I figured keeping an active list of favorite would be the easiest thing to keep track of while we are here! I’ll breakdown by category in the future! Enjoy!
Parks/ Splashpad:
▪️Fort Lee actually has an a great community splash pad we’ve been visiting a lot!
▪️On Post: Memorial Chapel Playground, Hero Park, and St Lo Road are our favorites.
▪️Hopewell Riverwalk and Playground (just a block from Guncotton Coffee so grab one on the way or come play after story time)
▪️Park 365 in Richmond – great playground and accessible to kids with disabilities!
Eastern Henrico park and splash pad – not a lot of shade on the splash pad side but I love that the park and splash pad are right next to each other, and you can run back and forth between them.
Museums:
▪️If your kids love Army Museums (like mine), the US Army Quartermaster Museum and US Army Women’s Museum are fun walk throughs!
▪️Richmond Children’s Museum: hands on children’s museum with an indoor carousel.
Science Museum of Virginia, Richmond – Okay if I’m honest, this was better than any museum we’ve been to in DC. The hands-on science exhibits were amazing! The entire downstairs floor is for kids and if you have multiples under 5 years old, there is one large room with plenty of space, climbing and activities where you could watch a baby play and let a toddler run around (unlike the children’s museum which is smaller rooms you move to and from).
If I had visited the Science Museum first, I think we would have gotten a membership here instead simply for that reason!
▪️Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Virginia Museum of History and Culture, Virginia Holocaust Museum, American Civil War Museum
Coffee:
▪️Demolition Coffee in downtown Petersburg! Had to close down during Covid but I’m so happy they made it and are back open! The Sweet Mary is my favorite: breve cappuccino with raw sugar! No drive through but an outdoor patio if you have kiddos!
▪️Guncotton Coffee in downtown Hopewell. The iced Honey Oat Milk with local honey and espresso is so good! No drive through but they have a huge back room for venues they also host story time. Easy to take kids to and let them run around. They also have a reading room and host book exchanges!
▪️Blanchards Coffee on Broad Street. This place was fancy (got it to go). All white and a lot of succulents vibe, maybe save for a date night or coffee date without kids. House made syrups and you can buy their batches cold brew.
▪️Ironclad Coffee. Lots of locations. There’s one just down from the train station (if you have train lovers like us). Cookie milk latte is a unique one to try!
Restaurants (with kids):
ZZQ Craft BBQ – We might be a little biased after living in Texas for almost four years, but this was the best bbq we’ve had here by far! Owned by Texan couple from Austin, the owners walk around and greet everyone and ask how they’re doing! Outdoor seating with picnic tables made us feel like we were in laid back Texas and we loved it! We will be back!
▪️Trapezium is going to be on the top of everyone’s list. Fire roasted pizza and brewery, outdoor seating and space for kids (no playground at this time), dog friendly!
▪️Lulu’s in Richmond. They take reservations, have outdoor seating, and were one of the best brunches we’ve ever had… and we love our brunch! 10/10 will go back!
Restaurants sans kids:
▪️Max’s on Broad. Cute little French restaurant downtown! We did a brunch date here back in 2018 and it was one of my favorites! Maybe it was the atmosphere … upstairs window seat looking out on the city… but we loved it.
▪️Sedona Tap House. New in Colonial Heights since we were here last. Made a nice (close) date night. Food was yummy, especially if you have any allergy concerns.. they are 100 allergy friendly and accommodating. Saw lots of families also and the patio is nice (although pricy for feeding a group).
Hiking Trails:
▪️Petersburg National Battlefield! My favorite running trail. Maybe because they’re nostalgic (had my first “am I pregnant?” thoughts while trying to finish a long run here. You can drive through the trails one way or enter the trails on or off post!
▪️Point of Rocks: Huge playground at the trail head! Floating marsh bridge. Playground on the trail. The bridge definitely makes this one unique.
Humpback Rocks in Shenandoah – a pretty steep 1 mile straight up hike for a great view of the valley.
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