The first stop of our 2nd road trip was a place we visited often during our stay in Washington, DC. Charlottesville is definitely picturesque Virginia countryside at its finest! The beautiful rolling hills of the Appalachian Mountains are lined with vineyards and farms. Charlottesville is home to the University of Virginia, founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson, and also lies at the foothills of the Blue Ridge Parkway. Shenandoah National Park is only a short distance away, and the town is filled with cultural and historical museums and interesting sites. We have visited the area many times because my husband’s parents live just outside of Charlottesville, so we are lucky to have been able to experience much that the city has to offer.

Monticello

During this trip, we visited Monticello, Thomas Jefferson’s plantation home, on our first day. While I am a sucker for tours of historic homes, Monticello is definitely one of the most interesting and well-preserved presidential homes that we have visited. We started our tour at the Visitor Center where you can learn all about Thomas Jefferson’s life.  The exhibits are thorough and interesting. There is also a short introductory film and a wealth of other exhibits. We easily could have spent half the day or more at the visitor center. Make sure you don’t miss the Griffin Discovery Room, which has many hands-on, interactive exhibits for the kids.

Our group enjoyed a picnic lunch on the patio before catching the bus up the hill to the house. We decided to take the family friendly tour that is designed for families with children ages 5-11. We had our two children and then five of our nieces and nephews with us for this tour, so it was perfect for our group. Our tour guide was fantastic! She showed many pictures and props that the kids could touch and see while she explained the history of Monticello. In each room, she allowed the kids to sit down on the floor and look around while she talked. All of our kids were interested and engaged and I’m pretty sure I learned more on this tour than on any of the “adult” tours we have taken in the past! I definitely recommend this tour for anyone with kids or kids at heart!

The house tour is very interesting, but the really magnificent part of Monticello is the grounds. They are set up with beautiful gardens, passageways and trails that you could spend hours exploring. When you purchase your tickets, be sure to ask for a program guide of the day’s events. During our visit, the kids were able to try their hand at some feather-pen and ink writing and play some old-fashioned games.

Shenandoah National Park, Stony Man Trail

While in Charlottesville, we also visited Shenandoah National Park, just 30 minutes from downtown Charlottesville. The Skyline Drive offers beautiful scenery of the Blue Ridge Mountains and access to overlooks, hiking trails, campgrounds, restaurants and lodging. On our first day visiting the park, we stopped at the Skyland Pollock dining room (mile 42 on the Skyline Drive) for lunch. The view of the Shenandoah Valley through the large picture windows from our table was gorgeous. The food and service were both outstanding, and lunch provided just the boost we needed for the hike up the Stony Man Trail with 7 children and 6 adults!

This trail is a 1.6-mile loop trail and is listed as easy. It travels along the Appalachian Trail for a portion of the way up to an overlook. At the overlook you will have a spectacular 180-degree view of the Shenandoah Valley and the distant mountains. The entire hike with 7 children took us about an hour and a half.

Shenandoah National Park, White Oak Canyon Trail

On our second day here, we hiked the White Oak Canyon trail from the park boundary off of Route 600. There was a small parking lot and a park attendant charging a National Park fee to enter the hike. The parking lot was almost completely full. We hiked 2 miles round trip on the moderate trail to lower falls. The kids were able to play in the water during the warm summer day. We carried both of our kids on this trail for much of the way because it was steep and slippery.

Charlottesville has a plethora of family-friendly things to do, and I will cover them in more detail in the future! We spent the majority of our time on this particular visit saying good-bye to family.