Leesburg offers different ways to experience the city: guided downtown tours, historic sites, parkland and a cycling network with several types of routes. When planning a trip, you can balance culture and time outdoors according to your interests, without all your experiences having to revolve around a single attraction.
City History and Historic Sites
The Leesburg Historic District is arranged around a park-like courthouse square. It covers 36 blocks; the streets are mostly tree-lined and follow a roughly regular grid. The neighborhood’s character is evident not only in individual buildings, but also in its spatial layout. The town of Leesburg was founded in 1758. This is distinct from the timespan represented in the Historic District, where the building stock spans three centuries.
Tour Leesburg offers guided walking tours of downtown. Each site visited includes historical and current images, as well as an audio description. The tours bring together views from different periods with the corresponding stops. When planning such a tour, it is also worth noting that information about each site visited is part of the offering.
Several institutions focus on other historical themes. The Thomas Balch Library is designated as a research center on the Underground Railroad. The Donaldson Log Cabin is maintained as an educational and interpretive site for visitors and residents. It is one of Leesburg’s oldest surviving log cabins and offers a glimpse of early American frontier architecture. Dodona Manor is a house converted into a museum and associated with statesman and General George C. Marshall. These sites offer different points of focus: from a designated research center and early log cabin architecture to a museum in a historic house.
The Loudoun Museum also offers a specific visitor experience: behind-the-scenes tours must be arranged in advance. If you plan to take advantage of this offering, make arrangements before your visit.
Gardens, Parkland and Trails
Morven Park is a 1,000-acre historic estate in Leesburg. The grounds include lawns, fields, a wooded ridge and formal boxwood gardens. The formal gardens are designed quite differently from the open fields and wooded grounds; together, these areas showcase different aspects of the estate. Ida Lee Park offers trails, playgrounds and open spaces, adding to the range of parks in Leesburg.
Cycling Between Trails and Roads
The Leesburg Bike Trail Network includes more than 10 miles of shared-use trails, bike lanes and bicycle routes shared with road traffic. The network connects to the W&OD Trail. It therefore comprises different types of routes, not just shared-use trails. When choosing a route, you can also refer to the specific details on distance and course.
The Blue Trail is 7 miles long. It runs from the W&OD Trail in Tuscarora Creek Park to a turnaround at Ball’s Bluff Road NE, near the entrance to Ball’s Bluff Regional Park. The Green Trail is shorter at 2.6 miles and runs from the W&OD Trail near Fox Ridge Park to the intersection of Battlefield Parkway and North King Street. The two routes are clearly distinguished by their lengths and endpoints: the Blue Trail ends at the turnaround on Ball’s Bluff Road NE, while the Green Trail ends at the intersection of Battlefield Parkway and North King Street.
Events Throughout the Year
Leesburg hosts two annual arts and crafts shows at the Ida Lee Park Recreation Center. Another recurring option is Summer JAMS, a free concert series presented by the town. Concerts take place on most Saturdays from June through mid-August. This gives you a choice of different types of events: shows and crafts on the one hand, concerts on the other. Since event dates can change, it is a good idea to check the dates before your trip.
Explore more destinations: Sterling, Lovettsville, Ashburn, Middleburg, Purcellville
Go to the main travel overview: Loudoun.
