Discover Reston

Reston offers several specific starting points for planning a trip: the history of the planned community at Lake Anne, a museum, water destinations, hiking trails, and environmental education. If you’re looking for a hotel in Reston, these themes can help you decide what kind of stay you want. Would you like to explore the area’s history, visit exhibitions, or combine your visit with fishing, water attractions, and nature?

Lake Anne and the History of Reston

The Lake Anne Village Center was the first village in the planned community of Reston and opened in 1965. The Lake Anne Village Center Historic District illustrates the social, architectural, and land-use innovations of the New Town movement. To understand these innovations, you can consider the three themes separately: social ideas relate to community life, architecture to the built environment, and land use to the planning of land. The historic focus therefore extends beyond building design; social concepts and the use of land are also part of it.

The Reston Museum at the historic Lake Anne Plaza features permanent and curated exhibitions. Admission is free. If you’re planning a museum visit, it offers a distinct way to explore exhibitions alongside the themes of the Historic District.

Water Destinations and Outdoor Activities

Lake Fairfax Park includes a 20-acre lake where fishing is permitted. The Water Mine Family Swimmin’ Hole offers a different kind of water experience, with tube slides on the Rattlesnake Lazy River, a children’s pool at Tenderfoot Pond, slides, tunnels, and interactive play features for young children. This lets you compare two distinct options: fishing at the lake or enjoying a water attraction with slides and play features. If you’re traveling with young children, the children’s pool and interactive play features are specific factors to consider when choosing.

Trails, the W&OD, and Nature Education

Every named hiking trail in Reston has an interactive map that can pinpoint a visitor’s location on that trail. This feature answers the question of where you are on a particular trail. The W&OD, by contrast, is notable for its full length: today, it is a continuous 45-mile trail from Shirlington in Arlington County to Purcellville in Loudon County.

The history behind the name of the Washington and Old Dominion Trail (W&OD) offers another perspective. The historic railroad connection for which the trail is named originally linked the seaport of Alexandria with Falls Church, Vienna, Reston, Herndon, Sterling, Leesburg, and Purcellville. Its length and endpoints describe the trail today; the connection between these places belongs to the history of the railroad. This makes it easy to distinguish the present-day trail route from the historical significance of its name.

The Walker Nature Center runs on-site and outreach programs for people of all ages focused on environmental education and conservation. The center also invites visitors to hike, paddle, roast marshmallows, and take part in activities in the stream. If environmental education or outdoor activities are among your interests, these offer another specific focus for planning your stay.

Discover more destinations: Centreville, Lorton, Vienna, Herndon, Chantilly, Mclean, Annandale, Burke

For the full travel overview: Fairfax County.