Appomattox Court House National Historical Park Walk the old county lanes where Robert E. Lee, Commanding General of the Army of Northern Virginia, surrendered his men to Ulysses Grant, General-in-Chief of all United States forces, on April 9, 1865. Imagine the events that signaled the end of the Southern States' attempt to create a separate nation. The National Park encompasses approximately 1800 acres of of rolling hills in rural central Virginia. The site includes the McLean home (surrender site) and the village of Appomattox Court House, Virginia, the former county seat for Appomattox County. The site also has the home and burial place of Joel Sweeney - the popularizer of the modern five string banjo. There are twenty seven original 19th century structures on the site.
Arlington House, The Robert E. Lee Memorial The house that Robert E. Lee called home for 30 years and one uniquely associated with the Washington and Custis families is preserved today as a memorial to General Lee, who gained the respect of Americans in both the North and South. Restoration of Lee Mansion authorized March 4, 1925; transferred from War Department August 10, 1933; made a permanent memorial with name change to "Custis-Lee Mansion" June 29, 1955; restoration of historic name June 30, 1972.
Arlington House is open all year from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Arlington House/Robert E. Lee Museum is open from 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Arlington House ground are open from 8:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. between April 1 and September 30, and from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. between October 1 and March 31.
Arlington House, Grounds and Museum are closed December 25th and January 1st.
Back Bay NWR Back Bay NWR is located in SE Virginia in the Atlantic Flyway. Biological resources include beach/dune grasslands, barrier spit woodlands and shrublands, marshes and forested swamps. The Refuge's barrier beach extends 4.2 miles along the Atlantic shoreline from the city's Little Island Recreational Area on the north to the False Cape State Park on the south. The North Carolina state line is 10 miles from the southern boundary of the Refuge. Management objectives have been developed and expanded to provide for a broad spectrum of wildlife, with emphasis on waterfowl, shorebirds, and threatened and endangered species. The Refuge provides wildlife-oriented recreation and environmental education consistent with Refuge objectives. The fee for private vehicles is $4/day; pedestrian or bicylist, $2/day. Entrance passes are available at the station's visitor contact station. Visitors should call prior to visiting the Refuge as there are seasonal closures effective year round.
Bear Creek Lake State Park Nestled in the heart of Cumberland State Forest in central VirginiaÂ’s Cumberland County, Bear Creek Lake State Park offers the amenities of the larger parks without the crowds. Activities revolve around the 40-acre lake with a boat launch, swimming beach, lakeside picnicking, camping and hiking trails.The park is surrounded by the 16,000-acre Cumberland State Forest, which provides opportunities for a wide range of outdoor activities. Four small lakes in the state forest are managed by the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries for recreational fishing. A network of gated and ungated forest roads provides hiking, mountain biking and nature observation. The Virginia Department of Forestry also operates a sporting clays range in the Cumberland State Forest.
Belle Isle State Park Located in the rural Northern Neck of Virginia, Belle Isle is the first state park to be purchased with funds from the $95 million 1992 Parks and Recreational Facilities Bond Referendum. The 733-acre site is a window to the beautiful lower Rappahannock River in Lancaster County. Waterfront in the area has been developed extensively by private landowners with little public recreational access. This fact made the lower Rappahannock a priority for purchasing land for a new state park. The park has seven miles of frontage on the north shore of the Rappahannock, and it borders Deep and Mulberry creeks. It features diverse tidal and nontidal wetlands, lowland marshes, tidal coves and upland forests.
Wildlife: The diverse habitats found in the park provide homes to many predator birds, such as blue herons, osprey, hawks and bald eagles. White-tailed deer, turkeys, groundhogs, rabbits, squirrels, moles, reptiles and amphibians. There are eight distinct types of wetlands within the park. These diverse ecosystems make Belle Isle an excellent outdoor laboratory for environmental education.
Booker T Washington National Monument On April 5, 1856, a child who later called himself Booker T. Washington, was born in slavery on this 207-acre tobacco farm. The realities of life as a slave in piedmont Virginia, the quest by African Americans for education and equality, and the post-war struggle over political participation all shaped the options and choices of Booker T. Washington. Washington founded Tuskegee Institute in Alabama in 1881 and later became an important and controversial leader of his race at a time when increasing racism in the United States made it necessary for African Americans to adjust themselves to a new era of legalized oppression. Visitors are invited to step back in time and experience firsthand the life and landscape of people who lived in an era when slavery was part of the fabric of American life.
