with craggy rocks slicing into the whitewater. There are a number of places to overlook the falls in the Virginia side of the park.
On the Maryland side of the park there are often river rafters and kayakers launching into the river. There are a number of places to rent kayaks and take white water rides as well.
Manassas Battlefield
This is another battlefield to visit close to Washington DC. This is also know as the site of the 1st and 2nd Battles of Bull Run. The 1st battle was the first of the Civil War, and townspeople came out to watch it thinking it would be over quickly with few casualties. The 2nd battle was fought years later on the exact same site and was a much bigger battle with many casualties.
Today you can walk the park-like grounds, go to the Visitors Center to learn more about the battles, and look at the cannon that were used in battle. Be sure to visit the home of William McClean who finally left his home after the second battle was over.
Bus and train transportation available from DC.
Old Town Leesburg
40 miles from Washington DC
Leesburg was the capital of the United States for a short while during the War of 1812! The Declaration of Independence and the US Constitution were moved here for safekeeping when the British invaded Washington DC. It is a great example of an old Virginian town with charming homes lining cobblestoned sidewalks.
Visit Oatlands Plantation, one of the few remaining in Northern Virginia, and learn about how a plantation was run in the 1800s.
Grab a bite to eat at Blue Ridge Grill or Tuscarora Grill. Get the crab cake sandwich and the smoked salmon at Blue Ridge Grill. It’s my standard order when I visit my parents. (I promise you won’t be disappointed.)
A must for people who want to see a historic Virginia town.
Bus transportation available from DC.
Harpers Ferry
Harpers Ferry, West Virginia, is a charming town that happens to have a fascinating history. In 1859, John Brown (a famous abolitionist) led a raid on a National Armory. He intended to incite a rebellion to free the local enslaved population. However, he was overpowered by the US Marines led by Robert E Lee. He was captured and put to death for his crimes. This event is one that directly led to the Civil War that began 2 years later.
You can visit the John Brown museum in Harpers Ferry as well as other local museums. In addition, you can hike part of the Appalachian Trail that goes through the town.
For more information read my post about Harpers Ferry here.
Plan on 2-4 hours.
Tubing on the Potomac
There are a number of different locations that you can tube the Potomac! My favorite is in Harpers Ferry. Harpers Ferry Adventure Center has been in operation since I was young, and it focuses on the whitewater parts of the Potomac. It makes for a more exciting ride.
If you want a calmer ride I would visit River Riders and do their flat water tubing. This is a great option for anxious kids or parents!
Most of the tubing takes place in West Virginia near Harpers Ferry, but there are tubing locations all over the DC metro area. For more locations check out this list.
Plan on 3-5 hours to get ready, tube and grab a bite to eat!
Old Town Alexandria
This Virginia city is only 8 miles away from downtown Washington DC. It is one of the oldest towns in the area, settled in 1695, and has become a destination for people wanting some history, a great dinner, and no small bit of charm.
Alexandria is a great place to visit with lots to do. It is home to some really fun shopping. Antique stores, restaurants and boutiques line the cobblestoned streets. Whether you are window shopping or actually shopping, you will have a wonderful time strolling past elaborately designed shop windows. The streets that are known as “Captains Row” are especially beautiful to walk down.
Visit the Stabler-Leadbeater Apothecary Museum, and get see how ailments were treated before the advancement of modern medicine. Or take a tour of the Carlyle house and see a great example of Georgian architecture.
There are many types of tours you can take to explore Old Town Alexandria. Scavenger hunts, carriage tours, ghost tours, and, my favorite, the pirate tour. Your kids can be pirates for the day while looking for bad guys while protecting the nation’s capitol. There are water canon battles and faceprinting. Don’t miss this if you have young kids!
Plan on an afternoon at least.
Mount Vernon
The home of George and Martha Washington is one of my very favorite historic sites around Washington DC. The Visitors Center underwent a huge renovation around 10 years ago and made a great site even more fabulous.
When you visit start in the Ford Orientation Center and enjoy a movie about the life of George Washington and the Revolutionary War. My kids were riveted by the movie, which is quite unusual for them. Then continue to the main house.
The house that George and Martha Washington lived in was enormous! It is also the best preserved home of its time that I have even visited. The tour isn’t very long. My little guy was squirmy before we began the tour but managed to make it through only to be rewarded with plenty of running and tumbling on the lawn as soon as it was over.
Also included in your admission price is the farm, kitchens, stables, blacksmith, gardens and more. There is so much to do here that you could spend the whole day and still not do everything!
Tips:
- There are many different programs and activities going on at Mount Vernon. Check the website to find out.
- If you are looking for my very favorite day trip, you just found it. I have been many times and they just keep improving the experience.
Plan on 4-7 hours.
Fredericksburg
Fredericksburg is the childhood home of George Washington. You can tour an apothecary, his mother’s home in her later years, and the tavern owned by his brother. The tours are operated by the Washington Heritage Museums and are all included in one price.
For those of you interested in battlefields, the Fredricksburg and Spotsylvania Military Park is in Fredericksburg. You can learn all about the various Civil War battles of the area and how the town was affected by the battles.
Plan on 5-8 hours.
Public transportation available from DC.
Skyline Drive
70 miles from Washington DC.
Skyline Drive is a scenic drive through Shenandoah National Park. It begins in the town of Front Royal, Virginia, and winds 105 miles to Waynesboro. It connects with the Blue Ridge Parkway near Waynesboro. Skyline drive is beautiful at any time of year, but it really shines in the fall.
The 105-mile stretch has dozens of lookout points to stop and enjoy the view so there are plenty of picture-taking opportunities. The entire drive takes anywhere from 3-5 hours due to a speed limit of 35 miles per hour. The speed limit is so low due to the curvy roads. There is an entrance fee to drive Skyline drive, which helps pay for the maintenance of Shenandoah National Park. The fee at the time of publishing is $25 for a 7-day pass.
Plan on 3-5 hours.
Lake Anna
Lake Anna is the largest freshwater lake in Virginia and is a popular place to swim, kayak and boat.
The lake itself is fabulous for spending a day in the sun. It is nice and shallow near the beach so you won’t worry about your little ones. There are lifeguards during the summer months as well. There are many freshwater fish that make their home in Lake Anna so grab a pole and while away the day fishing.
If you are feeling lucky you might want to take some time panning for gold. This area of Virginia was known for its own mini gold rush. You can pan for gold yourself (if you have the know-how) or join one of the weekly sessions here.
Luray Caverns
Luray Caverns is a fabulous visit for any budding geologists or any cave lovers. It is the largest system of caves in the Eastern United States. It was discovered in the late 1800s and was a hit with tourists from the very beginning. Today more than half a million people visit the caverns. Luray Caverns is a fabulous family outing.
The tour begins at the Visitors Center, and small groups are led through the caves by a guide. The path is paved and lit so it is easily accessible for even tiny kids. Plus the ceiling of the cave is 10 feet high, so the claustrophobic will be ok too!
Guides take you around the cave and point out interesting formations. Our guide was really into anime so everything he pointed out looked like a cartoon character! There are some really large stalactites that reflect back through a lake so that you don’t know which way is up.
My very favorite part of the tour is the Great Stalacpipe Organ. It makes music by small mallets tapping stalactites of different sizes to produce a musical scale. It actually sounds very good! You will get to hear it toward the end of your tour.
I hope you liked the best day trips from Washington D.C. I love this area of the country and there are so many things to do in the area!
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