Greensboro NC to Washington DC drive: Distance, time & best stops
The best road trip stops on the Greensboro NC to Washington DC drive are Kerr Lake, Richmond VA and Fredericksburg VA. The distance from Greensboro NC to Washington DC by car is 309 miles, with a 4h40m driving time.
Planning a Greensboro NC to Washington DC road trip itinerary
The Greensboro NC to Washington DC drive takes you from North Carolina to the national capital.
Greensboro NC has a handful of strong cultural attractions. The first port of call should be the International Civil Rights Center and Museum, which houses the original FW Woolworth’s lunch counter. This was where four college freshmen staged a sit-in at the whites-only venue – a key moment of non-violent direct action in the Civil Rights struggle.
There are more backstories at the Greensboro History Museum, and the Guildford Courthouse National Military Park focuses on a Revolutionary War turning point.
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Washington DC has an enormous range of tours, experiences and attractions available. You could happily spend weeks in the Smithsonian Museums alone. Top choices, however, include the nighttime monuments and memorials tour, small group guided visits to the Capitol and National Library of Congress and Lincoln assassination tours that visit Fords Theatre.
Memorable Washington DC accommodation options include the Willard, where Martin Luther King Jr wrote his I Have A Dream speech. There’s also the Watergate Hotel, a luxurious conversion of the offices from the Watergate scandal.
Greensboro NC to Washington DC distance and driving time
By car, the distance from Greensboro NC to Washington DC is 309 miles. That makes for a driving time of around four hours and 40 minutes. The quickest route is up the I-40, I-85 and I-95.
The best stops to add to a Greensboro NC to Washington DC road trip itinerary are Kerr Lake, Richmond VA and Fredericksburg VA.
For more suggestions, read the guides to the Greensboro to Richmond and Richmond to Washington DC drive.
Greensboro NC to Washington DC drive: Kerr Lake
Kerr Lake – officially the John H Kerr Reservoir and unofficially Buggs Island Lake – straddles the Virginia/ North Carolina border. The dam on the Roanoke River is on the Virginia side, but there are several picnic areas, campgrounds and swimming beaches on both sides.
The closest section to the I-85 is in North Carolina. Here, the Kerr Lake State Recreation Area. There’s are a visitor center and bathhouses here. There are also campgrounds, picnic tables, beaches and three miles of hiking trails.
Best stops between Greensboro NC and Washington DC: Richmond VA
Once the capital of the Confederacy, Richmond VA is not entirely weighed down by its history. The surprisingly wild James River runs through it, and the west end feels energetic and more of the North than the South.
The top attraction, though, is the huge American Civil War Museum at the historic Tredegar Ironworks. After that, walk the suspension bridge to Belle Isle in the middle of the James River, see the dubious Confederate monuments on Monument Avenue, or see the grandiose tombs of the Hollywood Cemetery.
Other good Richmond experiences include food tours of the Arts District or Church Hill, Segway tours of the city landmarks, nighttime ghost walks and guided hikes along the James River.
For Richmond accommodation, the Moxy Richmond Downtown brims with fun, youthful energy. The Residence Inn by Marriott, meanwhile, is a short walk from the lively Shockoe Bottom neighbourhood.
Greensboro NC to Washington DC road trip attractions: Fredericksburg VA
Fredericksburg is a prettily historic Virginia city, with its main attraction being the Fredericksburg Battlefield. You can take a driving tour here, but there are also walking trails.
You’ll also find the James Monroe Museum and Memorial Library here. It takes you through the former president’s life and work inside his former legal office.
The Rising Sun Tavern, meanwhile, was owned by George Washington’s younger brother and was a center of revolutionary plotting.
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