Chesapeake is a beautiful city filled with tons of activities that make great day trips, whether you have only one child or several. We’ve come up with our top five family-friendly attractions near Chesapeake that are perfect for families with children of all ages. Discover our top picks and start planning your next family outing today!
Chesapeake Arboretum
The Chesapeake Arboretum is described as a 48-acre classroom, created to increase horticultural and environmental awareness as well as interest in Virginia’s natural flora and fauna. The headquarters of the arboretum is housed in an 18th-century farmhouse surrounded by theme gardens, including both antique and fragrance roses. A trail with mature hardwood forests and native plants meander through the property, making it an excellent place to bring your family to enjoy the fresh air and learn something new.
Chesapeake Planetarium
Built by the Virginia public school system, the Chesapeake Planetarium is a fun, educational destination located in the municipal center. It regularly hosts free public programs, the topics of which change every month. Check online regularly for updated program scheduling. All of the programs are educational in nature and appropriate for all ages.
Great Dismal Swamp National Wildlife Refuge
While not the most cheerily named park, the Great Dismal National Wildlife Refuge is a gorgeous 112,684-acre park of forested wetlands that contains the 21,000-acre Lake Drummond. There’s plenty to do, whether you and your loved ones are into hiking, boating, fishing, or just taking in the surroundings. Watercraft rentals are available if you don’t have your own!
In May, the refuge hosts a three-day Migratory Bird festival, and there’s plenty of wildlife observation to do year-round. Whitetail deer, black bears, bobcats, river otters and more have all been spotted. Butterfly observations peak in the summer.
Hickory Ridge Farm
With U-Pick options and fresh produce year-round, Hickory Ridge Farm is a super fun day trip for families with young kids, as well as an opportunity to get some fresh fruit, veggies, and berries to take home. The farm hosts different produce-themed festivals throughout the year that are tons of fun for both kids and adults.
The farm is family owned and operated and runs many of its programs with kids in mind. Tractor trailer rides are a fun way to see the farm, and pony rides are also available. The farm has several sweet horses specially trained to carry little ones. You can even host a birthday party here!
Fun Forest
Built with kids of all ages in mind, the Fun Forest covers three acres of the city park and is the ideal children’s playground. For older kids, motor skill development is facilitated through attractions like a three-way underground telephone, shaky bridge, and dolphin tunnel slide. There’s also a toddler playground where little ones can play safely. One of the most popular attractions is the fossil dig, where kids can dig up “dinosaur bones” in a sandbox, which is tons of fun for all ages!
These are just a few of the family-friendly attractions in the Chesapeake area.
Image via Pixabay
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