We took a day trip out to Yorktown on the Colonial Parkway. There are few real "parkways" left in our country and they are all worth experiencing. It is managed by the National Park service and stretches from Jamestown through Williamstown and into Yorktown. The parkway was opened in 1935. There are many "pull-offs" for viewing and photographing the wonderful scenery. It is meticulous in the landscaping and the York river surprises you as you round the bends. At the east end you will come to Yorktown where people live their daily lives in a national historic treasure. You will find the Yorktown Battlefield and Victory Center there as well as a lively waterfront with shops, restaurants, and a quaint little museum. We did not make it out to Jamestown in the other direction from Williamstown but are saving that for next time.

This is a must-do if you are in the Williamsburg vicinity.

The Colonial Parkway, paved within the Colonial National Park, runs between Jamestown and Yorktown (Williamsburg is in between the two). Since the parkway does run within a national park, it is maintained by the National Park Service. It is about 25 miles long. Strangely, there are no lines on the highway. The way the road was constructed, you can see the space in between each of the lanes. The width is about 3 cars worth. There are quite a few bicyclists riding on the road, so there sometimes is a need to pass these riders by using the middle lane.

Otherwise, the parkway runs through a beautiful stretch of land in between the afore mentioned colonial towns. There are frequent stop-offs throughout the journey. Many of them are along the various waterways that abut the terrain. There is an abundance of trees and flora throughout the area. I'm not an environmental specialist in any way, but it definitely seemed like there were some magnificent birds flying from tree to tree.

This is definitely the way to go when travelling from one town to the other. Even if your time is limited, I still highly recommend the drive between the towns for the scenery alone. Surprisingly, when I drove on the parkway during the mid-afternoon, there wasn't all that much traffic, so I wonder if April is generally light on tourists or if people do not like to travel on this road. For the bicyclist out there, this would be a wonderful trek as well.

Note that there are NO gas stations along this road, so I do not recommend travelling on empty when driving on this road.