Road trips by city

Road trips from Washington, DC

13 back-roads routes start within a 4.5-hour drive of Washington, DC, including 4 day trips and 8 weekend drives; 3 ready-made itineraries begin nearby.

Drive times are estimates to the nearer end of each route (straight-line miles plus a quarter, at 50 mph); the atlas itself never routes you onto an interstate once the drive begins.

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Day trips from Washington, DC

• The Booth Escape Route
  Starts in Washington
  Washington → Port Royal · ~95 mi · 1 days · skips I-95
• The Northern Neck
  About 1 h 10 min to Fredericksburg
  Fredericksburg → Irvington · ~110 mi · 1–2 days · skips I-95
• The Constitution Route & 231
  About 1 h 40 min to Sperryville
  Charlottesville → Sperryville · ~75 mi · 1–2 days · skips US 29
• VA 5 & the Colonial Parkway
  About 2 h 25 min to Richmond
  Richmond → Yorktown · ~90 mi · 1–2 days · skips I-64

Weekend road trips from Washington, DC

• Bull Run to the Bloody Angle
  Starts in Loop from Alexandria
  Loop from Alexandria · ~240 mi · 2–3 days · skips I-95 / I-66
• Skyline Drive & the Parkway
  About 1 h 35 min to Front Royal
  Front Royal → Roanoke · ~225 mi · 2–3 days · skips I-81 (running parallel below)
• The Valley Pike
  About 1 h 35 min to Winchester
  Winchester → Roanoke · ~200 mi · 2–3 days · skips I-81
• The Quiet Zone
  About 2 h 50 min to Petersburg, WV
  Lewisburg → Petersburg, WV · ~160 mi · 2 days · skips I-79 (by 60 miles)
• US 13: The Eastern Shore
  About 2 h 50 min to Chincoteague
  Cape Charles → Chincoteague · ~90 mi · 1–2 days · skips I-95 (by an entire bay)
• Lee's Retreat
  About 2 h 55 min to Petersburg
  Petersburg → Appomattox · ~110 mi · 1–2 days · skips I-85
• US 58: The Last Capital Road
  About 3 h 50 min to Suffolk
  Martinsville → Suffolk · ~230 mi · 2 days · skips I-85
• US 301: The Ghost Road
  About 3 h 55 min to Emporia
  Emporia → Santee · ~290 mi · 2–3 days · skips I-95 (that's the point)

Named parkways and scenic byways within reach

• Skyline Drive & the Parkway
  About 1 h 35 min to Front Royal
  Front Royal → Roanoke · ~225 mi · 2–3 days · skips I-81 (running parallel below)
• VA 5 & the Colonial Parkway
  About 2 h 25 min to Richmond
  Richmond → Yorktown · ~90 mi · 1–2 days · skips I-64

Longer itineraries starting near Washington, DC

• The Eastern Crescent
  15 days · ~1800 mi · from Washington, DC
  Mountains down, coast back: the Civil War quadrilateral, the Valley Pike, Virginia's music road, the Parkway's whole southern half, Georgia's 441…
• Mosby to the Bloody Angle
  3 days · ~240 mi · from Alexandria / DC
  The Northern Virginia war loop, run counterclockwise so the history happens in order — First Manassas to Jackson's deathbed.
• The Blue Ridge, Ridgeline to Smokies
  5 days · ~640 mi · from Front Royal
  America's longest slow road, top to bottom: Skyline Drive and the Virginia Parkway down to Roanoke, then the southern half through mountain-music…

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