Cultural and Historical Trips

To see all current Cultural and Historical Trips, click here.

Washington D.C. Escape
Join your friends as you travel to Washington for a day of nothing but lots of time to relax and explore all your favorite museums on the Mall in complete leisure. Our motor coach will drop you off and pick you up at the Smithsonian Castle, allowing for plenty of exploration time in one or more of the historic museums on the Mall or shopping! Fee includes: full equipped motor coach transportation/gratuity. Departure is from Valley Mall. A complete itinerary will be sent to you one week prior to the trip date.

Washington D.C. Genealogy Research Trip
Research time is built into this day and may be used at the DAR Library or the National Archives. Instructor Dorothy Reed will contact participants one week prior to the trip for a discussion of research options. Lunch is on your own but may be purchased within walking distance of all facilities. Tour fee includes: motor coach transportation/gratuity. A complete itinerary will be sent to you one week prior to the tour date.There is an additional admissions fee of $6 to the DAR Library.

Virginia Arboretum Tour
Join horticultural educator, Debby Fiola on this interesting trip to the Virginia State Arboretum. The State Arboretum of Virginia is part of Blandy Experimental Farm, a research field station for the University of Virginia. The Arboretum collection includes the largest variety of boxwood cultivars in North America and more than half the world's pine species as well as a Virginia Native Plant Trail, an herb garden, extensive collections of perennials, a native plant meadow, and more. The tour includes an enroute lecture by Debby Fiola, tour of selected specimens in the Arboretum and on sight lecture "CSI Plants" by Steve Carroll , Director of Public Programming, held in the Quarters, a historic landmark on the grounds of the Arboretum; motor coach transportation/gratuity. Please bring a lunch to be enjoyed inside the Quarters. A complete itinerary and departure point map will be sent to all participants one week prior to the tour date.

Mount Vernon Estate Tour
Join colonial and revolutionary war historian and author, Roger Swartz on this historical journey to George Washington's estate, Mount Vernon; a place woven into the historical tapestry of our political freedoms. This interesting tour will include an en-route lecture on George Washington by Roger Swartz, entrance fees to Mount Vernon Estate and two new museums at Mt. Vernon: The Ford Orientation Center and Donald W. Reynolds Museum and Education Center. Enjoy an entire day at Mt. Vernon, exploring the beautiful Estate, museums, grounds and gift shop. Lunch is on us at the new Food Court also located on the Estate grounds. Dine inside a glass enclosed pavilion or outside on the terrace near a rolling pasture. Five kiosks offer a fresh selection of grilled sandwiches, salads, desserts, ice cream and more. A complete itinerary will be sent to you one week prior to the trip date. We will depart from the HCC Valley Mall. A complete itinerary and departure point parking guide will be sent to your one week prior to the departure date. Fee includes: motor coach transportation, all entrance fees, lunch voucher, gratuities and en-route lecture with Roger Swartz.

C&O Canal Walk: Mountain Lock to Antietam Aqueduct
Join John Frye on this interesting 3-mile C&O Canal walk from Mountain Lock to the Antietam Aqueduct. A discussion of historical area highlights will be presented. We will depart from the HCC Main Campus. A complete itinerary and departure point/parking map will be sent to you one week prior to the walk date. The group will stop at an area restaurant after the walk for a group lunch on your own.

Gems of Washington: New Memorials, Potomac Lunch Cruise
Join DC Tour Director Carol Bessette for this wonderful new Gems of Washington tour featuring the the Pentagon Memorial constructed in the memory of the citizens killed in 9/11 terrorist attacks and the new Martin Luther King Memorial. View many Washington Memorials on the narrated Potomac River lunch cruise. Tour fee includes: fully equipped motor coach, gratuities, all inclusive three course narrated lunch cruise, en-route lecture and personalized tour with DC Tour Director Carol Bessette. Light walking for majority of this tour, moderate walking to the Pentagon Memorial.
Fee: $115

Winterthur Gardens and House Tour
Come spend the day at Winterthur, the beautiful DuPont family estate and gardens. Nestled in the heart of Delaware's beautiful Brandywine Valley, this extraordinary home, gardens and museum will delight your senses and offer an inspirational spring tour. This wonderful tour includes Garden Tram tour, docent-led house tour, and time to explore the many museum exhibits, gardens and fantastic Winterthur museum store. Motor coach transportation, gratuity, entrance fees and en-route lecture by Annette Ipsan, Horticulture Educator, are also included in the fee. Enjoy lunch on your own in the Winterthur Visitors Center Garden Cafe.
Fee: $90

Potomac Eagle Train Trip
This great trip on the Potomac Eagle just got better! All aboard with John Frye for this terrific, one-day roundtrip from Romney to Petersburg. View the beautiful colors of spring and pristine waters of the Southbranch of the Potomac River. Your first class tickets are reserved in the upscale club dining cars where you will be served a continental breakfast, boxed lunch and full service hot dinner on historic Chessie China. Enjoy the magnificent scenery as we travel through "The Trough", a spectacular narrow mountain valley where the American Bald Eagle is at home and waiting for our visit. Bring your cameras and get ready for a wonderful day in West Virginia! Fee includes: fully-equipped motor coach transportation/gratuity, en-route historical lecture by John Frye, first class seating, three meals and narrated ride on the Potomac Eagle. The Potomac Eagle will only run this trip one time in the spring.
Fee: $175

Mysterious Creatures of the Night: Evening Wildlife Walk
Join area naturalist Dave Weesner for this interesting evening wildlife walk and identifying many of these mysterious voices of the night. Nocturnal animals we hope to see or hear include: Barred Owl, Screech Owl, Whip-Poor-Will, Woodcock, beaver, deer, bats and species of frogs, toads and insects. We will be walking on relatively flat terrain in the Indian Springs Wildlife Management Area. We will meet in the parking area of the Indian Springs Wildlife Management Area near Clear Spring, Maryland. A complete itinerary and directions to the parking area at Indian Springs will be sent to you one week prior to the trip departure date. Please bring binoculars, flashlights, dress in layers and wear hiking boots or supportive shoes.
Fee: $15 Reg Fee: $6 Total: $21

Battle of Gettysburg & New Visitors Center
Join Licensed Gettysburg Battlefield guide John Fitzpatrick as we tour the Battlefield and visit the new National Park Service Visitors Museum. This extensive museum about Gettysburg and the Civil War, features the fully restored Gettysburg Cyclorama that dramatically depicts "Pickett's Charge" and the film "A New Birth of Freedom", narrated by Morgan Freeman, which focuses on the significance of Gettysburg. Following our morning at Visitor's Center Museum we will have a lovely all-inclusive lunch at the historic Dobbin House Tavern. Our afternoon will feature a Gettysburg Battlefield tour with Licensed Guide John Fitzpatrick. Fee includes: motor coach transportation/gratuity, entrance fees, private Battlefield Tour and all-inclusive lunch. A complete itinerary will be sent to you one week prior to the trip date.
Fee: $86

1861 Civil War Tour with Tom Clemens and Dennis Frye
Join Civil War historians Tom Clemens and Dennis Frye on this interesting 1861 Civil War sites tour featuring the following events Maryland and West Virginia:
The occupation of Maryland Heights by Stonewall Jackson and the events in Harpers Ferry in April and May of 1861; the skirmish at Falling Waters; Shepherdstown, Ferry Hill and Williamsport focusing on the defenses, Ford and Patterson's occupation; Stonewall Jacksons' attempt to destroy the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal and Dam #5.
Tour fee will include: motor coach transportation/gratuity, lunch at an area restaurant, en-route historical interpretation by historians Tom Clemens and Dennis Frye.
Fee: $96

Yuletide Tour of Winterthur and Longwood Gardens
This is the holiday trip that you have been waiting for! Experience the Holiday beauty of Longwood Gardens and the Dupont Estate of "Winterthur".  Join your friends on this great tour featuring two of the Mid-Atlantic Yuletide decorating favorites. We will begin with a docent-led tour Dupont estate of "Winterthur", featuring access to the lovely rooms transformed by exquisite decorations for the Yuletide season. Next we will feature the bedazzling display of Holiday lights and flowers at Longwood Gardens. Before departing this wonderland, we will take moment to view the outdoor Holiday lights and fountain display. Tour fee includes: fully-equipped motor coach transportation/gratuity, and all entrance/tour fees.  Meals may be purchased in one of the  Longwood Dining areas.  Departure will take place from the Valley Mall.  A complete itinerary and departure point/parking map will be sent to you one week prior to the trip date.
Fee: $105

For more information or to register, call 240-500-2236.