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Family Fun

Trains, Planes & Automobiles: Virginia Transportation-Themed Day Trips

words by Dionna Mann
5 Family-Friendly Transportation-Themed Day Trips In Virginia

A day trip about vehicles might not be the first thing you think of when you’re planning a family adventure. But if you have a vehicle-obsessed little one at home, it might just be the perfect thing to get them excited.

Do your kids love the roar of a jet plane or a sports car, want to sail a boat of their own, or dream of being a train engineer? Here are five transportation-themed day trips a short drive from Charlottesville that are all family-friendly and kid-approved. Experience planes, trains, and automobiles up close and personal, perfect for those who love all things that go beep-beep, zoom, and chugga-chugga-choo-choo! Here are some of our favorite daytrips with wheels and wings!

Deltaville Maritime Museum & Holly Point Nature Park (Deltaville, VA)

Drive from Charlottesville: 2-3 hours

Imagine setting sail with explorers like Captain John Smith when you visit the Deltaville Maritime Museum. Kids will enjoy seeing both model ships and one of the finest workboat collections along the Chesapeake. The Carl Hawkins Collection offers a glimpse of some rare antique outboards. And the maps on the wall are replicas of those used by Smith. Inside the museum’s Living History shed, boat restorers will likely be on hand, bringing a 43’-round sterned, Deltaville Deadrise, back to life just as they did with the F.D. Crockett and the Francis Smith.

Outside, you’re likely to hear the sounds of folks building boats the old-fashioned way. And during nearly all special events at the museum, your family will be able to climb aboard one of the boats and go for a ride through Mill Creek and the north fork of Jackson Creek. And don’t be surprised if the crew asks you to roll up your sleeves and help them row or man the sail.

Event of note: During the annual Family Boatbuilding Week, usually held in July, your family can build its very own skiff, using real wood and traditional building methods!

Learn more: deltavillemuseum.com

 

Chesapeake & Ohio Heritage Center (Clifton Forge, VA)

Drive from Charlottesville: 1.5-2 hours

It’s easy to imagine being a railroad worker of the 19th and 20th centuries while touring the Chesapeake & Ohio Heritage Center. At Smiths Creek Yard, you’ll be able to climb into the cab of a C&O locomotive, sit in the engineer’s seat, and look out over the tracks. There’s restored railroad equipment to enjoy: full-scale railroad cars, a dining car, cabooses, locomotives, a flatcar, and boxcars.

The C&O Standard Section Tool House contains a replica of a handcar, a restored velocipede, and historic tools. Within the indoor museum, a restored 1895 freight depot, many of the displays are created with C&O signal lights, locomotive components, and railroad accessories. Even the museum’s gift shop is located within a replica of an 1892 Standard #1 train depot. Train lovers might lso enjoy the annual holiday train show at the Science Museum of Virginia.

Event of note: All aboard the Little C&O! This mini, 7 1/2″-gauge locomotive operates like its bigger steam-powered sibling to pull the smallest of train lovers down her rails.

Pro tip: Head down the street to Michael’s New York Style Pizza for lunch or dinner after your visit, then hit up the C & Oh! Ice Cream Depot for dessert. Or head to the road to the Roaring Run Loop Trail to find a great sliding rock and a family-friendly hike to a local waterfall.

Learn more: cohs.org

 

Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum’s Udvar-Hazy Center (Chantilly, VA)

Drive from Charlottesville: 2-2.5 hours
Virginia has transportation-themed day trips for space lovers, too, if you head to Northern Virginia to visit the Udvar-Hazy Center. This annex of the Air and Space Museum has one of the world’s largest collections of historic air and spacecraft housed in two adjoining hangars.
In the James S. McDonnell Space Hangar, you’ll be able to see the massive space shuttle Discovery, the Mars Pathfinder Lander, and Gemini VII, the vessel that proved astronauts could live in space for two weeks. There are also Apollo flotation devices, spacesuits, application satellites, rockets, and missiles to view. Within the Boeing Aviation Hanger, there are sport aviation flyers like the Senior Albatross, ultralight planes from the 1920s, warplanes from World War II, and modern-day fighters. Finish off your visit by purchasing Airbus IMAX Theater tickets for classic Smithsonian features like Journey to Space.
Event of note: You can purchase tickets for a “ride” inside one of the center’s simulators. Inside, kids over 42″ tall can experience firsthand space flight, aerial combat, a journey through a futuristic cosmos, or an interactive flight performing a 360-degree barrel roll!
Learn more: airandspace.si.edu

Looking for even more day trip ideas? The Family Fun section of our site has many more suggestions, including 7 day trips in the Charlottesville area and interactive indoor day trip ideas for the wee ones.

 

Military Aviation Museum (Virginia Beach, VA)

Drive from Charlottesville: 3 hours
The Military Aviation Museum is home to one of the largest private collections of World War I and World War II-era military aircraft in the world. You can even see them in action: most of the planes are airworthy. They are flown at the museum during flight demonstrations and at air shows throughout the year. Some of the planes are the last flight-ready aircraft of their time, and they are all one of a kind. And as a fun bonus for families with budding paleontologists, the museum has a unique collection of dinosaur sculptures.
Event of note: Plane rides are available during the museum’s flight season, which generally lasts from April through October.

Virginia Museum of Transportation (Roanoke, VA)

Drive from Charlottesville: 2-2.5 hours
Our final transportation-themed day trip has something for every type of vehicle lover. At the Virginia Museum of Transportation, you’ll find exhibits featuring historic cars, planes, spacecraft, boats, and trains. Many of them part of Virginia’s history and have unique ties to the state.
Need some hands-on activities for your little ones? Kids can try on pint-sized firefighter suits or run and climb on the museum’s transportation-themed outdoor playground, the Star Station.
Event of note: Check the calendar for seasonal events such as summer concerts and Halloween parties.
Learn more: vmt.org

Enjoy your day of transportation adventure!

DIONNA L. MANN is a local freelance writer. She recalls fondly the interesting things her grandfather, a porter on the railroad, would carry back to Chicago after his southern journeys upon the rails.