Morven Park & Museums
Located in the heart of horse country, Morven Park is a massive 1,000-acre experience featuring three museums, English gardens, picturesque meadows, hiking trails, athletic complex and a renowned equestrian center. Take a guided tour of the early 19th-century Greek Revival mansion filled with European, Asian and Middle Eastern antiques collected at the turn of the 20th-century by the estate’s owners, Westmoreland and Marguerite Davis. See the Winmill Carriage Museum with its 40 antique carriages and Museum of Hounds & Hunting honoring the traditions of fox-hunting. $10 adults, $5 children 6-12
Horse country: Morven Park hosts a number of equestrian events, including Polo in the Park in the summer months.
Aldie Mill Historic Park
Built in the early 1800s, Aldie Mill was the largest gristmill factory in Loudoun County, and when you visit you can watch the waterwheels turning and imagine life in a different time. President James Monroe had his grain ground here while living in nearby Oak Hill. Free
Time for tea: Aldie Mill regularly hosts history programs and a Scottish afternoon tea.
Oatlands Historic House and Gardens
Touring this elegant mansion near Leesburg, with its lush green grounds and oldest standing greenhouse, is the chance to imagine life in the 1800s. Optional tours include garden tours, mansion museum tours and the Enslaved Community at Oatlands tour. Owners at Oatlands were the largest slave owners in Loudoun, with 133 men, women and children who lived and worked here. Visit during the winter holidays for afternoon tea or a candlelight tour, when the mansion is fully decorated for Christmas. $8-$15
National Sporting Library and Museum
This fine arts museum in Middleburg houses figures of horses in all media, from paintings, to sculpture to Greek urns adorned with the majestic animals. $8-$10
On view: Sidesaddle, 1690-1935, which looks at history of women equestrians, runs through March 24.
