If you’re spending 2025 spring break in Richmond, VA, check out my ideas for family spring break activities! I’ll share what to explore in RVA and the surrounding areas, as well as ways to keep the kiddos occupied if you’re staycationing or working from home.

I have only traveled for spring break one time in my life. In college, a group of friends and I got a hotel room in Jersey and rode the train into New York City everyday for a week. We were so broke, we couldn’t afford to get most of our meals at restaurants, so we packed sandwiches and picnicked on park benches throughout the city. It was exhausting, a little bit bohemian, and absolutely magical.

But since then, spring break has purely been a staycation experience for me. With two kids at home, as well as a full-time job, I have to get creative with spring break staycation planning. I like to plan for a blend of family outings, restful time at home, and productive things around-the-house. Fun but balanced Special, but still restful.

Outdoor Activities in Richmond, VA

Explore a new neighborhood in RVA

If you’re just visiting Richmond, there are TONS of great neighborhoods to explore. But even if you live in the metro Richmond area, there are most likely pockets of the city that you haven’t explored, or at least haven’t take the kids to see.

Some of my favorites are:

• Northside’s Bellevue Neighborhood
  • What it’s like: Beautiful houses, tree-line streets, a few cute shops, and awesome restaurants.
  • How to spend your time: Grab coffee from Stir Crazy Cafe, shop local groceries and treats at Little House Green Grocery, Enjoy a walk around the neighborhood admiring the variety of charming homes and shops, Grab lunch at Dot’s Back Inn, and then let the kids roam around at nearby Bryan Park .
• Carytown
  • What it’s like: Walkable hub for local restaurants, shopping, and all around quintessential Richmond vibes
  • How to spend your time: Snag coffee and breakfast at Sugar and Twine, take the kids to get a toy from World of Mirth, shop the local treasures at Mongrel, snag a vegan treat from Minglewood Bake Shop, and then work off the calories by exploring nearby Maymont Park
• Ashland (Okay, outside the actual city of Richmond, but close by and worth the drive!)
  • What it’s like: Cutie little spot with a walkable main street, a local college, and train running through the center of town.
  • How to spend your time: Watch the trains come and go from Ashland Station, go to shopping at Tiny Tim’s Trains & Toys, eat lunch at The Caboose, teach the kids about the wonders of vintage and thrift shopping at Crimson & Clover, and Hickory Creek Antiques.

Best local parks around town

• Park 365 near Northside — Shaded parent seating, play equipment for kids with special needs, and ample parking
• Deep Run Park in the West End — Multiple play areas for kids, trails with scenic areas to enjoy, a bike track area, and plenty of open fields to let the kids run.
• Bryan Park in Northside — Gorgeous spots to enjoy a picnic, especially when the spring flowers are in bloom, plenty of trails, and playground equipment.
• Crump Park in Glen Allen — Play area, a big central pond with fishing, historic Meadow Farm Museum on the property, open fields, and nature trails.
• Metro Richmond Zoo — Okay, not a park, but still a great spot for outdoor fun!

Family Photo Walk

I don’t know about your, but my kids love to take photos. They each have their own little digital cameras that they love to walk around with. They also love taking my polaroid for a spin — so fun waiting for those physical prints to develop, like magic!

If the weather is nice, give each member of the family a camera (even if you just snag disposable cameras from Target!), pick a park or neighborhood that I mentioned in one of the previous sections, and walk around taking photos! See how creative you can get capturing pretty things and family memories.

It’s fun to compile everyone’s images into a mini-album (I love this one from Printworks) to keep on display and enjoy again and again.

Sitesee Like a Tourist

Have you taken your kids to see the staple tourist spots around Richmond? Spring break is a great time to introduce them to some of Richmond’s history!

This site is incredibly comprehensive and has tons of information about museums, historical sites, and tours around RVA.

Rainy Day Activities in Richmond, VA

Create Together

Nothing bonds people together like making. Creativity is powerful, and even if you don’t fancy yourself an artist, creating alongside your kids is a fun and connecting experience. Try:

• Painting pottery at All Fired Up in Short Pump
• Making terrariums at Plant House
• Take a class together at the VisArts Center
• Plan an outing to The Art Factory in Midlothian

Family Ice Cream Date

Y’all. There are some pretty awesome ice cream spots around town. I love —

• Study Hall (vegan soft serve! 🤩) in the Forest Hill area
• Scoop RVA in the Fan
• Blue Cow Creamery in the West End
• Gelati Celesti in Scott’s Addition
• Ruby Scoops in Northside

Library Crawl

Henrico, County has some incredible libraries that have recently been renovated! They are just as inspiring and beautiful as they are useful. Get a library card and spend the day hopping from one spot to the next. Check out the Henrico Library locations HERE!

Spring Break Day Trips Near RVA

One of the things I love about Richmond is its proximity to so many other cool towns and cities. You can obviously head to Washington D.C. or Virginia Beach for the day, but there are lots of other gems nearby too. Try a Spring Break jaunt to:

• Staunton, VA – Quaint, walkable town with tons of cute shops and restaurants. It’s about an hour and a half drive from the RVA area.
• Williamsburg, VA – History! Shopping! Great food! Busch Gardens! Water Parks! All less than an hour from Richmond.
• Kings Dominion – Theme park less than 30 minutes from RVA!
• Charlottesville, VA – I love C-ville because it offers a perfect mix of small city vibes, outdoor adventuring, and upscale outings. Only 45 minutes from Richmond.

For Days When You Need to Hang at Home

Let’s be real. Not every day of spring break can be an amazing family adventure. Sometimes mom and dad need to get work done. Sometimes it’s too rainy or cold. Sometimes kiddos get sick. But never fear because here are lots of fun, restful, or productive ways to keep the kiddos occupied while at home.

• Plant Seed Starters
  • Even if it’s too early to get the garden going, start some seeds, teach the kids more about the wonder of gardening, and be a step ahead when the ground is ready for planting.
• Nostalgic Movie Day
  • We millennials love nostalgia don’t we? Spring break is a great time to introduce your kiddos to the movies you loved most as a kid. Make popcorn, put together a tray of sweet treats, and put on one of those 90s films that gives you the childhood feels.
• Toy Donation Round Up
  • If your kids’ rooms are overflowing with toys and clutter from Christmas, Spring Break is an excellent time to gather up broken toys to throw away and gently used ones to donate. It’s super easy to take items to the drive through drop off at Goodwill or Hope Thrift.
• Closet Inventory
  • I know it sounds boring. But for whatever reason, my kids LOVE to change their clothes a zillion times a day. Take that passion for creating unnecessary laundry and make it productive. Have the kiddos try on everything in their closets and make a pile with anything that’s too small and needs to be donated! They can even put on a fashion show with some of their favorite looks that DO still fit 🙂 Bonus — you’ll be a little more prepared when the weather warms up and you transition to summer clothes!
• Cooking Skills Bootcamp
  • Kiddos love to help out in the kitchen. Harness that energy and spend the week teaching them to be a little more independent in the kitchen. Oatmeal, microwave popcorn, sandwiches, etc. That way they need less help from you when making breakfast or an afternoon snack AND they are gaining important life skills. Plus, they will just enjoy the time spent in the kitchen learning from you 🙂

Schedule a family photo session!

Spring break is the PERFECT time to get family photos done. Everyone is coming out of the winter fog, kids are out of school, and it creates a lot of perfect gift opportunities for upcoming Mother’s Day and Father’s Day. We can plan a session to take place at home in cozy clothes or out in the fresh spring weather at some of the parks I mentioned earlier in this post.

It’s also a great season to explore some creative locations around town, especially if you’re looking for something fun and unique for your images.

Check out my website, and then reach out to me to get something on the books!

If you have other favorite events or ideas for spring break activities in Richmond, definitely leave your thoughts in the comments below! I’d love to incorporate some new things into my spring break plans for our family staycation 🙂