Bring a picnic lunch, or eat at the restaurant on location. In addition to walking tours, you can take a tram, shuttle, or boat tour (an additional $3). Imagine a three-acre rose garden or 250,000 azaleas! Kids will especially enjoy the butterfly garden and the fish-feeding activities. Norfolk Botanical Gardenīe sure to bring your camera to this field trip! It is a beautiful place any time of year, with extended hours from April through mid-October. They are located at 1255 Big Bethel Road in Hampton, 75. The Nature Center offers many programs, and homeschoolers are welcome, but you need to make reservations. You can go fishing, picnicking, and visit the Wildlife Center or gardens.
The park has a nature facility, biking and hiking trails, and a horse trail too (bring your own horse!). It has now been reclaimed, and there are 456 acres devoted to environmental and wildlife studies. It’s hard to believe that this land was once devastated by mining pits. You may rent bikes and arrange for a shuttle to pick you up at your ending point. It is 33.4 miles long, but you can choose to do just a section of it.
It is very picturesque as you ride across trestles, over streams, and through the Jefferson National Forest. Much of it is shaded, and there is a gentle downhill grade, so you can coast most of the way. This is a bike path on an old, narrow-gauge railway. NATURE-LOVER FIELD TRIPS Virginia Creeper Trail Homeschool Resources: Counselors, Testers, and Tutors.