A pretty setting in an old barn that uses old reclaimed items. This gives the venue a really cool…read morevibe. The server was friendly and informative. We brought snacks so we really enjoyed playing cards, sipping good wine and tasty snacks.

Great wine, great people. We have been members for years…read moreand enjoyed the many events they sponsor. A great Northern Neck winery

We enjoyed a beautiful afternoon in the barn here last weekend. We started with a flight, then…read morechose a bottle of our favorite - the "white drinker's red." We brought in a picnic, but they also sometimes have food trucks. The tables are far enough apart for some privacy, but the mood was very friendly and encouraged mingling. The bartender knew her stuff and steered us towards wines we liked. This is a great way to spend a relaxing afternoon chatting with friends. The barn is covered on 3 sides, so even though we were there in the rain it was still cozy.

This is a fun place. Cozy country. Excellent wine. Friendly and helpful staff. I highly recommend…read moregiving this place and visit one Saturday evening. There are fire pits in the barn for those chilly nights. Did I mention the excellent wine?

Stratford Hall is the ancestral home of the Lee family of Virginia. The beautiful Great House and…read moreits surrounding plantation buildings is located on the Potomac River in Westmoreland County on Virginia's Northern Neck. The historic structures are now a museum operated by the National Park Service & is listed on the National Historic Register. Built by Thomas Lee, who served as an Acting Governor of the Colony of Virginia, construction was completed in the early 1740's. The buildings breathe history. One can feel it walking the grounds. Two of Lee's sons Richard Henry Lee & Francis Lighthouse Lee were signers of the Declaration of Independence & Delegates to the First Continental Congress. Thomas Liddell Lee was a Virginia Legislator. Walking the grounds where those men, who were instrumental in the Founding of the country, walked, lived & even played was a feeling that's hard to describe. I'd love to hear what the house and grounds could tell me with the whispers & stories it still must hold. The benefit of taking the backroads to Alexandria or nearby Charles County, MD, rather than the long parking lot that I-95 has become, is passing the wonderful historic places on the route. My route starts at the highway 17 exit off I-64 west and can continue north a number of different ways depending on my final destination. The easiest way to reach Stratford Hall and other beautiful historic properties from Highway 17 is to cross the Rappahannock River at Tappahanock on Highway 360 then north on Highway 3 which winds toward the Potomac. You'll see the signs for Stratford Hall from that road. If you're feeling adventurous, like I did in earlier years, you'll let your GPS take you through roads in an exploration of the countryside. In historic, beautiful Virginia you never know what you'll find. A visit to Stratford Hall is a must for those fascinated by American history.

I visited the grounds on an early Sunday morning and came away quite enchanted. It was huge! It was…read morewell staffed! It was beautiful. All around well done and one of my favorite of the old surviving Virginia plantations. You park and go thru a very small museum to pay your dues. Then across a neat bridge over a ginormous gully to the gift shop and a beautiful walk to the house. The house tour (self audio) was quite cool. The grounds were just awesome. Lots of outbuildings well maintained. It was like a mini Colonial Williamsburg in all the depth and information. I could have spent a day there. Later, I decided to drive the other side and stumbled upon a whole new unexpected world. Lots of cabins that could be rented, a restaurant that seemed closed for the winter and then a windy drive to the river where people were searching and finding fossil shark teeth. One showed me his treasures. They weren't gigantic, but you could definitely tell they were shark teeth. Finally before leaving the river front was a old gristmill which alone would have been worth the trip. Anyone near the area should add it to their list and if you have guests around, make it an activity on your "visitor's list".

This is a must stop in... A Winery and Vinyard... in a super cute country town, WORTH THE…read more TRIP!!!!!!

I love finding hidden gems like the Rivah Vineyards at the Grove. I was in the area exploring some…read moreof the other wineries (there are three others within 10-15 driving distance) and wanted to try Rivah Vineyards since it is the newest, having only been open since November 2019. NOTE: If using your phone's GPS, Google Maps or WAZE are slightly off. Once your GPS indicates, "you've arrived" drive another 2-3 minutes and you'll see the entrance on your right. Drive up the slight incline and the first building on your right is where the main tasting room is located. Likely as you get out of your car, the unofficial mascot Happy (young chocolate lab mix) will come running up. But no worries, since he's a friendly pup who probably will have a ball in his mouth and just wants to play catch. Oh yeah, this place is very dog friendly! The best part of Rivah Vineyards, is the proprietor, Bryce. He immediately greeted our party and his enthusiasm was evident. Bryce is a local farmer and grower, who has spent many years assisting other vineyards in the area with their operations. So after helping other people, he decided to set up his own winery...and his decision is our gain for Virginia's every expanding wine industry. Bryce is an encyclopedia of knowledge when it comes to Virginia wines and we probably spent more time talking to him about how the high clay content determines which grapes grow the best than, we spent actually spent drinking wines. If visiting and lucky enough to encounter Bryce, ask him about VA's terroir. Terroir in French literally means "soil" or "earth" and having a background as a farmer, allows Bryce to know what grapes can be grown for their estate varietals and which grapes are best grown in other parts of VA. For instance, while I really enjoy viognier white wines and at one time, this was designated as the "official grape of Va," Bryce actually explained to us that viognier grapes are rather inconsistent and don't really grow so well in VA's terroir. Honestly, too often when I go to wineries, the people I speak with during my tastings are either reading from a card describing the wines or don't really have a background on the product. Speaking with Bryce was like a "Master Class" on wine production. As for the wines themselves, really good for a small operation! I picked up these three bottles: YEOCOMICO WHITE: Blend of Vidal Blanc, Viognier, Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnel, and an off dry Petit Manseng. Not too dry and not too sweet. Good balanced white wine which pairs well with poultry and seafood. ELEMENT: One of the better VA RED wines I've tasted in a long time. Aged in French and American oak, this blend of Petite Verdot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Chambourcin, and Tannat. slight notes of plum and pepper corns and black currents. Probably best with red meat, but honestly, I could also enjoy this with cheese and crusty bread. SWEET SUE: A blend of 95% Chambourcin and 5% Concord concentrate aged in stainless steel. Named after Bryce's grandmother, this Rosé speaks of the winery owner's grandmother, definitely a strong palate of red berries and fruit supported by a 4% residual sugar. I wouldn't call this a "dessert wine" since there's low sugars, but it has a nice finish without being sickly sweet. Rivah Vineyards does not have leather couches or dark hardwood tables with large stone fireplaces, typical of some of the more "high-end" tasting rooms found in other VA wineries. But don't let that discourage you from visiting. There is a deck out back with a nice view of the Yeocomico river, which should be great for enjoying a glass of wine when the weather warms up. If in the area visiting some of the larger established wineries, I also HIGHLY recommend stopping by Rivah Vineyards to sample some of their excellent wines. And during your visit, be sure to play a few rounds of catch with Happy.

Such an amazing place! The owner and director of operations are two amazing women who strive for…read moreperfection with each and every event. Truly a hidden gem of Southern Maryland. Since getting engaged in April, I have been working with the two of them to plan my wedding for next March and thus far it has been nothing short of an amazing experience. These women truly know and live true hospitality. They will go above and beyond to find you the absolute best services for your money without hesitation. I am so excite to get married here in March! They're a new business but an impeccable one nonetheless. You won't regret booking with Arks Landing!

Omg this place is amazing you just don't get service like this anymore Shirley and Shawn are the…read morebest! They go out of there way to help you the place is so clean too you won't find a dust ball on those hard wood floors my second time there and I got another reservation in July before we ever came here we stayed at other hotels in the area and you just don't get that personal touch as they give! Coffee fresh every morning! They have breakfast items out with OJ if you want it' From our room beautiful view of the water! Every room is a theme so cute you gotta love the bathrooms small but too cute! I don't have a bad word to say! I never met the owners but they should be so proud of there employees cause they really care bout your Hotel ! And the maids too! It shows in how clean everything is! See ya in July!

Such a great small business! We were drawn to their business story and the fantastic job they have…read moredone upgrading a gem. The staff were all so friendly and attentive. The room are very nice and have cute themes. Our shower was small but that being said, it was really the correct size as to not take away from the room space. Our stay was so enjoyable because of their business ideas to renovate in this superb location instead of building some new boring building. We definitely want to come back soon.

I chose to take my dad here to go wine tasting for his birthday based on the 4-star rating of Slack…read moreWine's other location in Ridge, MD. It seems that this location in Leonardtown is newer. First, be warned that this place very difficult to find. Google Maps took us to a house address and we had to call them to get to the right place. Once we got there, the view was beautiful. They asked us to sit down at a table and said they'd bring the wines over to us. The entire time, it felt like we were intruding on a private party (a lot of people were hanging around the bar - it may have been for their wine club). They weren't very attentive - they waited a long time between each tasting, to the point where it felt awkward just sitting there. We tasted four wines, then assumed the tasting was over because they stopped coming over. TL;DR: the venue is beautiful, experience wasn't great, but the staff (while inattentive) was very friendly. The wine was eh - none we tried were good enough to bring home. The only thing that made it better was that the tasting was free since they've just started offering that.

Mt husband & I took a drive down to Solomons for lunch on Memorial Day. I persuaded him to stop at…read moreAnnmarie Gardens so I could check out the sculpture garden, which has been on my list for a while. It was a nice day. There is a welcome hut where they give out maps and collect the suggested $5 donation. We walked some of the woods to view some of the sculptures. Several were very attractive and other pieces were not as striking. There is a fairy garden type play area where a number of kids were running around. We walked through the main arts building. We saw some exhibits and the gift shop. On the whole, it was smaller than I expected, but we did not walk all of the paths. I'm glad we took a look. I would be interested in returning when they have a festival or for the holiday lights.

We've been here twice. Once on a warm summer day and this time for the annual light show. The…read morebuilding is located on Solomon's Island, right off of Solomon's Island Rd. It was easy to get to, and handicap parking is located to the right as soon as you enter the grounds. All other parking is located in the grass. It's about a 5 minute walk from the parking to the lights. This place definitely did not disappoint and was well worth it! Tickets were $18/pp, parking is free. If you're bringing children and/or senior citizens be prepared to walk. It took us about an hour to walk through and see all of the displays. There were also a few spots for photo ops and food trucks with hot chocolate, fudge, popcorn, and light snacks. Two or three fire pits also conveniently located close by to warm up a bit. The inside was also open, with Santa photo ops, and a few vendors selling crafts. Highly recommend this place! Will definitely be back again next year!