Richmond, VA Outdoor Activities

The streets and buildings of Richmond breathe with history. Patrick Henry’s famous words, “Give me liberty or give me death,” echo in St. John’s Church, where the statesman gave his infamous speech; the ghost of Poe wanders the streets of the Church Hill district, where he lived and wrote; and the bones of presidents James Monroe and John Tyler lie peacefully under the lush grass of the Hollywood Cemetery, a National Historic Landmark. These are just a few of the locations that segway riders glide through during educational tours organized by Segway of Richmond.

The company’s most popular jaunt, the two-hour Landmark Tour, takes groups to nearly 20 historic buildings, churches, and museums, whereas other ventures focus on specific aspects of the city’s past, such as the Black History Tour or the Edgar Allan Poe Tour. In addition to learning about the men and women who shaped the culture of Richmond and practicing their preferred mode of transportation, tour-goers can explore the architecture of Victorian and Edwardian homes during a Fan District Tour or think about murals, mosaics, and sculptures during a Public Art Tour.

Former professional driver and expert instructor Randy Baker and his team have been guiding drivers toward greatness for more than 20 years; past pupils include Jeff Gordon, Tony Stewart, Jeff and Ward Burton, and the shadowy pit mechanic known only as Racer X. At SpeedTech Auto Racing School, Randy combines a fleet of super-speedy rides—authentic, metal-bodied vehicles boasting 650-horsepower V-8 engines—with a serious emphasis on safety to prepare drivers for any mishap on the track. Gearheads, speed junkies, and people who still sleep in a racecar bed despite their adult children's protestations soak up Randy's knowledge during one of SpeedTech's many race programs, varying in length from 3 laps to more than 100. With the school's built-in HD video feeds, drivers can commemorate their laps or prove to the family car it's been cheating on them with the hotel's valet.

Teachers and doctors. Moms and sisters. The River City Rollergirls don't really care who you are, as long as you're ready to hit someone—and foster an environment that values diversity and gender equity in the process.

The skater- and volunteer-operated league sprouted in early 2006 as Richmond's first all-women's flat-track roller-derby association. At the start, the league featured just two teams—Poe's Punishers and the Uncivil Warriors—but has since expanded to include new members, including the Carytown Cadets, the Hollywood Undertakers, and the Jackson Wardens. All teams take falls and crack skulls as part of the Eastern region of the Women's Flat Track Derby Association. But off the track, players put away their growling game faces when participating in community-outreach programs.

Bobby Lopez's passion for the game of golf was fostered by the expert tutelage of world-class players such as Bob Toski, Henry Cotton, and "Wild" Bill Melhorn. As a Class A member of the PGA, Bobby brings years of experience to his teaching game, a distinctive approach to instruction, and the ability to leap wide sand traps in a single bound. Bobby works with each golfer's mechanics and techniques, rather than against them, during drills he designed himself to help pupils cut strokes and time from their game. When not developing students' drives, short games, and club choices, Bobby hosts "The Bobby Lopez Golf Hour" on Fox Sports 1340 AM, and also takes time to support the USO.

Bubbles rise toward the surface of their glasses in a frothy frenzy while all around them oenophiles swirl and sip Central Virginian varietals and Richmond-area restaurants fill the air with the smoky scents of grilled fare. At the second annual Flavor – Beer, Wine, & Food Festival, this fever dream takes shape as more than 40 brews from beer-makers large and small await their fans. While an international team of brewing all-stars such as Yuengling, Sierra Nevada, Sapporo, and Stella Artois flaunt their elixirs, solo operators from James River Homebrewers also appear, answering questions about DIY-distilling and keeping a crowd of drunken yeast under control.

Between sips, guests might stop by the stations of local restaurants including The Halligan Bar and Grill, O'Toole's Restaurant and Pub, and Keagan's Irish Pub and Restaurant. There, bar fare sizzles on grills, waiting to line stomach caverns so that tasters can keep sampling.

The burner roars to life and inflates a nine-story-tall balloon, hoisting a basket aloft into air currents just above the treetops. Cradled in the basket alongside a Federal Aviation Administration–licensed commercial pilot, passengers look out upon panoramic views of forests and rolling open countryside. They drift along, breathing in the perfume of flowers below and catching glimpses of deer foraging for leaves, eagles rising on thermals, and foxes prowling the woods. The pilot eventually lands the balloon on firm ground and passengers are transported to the balloon port, where they pause for photo opportunities, disembark, and celebrate with a postflight complimentary champagne toast.

Whether leading visitors on regular tours of the countryside like these or undertaking large-scope marketing projects to espouse Virginia’s charms, Balloons Over Virginia, Inc. maintains a strong sense of pride for their state. For example, for several years its staff piloted the crimson-and-white "Virginia is for Lovers" balloon on low flights throughout North America. Staffers extend their aerial-navigation skills to outdoor events as well, where they slowly fly attendees up to 100 feet in the air on rope-tethered aerostats. They also head to classrooms to teach balloon-related math, science, and aviation history before taking students on a brief balloon voyage.