There are a number of great historic sites in Virginia related to the American Civil War. One spot that I visited not too long ago, which is one of my favorites is Appomattox Court House National Historic Park.
This historic park is a collection of buildings making up what was once the village of Appomattox Court House. The events here were the culmination of an 8-day campaign between Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia and Federal forces under General Grant. In the end, Lee surrendered his army to Grant at the McLean house.
You can learn more about Appomattox Court House National Park at the US Park Service’s website. There’s a lot of history, and when we visited, there were Parks Service employees who were sharing their knowledge about the buildings, artifacts, and the events that took place there. Once you go through the buildings, there are 8 hiking trails available, from .9 to 4.8 miles letting you get out and see the area.
Appomattox Station
Outside of the National Park site itself is the town of Appomattox, and there you will find Appomattox Station, the site of a battle the day before the events at Appomattox Court House. There is a small museum located in the old station. There isn’t a lot of items there, but it’s worth stopping in for a look.
Clover Hill Village
Another historic attraction in Appomattox is Clover Hill Village. Clover Hill Village consists of 6 acres of historic buildings from 1840 to about 1920.
DeVault Vineyards
Nearby you will find the DeVault Vineyards in Concord Virginia, where you can tour the vineyard, bring a picnic lunch to enjoy, use the swimming pool, or catch fish in a stocked fishing pond.
Camping
And this trip would not be complete without a campground to hang out at and build yourself a campfire at the end of the day. Holliday Lake State Park is located not far from Appomattox. Holliday Lake provides fishing, swimming, hiking, as well as canoe and kayak rentals. This is not a large campground so you may want to make reservations early. There are also other state parks in the area, but just not as close to Appomattox.
Enjoy Your Stay
We spent a day in Appomattox without doing any of the hikes. That included the Appomattox Court House and Appomattox Station. Overall, with the Vinyard, and Clover Hill Village, you may want to give yourself 2 or 3 days, depending on how much time you want to spend just enjoying your campsite. We didn’t camp in Appomattox, because we were on our way farther south, but I am looking forward to going back. If you want to make this one stop on a larger road trip, Appomattox is roughly 2-3 hours from Fredericksburg Virginia and 3 ½ hours from the Antietam battlefield in Sharpsburg Maryland. Fredericksburg has a number of battlefields all fairly close together. I did a review of one of the campgrounds in the area, which you can check out on MustGoCamping. If you head out to Appomattox, enjoy your stay!