Fun Indoor and Outdoor Activities For Kids In Virginia

Indoor Things To Do in Lynchburg With Kids

SeaQuest Lynchburg

For fans of animals and sea life, it doesn’t get much better than a visit to SeaQuest Lynchburg for a one-of-a-kind interactive aquarium experience. Boasting over 20,000 square feet of activities, children visiting SeaQuest can hold their favorite creatures and feed fish, lizards, and other ocean life. Book a Snorkel with Stingrays experience to allow your kids to enter tropical waters and get up close and personal with stingrays, sharks, and other tropical fish under the supervision of the highly trained and friendly staff. SeaQuest provides the wetsuit and snorkeling gear you need, so participants only need to bring a swimsuit. For those who prefer to stay on land, the Sloth Interaction is the perfect opportunity to make friends with Flash, the two-toed sloth, and snag some selfies with your favorite mellow creature.

Academy Center of the Arts

The hub of Lynchburg’s arts, culture, and community needs is the Academy Center of the Arts. Committed to enriching the lives of children and adults alike, art shows, performances, classes, and more are available year-round. Plan on attending a show in its flexible black box theatre or spend some time in the pottery studio shaping something of your own to bring back home with you.

Amazement Square

Children and adults alike will delight in all that Amazement Square, the area’s first hands-on children’s museum and activity center, has to offer. Kids will love climbing, sliding, and exploring the four floors packed full of interactive exhibits and activities designed to educate and entertain, ranging from the Big Red Barn, which brings the book to life, to a Galileo gravity experience.

Bounce About

Are you looking for a place where the kids can burn some energy indoors while you sit back and relax? Bounce About offers a number of bouncers, slides, and play stations for children of all ages to enjoy, with a specially designated toddler play area for the littlest ones in the family so no one is left out. Parents can rest in massage chairs while the kids bounce around, and light refreshments are available to purchase.

Lynchburg Museum

Looking for a great first stop to introduce you to the town? Kids in middle school and older will appreciate a stop at the Lynchburg Museum. Housed in the town’s old courthouse, curated exhibits demonstrate what it was like when the city of Lynchburg was being built and give visitors helpful information about how to navigate around town.

One Way Out Escape Room

For families with older children, One Way Out offers a fun and challenging game. In a real-life escape room, groups are “locked” into a room and can only escape by looking for clues, solving puzzles, and working together. To win, groups must escape in under an hour. While not for everyone, those who enjoy high-pressure fun and problem-solving will enjoy this exciting activity.

Ploughcroft Tea Room

Anglophiles will appreciate getting to experience the elegance of tea time at the Ploughcraft Tea Room. Fine teas are prepared in traditional and unique teapots and served for visitors to enjoy in the English style. Classic English savories, such as cottage pie, are available, as are timeless British sweets, such as sticky toffee pudding.

Rise Up Climbing

Rock wall climbing is the name of the game at Rise Up Climbing. With both daytime and evening sessions available, adults and kids alike can enjoy getting physical with indoor climbing. The experts at Rise Up Climbing offer a 30-minute class called Basic Skills Intro that can get the whole family prepped and ready for a climbing wall adventure in a matter of minutes, so there’s no need to worry if you or the kids don’t have prior climbing experience.

Outdoor Things To Do in Lynchburg With Kids

Lynchburg’s Many Bike Trails

Fans of biking will love the numerous bike-friendly trails Lynchburg has to offer. Bring your own bikes or take advantage of rentals available at Bikes Unlimited. Take some time to explore RiverWalk Trail with its beautiful scenery and immaculate upkeep, or venture off to Blackwater Creek Trail and take a break in the middle to stop for a great meal at one of the many local restaurants offered downtown.

A Downtown Civil War Walking Tour

Budding history buffs can come along with Judy Harvey, Lynchburg Visitor Center’s own Civil War expert, as she leads them on a 90-minute historical walking tour of Downtown Lynchburg. Many landmarks from this transformational time in the nation’s history are still able to be viewed and studied along the way, and Harvey provides fascinating commentary for a more interactive experience than many walking tours.

First Fridays

For those looking for free activities, First Fridays have got you covered. Beginning at 5 p.m. each first Friday of the month, downtown Lynchburg invites visitors to take advantage of a free trolley ride that stops at places such as the Renaissance Theatre, Riverviews Artspace, and freer of cost.

Lynchburg Community Market

The Lynchburg Community Market has been operating since 1783. Open on Saturdays from 7:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.; visitors can explore all that local vendors offer, including fresh, farm-grown food and handmade arts and crafts.

Liberty Baseball Stadium

Baseball fans will love catching a game in this beautiful and clean facility. Liberty Baseball Stadium offers comfortable seating, tasty concessions, and easy parking. Boasting no bad seats in the house, the stadium even has a playground set up where children can play while adults can still see the game.

Liberty Mountain Snowflex Centre

For those interested in snow activities regardless of the weather, Liberty Mountain Snowflex Centre has a unique range of offerings that kids and adults alike will appreciate. The slope offers an exciting experience for skiers and snowboarders, while tubing is available for less skilled visitors. There’s also a trampoline available that children are sure to get a kick out of, and all of it features some of the best views of Lynchburg around.

Percival’s Island Natural Area

Outdoorsy families will love all that Percival’s Island has to offer. You can take the kids fishing in the morning and spend the afternoon hiking and biking the scenic and clean paths looking for local wildlife and admiring all the river has to offer.

The James River

For fans of water play, the James River has much to offer in the way of family-friendly activities. Rent a canoe to cruise down the river, walk along the trails and enjoy the scenery, or spend the day teaching your kids the ins and outs of river fishing.

Take advantage of all that Lynchburg, VA, offers you and your family. Make your reservations, buy your tickets for SeaQuest Lynchburg, and bring your family to Lynchburg for a vacation you will look back on fondly for years to come. You’ll be planning your next trip back the minute you leave!