Two-Day Student Group Tour Itinerary

Day One

Morning

Guided Nature Walk of the Great Dismal Swamp National Wildlife Refuge.

Includes learning about the history, mystery, and lore surrounding the one of the remaining American wildernesses. Discover the breathtaking home to black bear, river otters, spotted turtles, salamanders, toads, snakes, and 200 species of birds. Learn about the National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom Program – so many journeys have begun and ended in the dense wilderness of the Great Dismal as it was once a haven for runaway slaves.

Lunch

Enjoy lunch at one of downtown Suffolk’s independent eateries. (Group seating available at The Mod Olive, The Baron’s Pub, Amici’s Pizza Café, Arts Kitchen, etc.)

Afternoon

Enjoy a guided tour of the Suffolk Center for Cultural Arts including two art galleries, a historic classroom museum, artisan gift shop, ballroom ~plus~ a behind-the-scenes tour of the theatre, culminating on the stage.

Check out local shops or stop at the Planter’s Peanut Store for fresh peanuts roasted in a 1936-model roaster.

Visit the Suffolk Art Gallery for the current exhibit and a hands-on art activity.

Dinner

Dine at a unique downtown eatery or enjoy a catered dinner underneath the Suffolk Visitor Center Pavilion. Complimentary live music entertainment available or outdoor movie screening (weather dependent).

Day Two

Morning

Tour Riddick’s Folly House Museum (1837), a beautifully appointed house that now stands as a reminder of Suffolk’s history. Riddick’s Folly has four floors, twenty-one rooms, and sixteen fireplaces. The building features elegantly furnished double parlors, a gentlemen’s library, and adult and children’s bedchambers. Also open are the laundry and dining rooms, and the kitchen. Registered with the Virginia Historic Landmarks Commission and the National Register of Historic Places. During the Civil War, Riddick’s Folly served as headquarters for the Union Army.

Lunch

Enjoy lunch at one of Suffolk’s downtown restaurants. Or choose a picnic lunch on the Constant’s Wharf riverfront park.

Afternoon

A guided tour of Seaboard Station Railroad Museum. This restored Main Street station displays a two-room HO-scale model of Suffolk in 1907. The station was built in 1885 and has remained mostly unchanged over the years. (currently closed for restoration)

Take a guided Cedar Hill Cemetery (1802), originally constructed as “Green Hill Cemetery,” this 32-acre expanse of hilly terrain and ancient cedar trees has many stories to reveal.

Dinner

Private dinner at the Historic Obici Mansion. Amedeo Obici, an Italian immigrant and founder of Planters Peanuts, built this 1920s Art Nouveau-style mansion along the Nansemond River. The former home, on the National Register of Historic Places, was renovated to accentuate its original grandeur and now has taken on a new life as a popular special events venue. Situated on Sleepy Hole Golf Course.