Virginia Travel Guide

Enjoy A All-American Vacation This Fall In Virginia’s Historic Triangle, By Leroy Worley 

Our nation’s humble beginning’s is a colorful and entertaining tale that is at the heart of the Historic Triangle in Virginia. Each step you take in Colonial Williamsburg, Jamestown, and in Yorktown, Virginia is a journey to the past, where brave men fought for our independence. Fall is a especially great time to visit the area as a colorful blanket of color spreads across the lush landscape.

One way to experience all the events and historic treasures in the area is with one of the America’s Historic Triangle vacation packages that offer unlimited admission to three premier living-history museums that include Colonial Williamsburg, Jamestown Settlement and the Yorktown Victory Center. Often, they also included is visits to two National Park sites: Historic Jamestowne and Yorktown Battlefield. Combine this with modern-day accommodations for up to seven days, and you have the ideal getaway for Fall.

America’s first permanent English settlement, Historic Jamestowne, is where you can witness archaeology-in-action at the 1607 James Fort excavation. Then tour the Archaearium museum and explore the Glasshouse with costumed glassblowers demonstrating one of America’s first industries. On site there is also a original 17th-century church tower, and representations of many of the buildings that once stood there. Don’t forget to tour the Visitor Center that has more exhibits and a multimedia presentation.

It is in Colonial Williamsburg where patriots ignited the cause for freedom and laid the groundwork for the creation of this great nation. The 301-acre Historic Area is comprised of 88 original buildings and hundreds of other homes, shops, public buildings and other structures that have been reconstructed, most on their original foundations. In its shops, taverns, government buildings, homes and streets George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Patrick Henry, George Mason and other Virginia patriots established the ideals – liberty, independence and personal freedom – that influenced the founding of our nation.

In Yorktown, walk the ground where America’s independence was won in 1781 at Yorktown Battlefield. Follow in the footsteps of General Washington at the site of the final major clash of the American Revolution. A Declaration of Independence Gallery emphasizes the dramatic impact and relevance of this historic document. Exhibits also provide eyewitness accounts of the American Revolution and describe the convergence of forces on Yorktown in 1781 for the climactic military engagement of the Revolution. Outdoors, historical interpreters engage visitors in everyday life during the Revolutionary era.

Virginia's convenient location, just 2-6 hours from major cities such as D.C., Baltimore, Philadelphia, New York and Raleigh make it the remedy for gas pump blues, with dozens of walkable cities, all-in-one resorts and other destinations that require little or no driving.

Plan Your Trip

Adventure seekers with a passion for filling a shopping bag or an empty stomach instead of a gas tank can find the "Park the Car" trip ideas on www.Virginia.org.

The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation is the not-for-profit educational institution that preserves and operates the restored 18th-century Revolutionary capital of Virginia as a town-sized living history museum, telling the stories of our nation’s founders, located 150 miles south of Washington, D.C. For more information call 1-800-HISTORY or visit www.history.org.