Top Family-Friendly Attractions in Virginia’s Blue Ridge Mountain Region

Filled with outdoor activities for all ages, Virginia’s Blue Ridge Mountain region offers plenty to enjoy this summer.

For families of foodies who love farm-fresh fair, area agricultural attractions are plentiful. With more than 40 attractions, Back Home on the Farm is an outdoor paradise for active youngsters. Mazes and playgrounds, fairy gardens and kiddie ziplines await. See the animals in the barn, check out the toy tractor museum and, starting in June, visit the Enchanted Glen to find a magical garden of flowers, butterflies and chimes. Farm-fresh food and bakery items are available or bring your own picnic. Just be sure to save room for the farm’s famous apple cider slushie.

If you’re looking for the same amount of fun for the adult travelers on your team, head to MacKintosh Fruit Farm for a good balance of fun outdoor activities for the kids, alongside a nice selection of local wines and hard ciders for the big kids.

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When it’s ice cream you crave, though, there’s no other place to be than Mt Crawford Creamery, where you can feed the calves yourself, watch them get milked and then enjoy the fruits of your labor.

When the weather is just too hot for outdoor fun, head indoors to two of the area’s best indoor children’s attractions, Explore More Discovery Museum and Shenandoah Valley Discovery Museum. Both feature interactive exhibits with a focus on educational topics, ranging from science to the arts.

For a historic look at the region, visit the Historic Smithfield Plantation, built in 1774, or Thomas Jefferson’s Poplar Forest estate. Photography fans will enjoy the O. Winston Link Museum, with its focus on the man behind many black-and-white railroad photographs.

For older kids, hit the James River for canoeing, tubing and kayaking. Twin River Outfitters can arrange the perfect day on the water for you and your family, and they also assist in planning multiday canoe trips, if you want to spend one leg of your journey camping in this scenic region.

Of course, you can’t leave the area without climbing even a small portion of the Appalachian Trail. The most photographed portion of the trail is right within your reach — McAfee Knob. The hike to get there is almost nine miles round-trip, but it’s well worth the gorgeous views you’ll share with your family.