How to Escape DC This Winter

Many Washingtonians are looking to skip town this weekend for MLK Day and to avoid inauguration chaos. Luckily, D.C. has many beautiful, intriguing, and bougie getaways just outside the city.

Get Lost in Longwood Gardens

Longwood Gardens sits just two hours outside D.C. in rural Kennett Square, Pennsylvania. At over 1,000 acres, Longwood Gardens boasts a glasshouse observatory, ponds, seasonal light shows, classes and events, and beautiful gardens year-round. You can drive up, or take the scenic Amtrak journey to Wilmington, Delaware and Uber thirty minutes to the gardens. If you make a weekend out of it, stay at the giant, old-world Hotel Du Pont in Wilmington and check out the nearby Brandywine Conservancy and Museum of Art.

Explore Historical Architecture

If you’re looking to escape your dusty English basement apartment in D.C. and fantasize about conversation pits, head to Mill Run, Pennsylvania to check out legendary architect Frank Lloyd Wright’s Fallingwater house. This beautiful, terraced mansion is nestled in the woods and sits over a small waterfall. Tours are $14 a person and you can get there from D.C. in under four hours.

Go Glamping

Winter can be a great time to experience the natural beauty surrounding D.C., but twigs in your ass and bugs in your freezing tent doesn’t sound super appealing to most of us. For camping wimps, Postcard Cabins offers the best of both worlds with cabins and glamping options in Shenandoah National Park, just two hours outside the city. Put your phone in a box, go for a hike, pretend you’re roughing it in the wild all day, then take a bath and cuddle up in a cozy bed at night.