Day trip out of D.C.
 

Will be in D.C. first week in June with my relatives from Belgium. Would like to rent a car and go exploring for the day are there any drives we could do where there's some beautiful scenery and some mountains? We're from Michigan (pretty flat) and we are taking them to Florida (pretty flat) before we get to D.C. We are flying to both locations so we won't be seeing much from the plane. Thanks for any help you can give me.

<BR>Sure, head west on I-66 to Front Royal and take the Skyline Drive down through Shenandoah Nat. Park. Drive halfway down and return to D.C., finding a place to visit on the way back.

Sounds good! How far of a drive is it from Washington DC before we would get to Shenandoah Nat'l Park? Thanks again.

Skyline is a great choice and no big crowds at that time of year. Picnic along the way if you are so inclined. A good solid day trip. Otherwise you might try heading down to Charlottesville aqnd Monticello for the day, but you won't get the mountain vistas.

Skyline Drive is beautiful! For a much closer trip, don't miss Mt. Vernon, which is a very scenic and interesting visit, just 1/2 hour from DC.

Definately do the Skyline Drive trip.<BR>Take I-66 out of Washington to Front Royal. 74 miles, 1:20 hours. Figure another 10 minutes to drive south through town on rte 340 to the Skyline Drive entrance. Speed limit is 35mph on the drive, so you can determine how far you want to go by keeping track of the time driving. Go at least as far as Harrisonburg to get into the higher elevations. Bring a picnic lunch. You can get sandwiches at Arby's or 7-11 in Front Royal.

The above suggestions are good. Other trips to consider:<BR><BR>Annapolis, Maryland - the US Naval Academy is here, and the town is on the water and is quite charming in itself. No mountains though. Annaoplis is about 1 hour from DC.<BR><BR>Catoctin Mountains/Gettysburg - the drive here from DC is very pretty through farm fields and some hills. You can visit the battlefields and see the town. About 1 1/2 hours from DC. Camp David is in the Catoctin Mountain, and while you can't visit it, the area is very pretty. Catocin Mountain National Park is in Thurmont Maryland to http://www.nps.gov/cato/. The mountains don't quite have the grandeur as Skyline Drive, but is still pretty.<BR><BR>Harper's Ferry - another pretty drive through fields and rolling hills. The town is interesting and has some good shopping and restaurants. The drive is about 1 1/2 to 2 hours from DC.

Thank you everyone, the Skyline Drive sounds perfect.

I like Skyline, but actually prefer the Blue Ridge Parkway. It's a longer drive to get there, but there is very little traffic, unlike Skyline, which can get pretty crowded. If you do Skyline, just make sure you go during a week day.