7 Best Things to Do in Lorton, VA

By VI Staff on January 13, 2020

Lorton is a census-designated place in Fairfax County, Virginia. Until November 2001, Lorton was the site of the Lorton Reformatory, today a Workhouse Art Center. Gunston Hall is a beautiful Georgian mansion built in 1759 for the US Founding Father George Mason. Mason Neck State Park is located on a peninsula between Pohick Bay, Belmont Bay and the Potomac River, and is great for observing bold eagles. Occoquan Regional Park is located along the Potomac River tributary and was once a site of eight brick-making kilns. Lorton is one of the two stations that serve Amtrak's Auto Train which carries passengers and their vehicles to Sanford, Florida.

1.Gunston Hall

Gunston Hall is a beautiful Georgian mansion in Mason Neck, Virginia, near the Potomac River. It was built in 1759 for the US Founding Father George Mason. It was located on a 5,500-acre plantation. It is not far from George Washington's home. The house interior design has elements of rococo, chinoiserie, and Gothic styles. Ornate decorations were very unusual for Virginia at the time, when décor tended to be simple. After Mason died in 1792, Gunston Hall remained a private residence for many years. It is now a house museum open to the public and owned by the Commonwealth of Virginia. The house and grounds are listed as a National Historic Landmark.

Lorton, VA 22079, Phone: 703-550-9220

2.Workhouse Arts Center

The Workhouse Arts Center is a non-profit organization in Lorton, Virginia that provides studios for visual and performing arts, exhibition space and arts education programs. The Workhouse is located on 55 acres of land in the Occoquan Workhouse part of the historic D.C. Department of Corrections Lorton Reformatory. The Workhouse consists of studios for more than 100 professional and emerging artists, cooperative studios, performance and theatre venues, a main gallery building, gallery space in each studio and event space. The Workhouse also includes Lucy Burns Museum. The Workhouse Arts Center opened to the public in September, 2008, after several years of adapting a former Lorton Reformatory facility which closed in 2001. One of the former prison inmates was Lucy Burns, a member of the Silent Sentinels and a leader of women’s suffrage. IN her memory, a small museum was opened as a part of the Center.

9518 Workhouse Rd, Lorton, VA 22079, Phone: 703-584-2900

3.Mason Neck State Park

Mason Neck State Park is located on a peninsula between Pohick Bay, Belmont Bay and the Potomac River, near the town of Lorton, Virginia. The park covers 1,814 acres and is home to bald eagles, great blue herons, ospreys, white-tailed deer and many other species of wildlife. Mason Neck State Park is one of the best locations in Virginia to view bald eagles. The best time to observe them is in the mornings and evenings. The park is day-use only, and has a visitors’ center, hiking trails, three miles of paved multi-use trails, a large picnic area, a playground, and a canoe launch. Canoe, kayak and bikes are available for rent. Most visitors come to enjoy guided canoe trips of Kane's Creek and Belmont Bay and to observe bald eagles. The park's combination of ecosystems that include wetlands, forest, open water, ponds and open fields make it great for environmental study.

7301 High Point Rd, Lorton, VA 22079, Phone: 703-339-2385

4.Occoquan Regional Park

Occoquan Regional Park is located along the Potomac River tributary, in Lorton, Fairfax County, Northern Virginia. The park was opened in 2018 and is operated by the NOVA Parks agency of Northern Virginia. The park is densely forested and has a well-preserved Civil War arsenal. At the park's center is a large, beehive brick kiln, the last of eight kilns that were used during the turn of the last century to produce bricks for Washington, D.C. and the surrounding area. The bricks were mostly made by prisoners from the neighboring Lorton Reformatory. The park also includes the Jean R. Packard Center, a wedding and events facility and a Brickmakers Cafe. There is a paved bike path that runs through the park, a five km loop trail, several sport fields and a public marina.

9751 Ox Rd, Lorton, VA 22079, Phone: 703-690-2121

5.Workhouse Prison Museum

Workhouse Prison Museum is a small museum in the Lorton Reformatory, a former prison in Lorton, Virginia. The museum tells the story of a dark but crucial chapter in the American women's suffrage movement. This former workhouse prison by the Occoquan River, which opened in 1910, became famous for horrible treatment of the suffragists who were imprisoned during the First World War. The cruel treatment of imprisoned women resulted in public support for the suffragist movement and as a result on January 9, 1918, President Wilson finally decided in favor of a constitutional amendment granting the vote to women.

9518 Workhouse Rd, Lorton, VA 22079, Phone: 703-584-2900

6.Lorton Station

Lorton station is a northern railroad terminal for Amtrak's Auto Train in Lorton, Virginia. This train runs between Lorton station and Sanford station in Florida. Auto-Train was established in Lorton in 1971, and the station house was completed between 1972 and 1975. There was a gift shop at the station located in a former caboose and boxcar previously owned by the Richmond, Fredericksburg and Potomac Railroad. The station closed in 1981 and was reopened in 1983 when Amtrak took over. The current station features a large waiting area designed in Art Deco style, with glass walls, a small gift shop, a snack bar, and a children's playground. There is one 1,480 feet long low level platform for Auto Train boarding and six vehicle ramps for boarding vehicles.

?8006 Lorton Road; Lorton, VA 22079

7.Pohick Bay Golf Course

Pohick Golf Course is one of Northern Virginia’s most challenging and scenic golf courses. It is located next to Pohick Bay Regional Park in Lorton. It offers 18 holes that run 6,400 yards from the back tees, with bent grass from tee to green. Pohick Bay Golf Course has soft rolling terrain and several serious water hazards. Players can relax after a round at the snack bar and sign up for one of our tournaments and golf outings. Pohick’s golf membership is very flexible and offers great value, including special rates for golfers over 55 and under 17.

10301 Gunston Rd, Lorton, VA 22079, Phone: 703-339-8585