Virginia Travel Guide - Virginia Travel Guide 2026
Inclusive Adventures
2025-11-24 12:37:52
INCLUSIVE ADVENTURES FOR EVERY EXPLORER
When we say outdoor activities for all, we mean it. Use this roundup to start planning your trip, whether you’re looking for accessible cabins in state parks or outfitters that ensure people of all abilities get to experience outdoor adventures.
ACCESSIBLE TRAILS FOR HIKING & BIKING
Connecting with nature and loved ones is just one of the reasons Virginia visitors love to get outdoors, and the Commonwealth has more than a few accessible trails to welcome them.
Reach new heights at High Bridge Trail State Park, aptly named for the portion that traverses the Appomattox River at a height of 125 feet. The 32.2-mile trail is wide and flat, making it ideal for wheelchairs, scooters, and adaptive mountain bikes. Another favorite is the 2-mile Saunders-Monticello Trail, a gravel path with a gentle incline. And Great Falls Overlook Trail is an out-and-back 1.4 miles that’s at least 8 feet wide and gently graded. It’s mostly paved or gravel, with a portion of wooden boardwalk, and all wheelchair-accessible.
And it isn’t only the terrain that’s inclusive. Visitors to Natural Bridge State Park who are blind or have low vision can use the park’s new navigation system to get real-time audio directions while exploring. And all state parks in Virginia have viewfinders equipped with special lenses that allow parkgoers with red-green colorblindness to see the vibrant colors of the scenery around them.
ADAPTIVE WATER ACTIVITIES
In Luray, cast a line from one of two accessible platforms along the Hawksbill Greenway, next to a stream stocked with trout. Smallmouth bass and bluegill are the main catches at Abbott Lake in Bedford, where an accessible pier looks across to Flat Top Mountain.
For thrill-seekers wanting to make a splash, Beyond Boundaries and RVA Paddlesports offer inclusive whitewater rafting and kayaking trips on the James River, while Virginia Beach Adaptive Watersports hosts water-skiing instruction in Chesapeake and Virginia Beach.
ACCESSIBLE BEACHES
If hitting the beach is a vacation must, check out a free beach wheelchair with sand tires from Grommet Island Park along the Virginia Beach Boardwalk. Grommet Island Park also has a fully accessible playground with features like raised sand tables and a sensory board! Several state parks have beach wheelchairs (including False Cape and Kiptopeke) or wheelchair mats leading out to the sand (including First Landing).
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