Your Williamsburg CME conference.

Williamsburg after your study day

Study days finish at 2:00 PM Williamsburg time. For an easy afternoon, choose one outing: a walk through the Colonial Williamsburg Historic Area, shopping at Merchants Square, or time at Waller Mill Park.

Travel, lodging and admission are arranged separately by you. The city is the setting around a conference you follow on your own phone or laptop.

The Historic Triangle

Visit Williamsburg uses the name Historic Triangle for Williamsburg, Jamestown and Yorktown. The National Park Service says Historic Jamestowne preserves the site of the English settlement founded in 1607, and visitors can take a walking tour of New Towne, see archaeological excavations and follow the route associated with Captain John Smith and Pocahontas. At Yorktown Battlefield, American and French forces defeated Cornwallis’s army in 1781 in the last major battle of the Revolutionary War. The park also lists Yorktown National Cemetery and a Yorktown Battlefield tour guide app, and says Jamestown’s interpretive facilities include the glass furnace site, rediscovered and excavated in 1948. Visitors can also join ranger-led living history programs there.

The park recommends at least two to three hours at each of these sites, so plan one site per afternoon rather than several.

The 23-mile Colonial Parkway connects the York River at Yorktown with the James River at Jamestown and links the Historic Triangle of Jamestown, Williamsburg and Yorktown. The park lists construction updates, so check them before you set out.

Trails, rivers and parks

Visit Williamsburg lists biking on the Colonial Parkway and the Virginia Capital Trail, a paved bicycle and pedestrian trail of about 52 miles from Williamsburg to Richmond. It also lists hiking through the hardwood forest of Jamestown Island and at York River State Park, plus kayaking, canoeing and paddleboarding on the James and York Rivers.

The fall guide also lists hiking, biking or paddling at Waller Mill Park, Freedom Park, Chickahominy Riverfront Park and York River State Park. Compare your 2:00 PM finish with sunset and trail conditions before you plan a longer loop.

Yorktown’s waterfront

Visit Williamsburg’s Yorktown lodging guide describes a stroll to Riverwalk Landing for dining, shopping and entertainment, and a sandy swimming beach on the York River. The tourism board’s Yorktown lodging guide says a trolley runs from the beach hotel to the Yorktown Battlefield and the American Revolution Museum.

In fall, Visit Yorktown promotes Yorktown Market Days, with seasonal markets at Riverwalk Landing. The tourism board’s fall guide also lists a Yorktown Market Days Harvest Festival in late November. Confirm event dates before you plan around them.

Fall color and the holiday season

Visit Williamsburg’s fall guide points to color in Colonial Williamsburg’s streets and gardens, the forest around Historic Jamestowne and Yorktown Battlefield. It also lists a pumpkin patch in Toano, ghost tours, and tastings at a winery with a 400-acre farm.

Colonial Williamsburg’s Grand Illumination is a holiday celebration with music in the streets and a fireworks finale above the Capitol and Governor’s Palace. The tourism board lists three December evenings for this year and says restaurant tables fill quickly and street parking becomes limited by afternoon. Check the current dates.

Shopping and tastings

Visit Williamsburg lists outlet shopping centers, gift shops, antique dealers and specialty shops. Its fall guide adds holiday shopping at outlet stores, boutiques and Merchants Square for gifts and home décor.

For something slower, the same guide describes tastings and cellar tours at a winery on a 400-acre farm, and lists several craft breweries. Check each place’s days and reservation rules against your 2:00 PM finish.

When to visit Williamsburg

April through June and September through November are the milder seasons. Visit Williamsburg’s Grand Illumination guide describes streets glowing with candlelight in December.

Williamsburg is about 150 miles south of Washington, D.C., midway between Richmond and Virginia Beach, according to the tourism board. Use the local forecast for trail and river plans.

Getting to Williamsburg and your study setting

Newport News/Williamsburg International Airport (PHF) is the arrival point shown in this guide. Visit Williamsburg says it is about 20 miles away, usually a 20- to 25-minute drive. Norfolk International and Richmond International are each about 46 miles away, and Waltrip Williamsburg Executive Airport, 11 miles away, mainly serves private and corporate aircraft. The tourism board says Interstate 64 gives easy access and that Amtrak is an option.

The map shows straight-line distances from Shift’s designated center. These are orientation distances, not driving distances or travel-time estimates. Check your exact address against the conference’s check-in area before booking.