About Perfect Saturdays
Looking for something to do this weekend? These great day trips are within a two-hour drive of DC.
Harpers Ferry, West Virginia
Drive time from DC: One hour and 15 minutes.
The current summer mantra: maximum cooling, minimal exertion. To embody this philosophy, plop yourself in a tube near Harpers Ferry, West Virginia, and take a ride on nature’s lazy river. Outdoor adventure groups River Riders and River and Trail Outfitters run tubing trips ($33 to $44) on gentle sections of the Shenandoah River. (Whitewater options are also available.) Floats can last an hour to three hours, depending on the conditions, and it’s a great way to get outside and enjoy summer without overheating. A leisurely float is essentially the aquatic version of sitting on a porch rocking chair, and the best way to really lean into this energy is to rent a tube for your cooler or a bring a buoyant one you can stock with refreshments.
Bring a dry change of clothes so you can spend some time in Harpers Ferry afterwards. Take the Lower Town shuttle to the historic hamlet and stop at John Brown’s Fort, where abolitionist John Brown and his revolutionary crew barricaded themselves. The town is also at the convergence of the Shenandoah and Potomac rivers, and you can take in views of the meeting waterways as well as Maryland, Virginia, and West Virginia at the Point. Nearby, grab a meal at gastropub The Rabbit Hole, which has burgers, sandwiches, and salads plus a lengthy beer menu with many options from West Virginia.
Looking for more day trip ideas? Check out our Perfect Saturdays series.
Daniella Byck joined Washingtonian in 2022. She was previously with Outside Magazine and lives in Takoma.
