By state · VA

National Parks in Virginia.

Virginia's NPS network at a glance — units, designations, visit totals, and what shapes the visiting season.

By Nicholas Major · Last updated

Virginia has Shenandoah National Park as its NPS flagship — the Skyline Drive corridor along the spine of the Blue Ridge — plus an unusually dense corridor of Civil War and Founding Era National Historic Sites and National Military Parks. Notable units include Colonial National Historical Park (Yorktown and Jamestown), Fredericksburg & Spotsylvania, Richmond National Battlefield, Manassas, Petersburg, Cedar Creek and Belle Grove, Booker T. Washington, George Washington Birthplace, and Arlington House. Washington Dulles (IAD), Reagan National (DCA), and Richmond (RIC) anchor different parts of the network. Shenandoah's peak fall-foliage window — mid-October — drives the year's heaviest visitation. Skyline Drive can close in winter weather; most park services run warm-season. Virginia's NPS network is unusually dense with American-history units — Civil War battlefields, Founding Era homesteads, and Revolutionary War landmarks — so a single trip can cover several units within a day's drive of Washington, D.C.

Every NPS unit in Virginia.

Virginia's 33 NPS units: 5 National Historical Parks · 5 Others · 4 National Historic Trails · 3 National Monuments · 3 Part of Colonial National Historical Parks · 2 National Scenic Trails · 2 Parks · 2 National Battlefield Parks · 1 National Seashore · 1 Parkway · 1 National Military Park · 1 Memorial Parkway · 1 National Historic Site · 1 National Battlefield · 1 National Park. Combined 5-year-average annual visits: 40,279,812 (multi-state units count their full visits in every state they touch — see methodology). The most-visited unit is Blue Ridge Parkway at about 16.34M annual visits.

UnitDesignation5-yr avg visitsBusiest month
Blue Ridge Parkway ParkwayBLRI 16,336,836 July
George Washington Memorial Parkway Memorial ParkwayGWMP 7,025,042 August
Appalachian National Scenic Trail National Scenic TrailAPPA 6,215,118 July
Colonial National Historical Park National Historical ParkCOLO 2,540,569 April
Assateague Island National Seashore National SeashoreASIS 2,392,510 July
Shenandoah National Park National ParkSHEN 1,603,997 October
Fredericksburg & Spotsylvania National Military Park National Military ParkFRSP 784,425 October
Cumberland Gap National Historical Park National Historical ParkCUGA 767,728 October
Manassas National Battlefield Park National Battlefield ParkMANA 525,937 April
Harpers Ferry National Historical Park National Historical ParkHAFE 434,030 October
Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts WOTR 413,529 August
Prince William Forest Park ParkPRWI 322,001 May
Arlington House, The Robert E. Lee Memorial ARHO 308,323 June
Petersburg National Battlefield National BattlefieldPETE 250,238 August
Richmond National Battlefield Park National Battlefield ParkRICH 160,132 October
Appomattox Court House National Historical Park National Historical ParkAPCO 85,872 April
George Washington Birthplace National Monument National MonumentGEWA 85,783 July
Booker T Washington National Monument National MonumentBOWA 22,796 June
Maggie L Walker National Historic Site National Historic SiteMAWA 4,946 July
Captain John Smith Chesapeake National Historic Trail National Historic TrailCAJO
Cape Henry Memorial Part of Colonial National Historical Park Part of Colonial National Historical ParkCAME
Chesapeake Bay CBPO
Cedar Creek & Belle Grove National Historical Park National Historical ParkCEBE
Civil War Defenses of Washington CWDW
Fort Monroe National Monument National MonumentFOMR
Great Falls Park ParkGRFA
Green Springs GRSP
Historic Jamestowne Part of Colonial National Historical Park Part of Colonial National Historical ParkJAME
Overmountain Victory National Historic Trail National Historic TrailOVVI
Potomac Heritage National Scenic Trail National Scenic TrailPOHE
Star-Spangled Banner National Historic Trail National Historic TrailSTSP
Washington-Rochambeau Revolutionary Route National Historic Trail National Historic TrailWARO
Yorktown Battlefield Part of Colonial National Historical Park Part of Colonial National Historical ParkYORK

Methodology

Unit list and per-unit visit counts come from the official NPS Visitor Use Statistics Data Package, 2025. The "5-year average visits" column is the mean of 2021-2025 Recreation Visits. Multi-state NPS units (Yellowstone, Death Valley, Great Smoky Mountains and others) are listed under every state they touch; the per-unit visit count is the unit's total, not a per-state share. Independent site, not affiliated with the National Park Service.

Independence

Independent site. Not affiliated with or endorsed by the National Park Service. Data comes from the official NPS Visitor Use Statistics Data Package, 2025; editorial analysis is ours. The NPS Arrowhead and other NPS marks are not used.

Last updated · 2026-05-19