Trip Ideas help you plan your next trip to National Parks, historic sites, and places listed on the National Register of Historic Places (a National Park Service program). Trip ideas provide recommended activities designed to help you figure out how to spend your time. Discover Trip Ideas associated with Washington, DC.
Featured Trip Ideas
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Trip Idea: Civil RightsTravel places of civil rights in DC.
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Trip Idea: Women's HistoryExplore places associated with women's history in DC.
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Trip Idea: Presidential HistoryFind places associated with presidential history in Washington, DC.
Explore Washington, DC
Showing results 1-10 of 10
- Topics: American Revolution, Commerce, Enslavement, Farming and Agriculture, Wars and Conflicts, American Revolutionary War, Birds, Tortoises and Turtles, Deciduous Forests, Geology, River and Riparian, Scenic Views, Trails, Canals, Armories, Battlefields, Civil War, Mountains, Night Sky, Coniferous Forests, Headwaters, Sculpture, US Marines, Monuments and Memorials, Arts, Wetlands, Ruins, Burial, Cemetery and Gravesite, Ships and Shipwrecks, African American Heritage, Presidents, Civil Rights, Water Trails
- Activities: Guided Tours, Front-Country Hiking, Hiking, Backcountry Hiking, Self-Guided Tours - Walking
Whether you're going cross-country, cross-town, or around the block, national parks are great places to go for a walk. Lots of parks allow pets and offer ranger programs that also involve going for a walk.
- Topics: Lakes, Water Trails, Birds, Explorers and Expeditions, Maritime - Military, River and Riparian, Scenic Views, Religious Freedom, Dams, Headwaters
- Activities: Kayaking, Paddling
Travel DC's waterways.
- Type: Kid Friendly, Active, Relaxed, Educational, Inspirational
- Duration: Multiple Days
- Topics: Architecture and Building, Burial, Cemetery and Gravesite, National Cemetery, Enslavement, Military, Civil War, Assassinations, Murders, Battlefields, Monuments and Memorials, Scenic Views, Trails, Presidents, Abolition Movement, Civil Rights, Forts, African American Heritage, Armories, US Marines, Social Movements, Wars and Conflicts, Artillery
- Activities: Self-Guided Tours - Walking, Theater, Cultural Demonstrations
Revisit history by exploring Civil War Heritage sites, monuments and battlefields.
- Type: Active, Relaxed, Inspirational
- Duration: Multiple Days
- Topics: Scenic Views, Trails, Waterfalls, Animals, Birds, Fish, Tortoises and Turtles, Explorers and Expeditions, Forests and Woodlands, Natural Sounds, Night Sky, Presidents, River and Riparian, Water Trails, Geology, Floods, Transportation, Bridges, Roads, Routes and Highways, Trains and Railroads, Civil War
- Activities: Hiking, Self-Guided Tours - Walking
Take a trip Outside the Beltway to experience scenic natural vistas, within a days trip of the nation's capital.
- Type: Kid Friendly, Active, Relaxed, Urban, Educational, Inspirational, Virtual, Indoors, Outdoors, Group Friendly
- Duration: Full Day
- Topics: Archeology, Enslavement, Women's History, Sculpture, Military, Monuments and Memorials, Presidents, Scenic Views, Urban America, Wars and Conflicts, Vietnam War, American Revolution, Arts, Astronomy, African American Heritage, Architecture and Building, Reconstruction, Schools and Education, Social Movements
- Activities: Living History, Self-Guided Tours - Walking, Arts and Culture, Guided Tours
Over the past two centuries, women of all different backgrounds contributed to the social, political, and cultural vibrancy of Washington, DC. This Trip Idea explores some of the ways women acted as preservationists, service members, activists, and politicians to shape the history of the capital and the country as a whole.
- Type: Kid Friendly, Urban, Educational, Inspirational
- Duration: Full Day
- Topics: Monuments and Memorials, Presidents, Scenic Views, Trails, Architecture and Building, Abolition Movement, Civil Rights, Civil War, Great Depression, World War II, American Revolution, Sculpture, American Revolutionary War
- Activities: Hiking, Museum Exhibits, Self-Guided Tours - Walking
Who's your favorite president? Explore Washington, DC's presidential sites, from iconic memorials to modern museums.
- Type: Kid Friendly, Relaxed, Urban, Educational, Inspirational
- Duration: Multiple Days
- Topics: African American Heritage, Architecture and Building, Enslavement, Forests and Woodlands, Landscape Design, Military, Monuments and Memorials, Presidents, Reconstruction, Religion and Spirituality, Scenic Views, Schools and Education, Social Movements, Abolition Movement, Civil Rights, Voting Rights and Suffrage, Tragic Events, Wars and Conflicts, Civil War, Burial, Cemetery and Gravesite, National Cemetery, Sculpture, US Marines, Engineering, Laborer and Worker, Science, Technology and Innovation, Urban America, American Revolution, Birds, Arts, Maritime - Military, Transportation, Women's History, Trails, American Revolutionary War, Water Trails
- Activities: Guided Tours, Self-Guided Tours - Walking
Scenic vistas abound inside the nations capital. Explore and discover iconic views of Washington, DC.
- Type: Active, Outdoors
- Duration: Multiple Days
- Topics: Architecture and Building, Monuments and Memorials, Presidents, Scenic Views, Trails, Forests and Woodlands, African American Heritage, American Revolution, Animals, Birds, Fish, Tortoises and Turtles, Arts, Painting, Photography, Poetry and Literature, Sculpture, Burial, Cemetery and Gravesite, Commerce, Trade, Dams, Engineering, Enslavement, Farming and Agriculture, Plantations, Foothills, Plains and Valleys, Deciduous Forests, Forts, Geology, Grasslands, Meadows, Groundwater, Freshwater Springs, Industry, Mills, Landscape Design, Military, Artillery, Battlefields, Infantry and Militia, US Army, Music, Native American Heritage, Natural Sounds, Night Sky, Astronomy, River and Riparian, Schools and Education, Science, Technology and Innovation, Transportation, Bridges, Roads, Routes and Highways, American Revolutionary War, Civil War, War of 1812, World War II, Waterfalls, Watersheds, Wilderness, Women's History, Explorers and Expeditions, Water Trails, Wetlands, Great Depression, National Cemetery, Maritime - Military, Social Movements, Tragic Events, Urban America, Civil Rights
- Activities: Self-Guided Tours - Walking, Hiking, Camping, Guided Tours
Looking for a place to take your pet? Here are some options in the Washington, DC, area!
- Type: Urban, Educational, Inspirational
- Duration: Full Day
- Topics: African American Heritage, Architecture and Building, Enslavement, Forests and Woodlands, Landscape Design, Military, Monuments and Memorials, Presidents, Reconstruction, Religion and Spirituality, Scenic Views, Schools and Education, Social Movements, Abolition Movement, Civil Rights, Voting Rights and Suffrage, Tragic Events, Wars and Conflicts, Civil War, Great Depression, Forced Marches, Urban America, World War II, Women's History, Migrations, American Revolutionary War, World War I
- Activities: Guided Tours, Self-Guided Tours - Walking
Washington DC is home to many memorials and historic sites commemorating the work of men and women of the Civil Rights Movement, who sought constitutional equality at the national level.
- Type: Kid Friendly, Active, Urban, Educational, Inspirational
- Duration: Multiple Days
- Topics: Architecture and Building, Presidents, Civil Rights, Assassinations, Alligators or Crocodiles, Birds, Fish, Tragic Events, Trails, Water Trails, Monuments and Memorials, Scenic Views, Wetlands, Murders, Sculpture, Vietnam War, World War I, Enslavement, Forests and Woodlands, Natural Sounds, Civil War
- Activities: Self-Guided Tours - Walking
Explore the nations capital like a Washingtonian! There are plenty of metro accessible parks to visit in Washington, DC from Kenilworth Park and Aquatic Gardens to Ford's Theatre. Go camping, catch a play, visit an island and write your own history by visiting these metro accessible National Parks.
Last updated: August 4, 2020