Exploring the Region
Nestled along Carter’s Creek in Irvington, Virginia, The Tides Inn is more than a waterfront resort – it’s your gateway to the Northern Neck and the Chesapeake Bay lifestyle. From maritime history and oyster culture to small-town charm and scenic byways, the region invites you to slow down, explore deeply, and savor the moment.
Christ Church
Completed in 1735, this Virginia historical landmark is the best preserved of Colonial Virginia’s Anglican parish churches. The Christ Church features history of the church and Robert “King” Carter. Ride one of our complimentary bikes to the church or inquire about resort transportation. Advance tour appointments are recommended.
Irvington, Virginia
Steamboat Museum
Created to preserve, educate and interpret the era of the steamboats that plied the waters of the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries. Theater, interactive video stations, dioramas, artifacts, models, paintings, photos and gift shop. Please inquire about custom Steamboat Museum tours with the Tides Inn Activities team.
Irvington, Virginia
Northumberland County Historical Site
Founded to preserve the 1844 Old Jail and known as one of many Virginia’s historic sites. Ball Memorial Library and Museum next door includes genealogy and local history library, meeting rooms and an upstairs museum.
Heathsville, Virginia
Northern Neck of Virginia Historical Society
Collects, preserves, and disseminates information and material of every nature relating to the history, antiquities, and literature of the Counties of Northumberland, Lancaster, Westmoreland, Stafford, Richmond, and King George.
Montross, Virginia
Reedville Fishermen’s Museum
Visit Reedville, where Maine sea captain Elijah Reed purchased the land in 1874 and began the menhaden fishing industry. Its location on a peninsula, jutting into Cockrell’s Creek, with a deep harbor and quick access to the Chesapeake Bay, made Reedville an ideal fishing port. The menhaden industry was so lucrative the town, with only 500 inhabitants, was once known as the wealthiest town in the United States.
Northern Neck Farm Museum
From washing machines, to tractors, sawmills and windmills, explore it all at the Northern Neck Farm Museum featuring educational exhibits on Northern Neck Agriculture.
Burgess, Virginia
Morattico Waterfront Museum
Housed in the 1901 Morattico General Store building with views of the Rappahannock River and Lancaster Creek. Exhibits on the cultural history of a working watermen’s village.
Morattico, Virginia
Mary Ball Washington Museum & Library
Named in honor of Lancaster native and mother of George Washington, this museum features local history exhibits in the old jail, clerk’s office, and Lancaster House, and features an extensive genealogy research collection.
Lancaster, Virginia
Urbanna Museum and Visitors Center
Built in 1766, the James Mill Scottish Factor Store is one of America’s oldest surviving mercantile buildings tied to the tobacco trade at Urbanna Creek. Scottish factors transformed commerce here by offering planters immediate cash or credit for tobacco in exchange for imported goods. Inside, view the original 1755 John Mitchell Map - often called “the most important map in American history”—along with exhibits honoring Urbanna’s rich oyster heritage. Today, the building serves as the Visitor Center for the Town of Urbanna and Middlesex County.
Urbanna, Virginia
Kilmarnock Museum
Exhibits of business and commerce of Kilmarnock. This Virginia historic site recalls the early days of the bustling town, first known as Steptoe’s Ordinary, settled in 1719.
Kilmarnock, Virginia