National accolades for everything from ice cream to small towns, hot dogs and whatever else you can think of keep rolling in for Virginia areas and businesses. While it’s hard to keep up with all that’s fabulous and acclaimed, we thought we’d give it a shot by sharing the more recent accolades. This post, The Best of Virginia’s Outdoors, is the first in a series you can look forward to. Be sure to subscribe to our posts to avoid missing the upcoming articles.
— BEACHES —
Virginia Beach Boardwalk
- #10, 10 Best Beaches for Families, Family Vacation Critic, 2015
- #4, 10 Last-Minute Beach Getaways for Summer, Fodor’s Travel, 2014
- #6, America’s Best Boardwalks, Travel + Leisure, 2014
- #6, 10 Under-the-Radar Beaches in the U.S., Fodor’s Travel, 2014
- One of the 20 Most Awesome Boardwalks in America, Budget Travel, 2014
- The 10 Best Boardwalks in America, Men’s Journal, 2014
- Best Beaches for Memorial Day Weekend, USAToday.com, 2014
- 10Best: Southern Beaches, USAToday.com, 2014
- #7, 9 Best Boardwalks in the U.S., Huffington Post Travel, 2013
- #9, 10 Best Boardwalks in the U.S., National Geographic, 2013
- 10 Uncrowded Atlantic Beaches for Summer, USAToday.com, 2013
- One of America’s Most Awesome Boardwalks, Budget Travel, 2013
Assateague Island National Seashore
- #23, 2014 Best Beaches in the U.S., TripAdvisor 2014 Travelers’ Choice
- #6, Best U.S. Island, USA Today Travel Reader’s Choice, 2014
- One of the 10 Most Beautiful Beaches in America, Budget Travel, 2014
- The Best Campgrounds in the Country, Men’s Journal, 2014
- Among the Best Beaches on Earth, Travel + Leisure, 2013
- Top 25 U.S. Beaches, TripAdvisor 2013 Travelers’ Choice
- Top 10 Things for Families to Do in Virginia, Trekaroo.com, 2012
- #7, Top 10 Beaches in the U.S., TripAdvisor 2013 Travelers’ Choice
- #3, America’s Best Little Beach Towns, Travel + Leisure, 2012
- America’s Best Beach Town, AOL.com, 2010
— BICYCLING —
Virginia Creeper Trail in Abingdon, VA
Virginia Creeper Trail, Abingdon
- #6, 10 Best Rails to Trails, Travel + Leisure, 2003
- #23, America’s Top 50 Bike-Friendly Cities, Bicycling.com, 2012
Capital Bikeshare, Arlington
- #11, The 16 Best Bike Shares in the World, TheActiveTimes.com, 2013
- America’s Top Mountain Bike Towns, TheActiveTimes.com, 2013
- Recognized as a Bicycle Friendly Community, League of American Bicyclists, 2013
— GARDENS —
Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden
Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden, Richmond
- #2, 10 Best Public Gardens in North America, USA Today, 2014
- #21, 30 Must-See U.S. Public Gardens, TheActiveTimes.com, 2014
- 10 North American Gardens Worth Travelling For, BBC Travel, 2013
- Best Botanical Gardens in the U.S., Travel Channel, 2013
— GOLF —
Primland
Primland Resort, Meadows of Dan
- #13, Top 100 Public Courses in America, Golf Digest, 2012
- The Boutique Mountain Golf Resort in the U.S., Golf Odyssey, 2011
- #22, Best Courses, Golfweek, 2010
- Resorts to Watch, Golf Magazine, 2010
- Best New Public Course in America ($75 and over bracket), Golf Digest, 2008
- One of the Top 10 New Courses in the World, Travel + Leisure, 2007
Golden Horseshoe Golf Club at Colonial Williamsburg, Williamsburg
- America’s 100 Greatest Public Golf Courses, Golf Digest, 2012, 2011, …
- Top 100 Resort Courses, Golfweek, annually 2007-2012
- Top 100 You Can Play, GOLF Magazine, 2012, 2011, 2010, …
— HIKING —
Dragon’s Tooth. Photo by Nate Dennison.
- #5, 7 Adventure Trips You Need to Take this Summer, TheActiveTimes.com, 2014
Cape Henry Trail at First Landing State Park, Virginia Beach (PDF)
- #9, 30 Great American Hikes, TheActiveTimes.com, 2014
Old Rag Mountain in Shenandoah National Park
- #6, 30 Great American Hikes, TheActiveTimes.com, 2014
- #29, 31 Great American Day Hikes to Do Before Summer Ends, TheActiveTimes.com, 2014
Mathew’s Arm Loop Trail in Shenandoah National Park
- #8, 10 Trails Every Man Must Hike, Men’s Health, 2014
— RIVERS —
Shenandoah River
- #3, The 16 Best Rivers in America for Tubing + Drinking, Thrillist, 2015
- Class I, 50 of the Best Rivers in the Southeast, Blue Ridge Outdoors, 2013, 2015
— SKI RESORTS —
Massanutten Resort
Massanutten Resort, McGaheysville
- 10 Best Ski Resorts for Summer Fun, Fodor’s Travel, 2014
— STATE AND NATIONAL PARKS —
High Bridge Trail State Park
High Bridge Trail State Park, Farmville
- #17, 36 Stunning U.S. State Parks, TheActiveTimes.com, 2014
Natural Tunnel State Park, Duffield
- #21, 36 Stunning U.S. State Parks, TheActiveTimes.com, 2014
Shenandoah National Park, Luray
- #30, The Absolute Best National Park, TheActiveTimes.com, 2014
— COMMUNITIES RECOGNIZED FOR OUTDOOR OPPORTUNITIES —
- The Next Great Mountain Towns, Blue Ridge Outdoors, 2013
- The Next Great Mountain Towns, Blue Ridge Outdoors, 2013
- Best Town Ever, Outside, 2012
- #2, The Best Mountain Towns for Summer, TheActiveTimes.com, 2015
- 10Best: Bike-Friendly Cities, USAToday.com, 2014
- Best Trail Town, Blue Ridge Outdoors, 2013
- Best Mid-Sized Mountain Town, Blue Ridge Outdoors, 2012
Learn more about Virginia’s outdoors at Virginia.org/Outdoors.
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