Alexandria Recommendations

We've been to the Alexandria area twice now. Our first time was for our 9th Anniversary for a weekend (recap here) in which we stayed at Arrow

Here are our recommendations for the Alexandria area during our stays in late September 2015 and late July 2016.

What we Recommend

Noonan Park

Oh my goodness did we spend a TON of time here! We went back four times, and bought more loaves of bread than we would eat in a month to feed those geese and ducks. My kids LOVED it, but truthfully, it was so beautiful that I would've loved spending an evening here even without the kids. It's absolutely gorgeous, and it's so neat to see all the wildlife. That being said, you have to keep your eyes open for the hoards of people playing Pokemon GO there, because they're walking all over the place staring at their phones.

Alexandria City Park

We enjoyed having a picnic here and exploring a little bit. The playground itself wasn't really that much to write home about, but it kept the kids occupied for a little while anyways. The beach front there was gorgeous, we just wish we had brought a change of clothes and a towel for the kiddos.

Art Bar 39

They offer open studio hours for kids on Saturday and Sunday afternoons, and my kids had a blast painting their thin canvases there. It was a fun "something else" to do for sure! It's $10 per kid, and you can come and go as you please. They provide paints, easel, thin canvas and little aprons for the kids. It was a great diversion from the usual with kids on vacation, AND if you have a little older kids, you could drop them off there and then go shop, as it's right there in the mall.

Arrowwood Resort

We stayed here for our anniversary trip in late September 2015 and decided to return with the kids for an evening in late July 2016 to do a little mini golfing and check out the zip line. They also have a little playground there, and it was fun to watch all the geese swarm the mini golf course haha For $5 an adult (and they let the kids "golf" free), it was a cheap $10 entertainment for sure!

The zipline was really fun too, and my boys spent more time doing this than we did at some of the other "attractions" we spent a lot more time and money and energy going to.

Fishing

We fished all the time at the place we stayed at, so I'm not sure which spots are the best in Alexandria, but do some research and then do it! Our boys had such a blast catching sunnies at the place we stayed at, and it was just so peaceful and calming. The lakes up in this part of the country are just beautiful! The caveat: You have to be willing to both bait hooks and then take the fish off the hook for this to be a good idea. I would never go fishing without my hubby to bait the hooks and remove the fish haha

Mt. Lookout Park Scenic Overlook

I'm gonna go out on a limb and say you'd be WAY better off to drive here to see this overlook for 20 minutes than to drive up to Inspiration Peak. It's stunning, AND you don't have to put on any bug spray and hike through the woods for 10 minutes to get there. We have stopped here on our way home twice now, and I'll stop every time. The views are breathtaking! The pictures do not do it justice. And did I mention: You won't likely be eaten by mosquitoes?

Dining at...

Tennessee Roadhouse

We ate here both on our anniversary weekend as well as with the kiddos on our vacation, and both times did not disappoint. I especially loved the mustard sauce they had. Finger-licking good for SURE! I would say a tinge pricier than I would have expected, but nothing too ridiculous.

Doolittles Woodfire Grill

GREAT atmosphere, service and food. We ate here on our anniversary weekend and thoroughly enjoyed our meal! I would highly recommend this place! It was a medium price range - not too spendy - about like an Applebees or a Grizzly's.

Northwoods Cafe

We had breakfast here for our anniversary. I'd recommend the place, although it wasn't any better than a normal Saturday breakfast back home. The service was quick and friendly and the atmosphere was like you would expect at a locals cafe.

Papa John's

I know it's a big chain, but it's always good, and we LOVE it!

Pizza Ranch

When has Pizza Ranch ever disappointed us? We eat there too often back home, but it's a guaranteed easy meal with toddlers in tow, and they LOVE it there!

You Won't be Missing Much...

Big Ole Park and Statue

I wouldn't plan a whole day here or anything, but we enjoyed having a little picnic near the statue with the boys, and they were fascinated by it for about 5 minutes. If you didn't catch it on your trip, I wouldn't say you were missing anything, but it would be a fun photo op. Granted, while we were there, they were re-painting it, so the photo op wasn't so great. If it weren't right in town there, it wouldn't be worth much of a drive, honestly.

Runestone Park

This place had GREAT reviews, but it was just kinda boring if you ask us. They're restoring this old house on the property, and when that's finished, it might be a little more interesting, but overall, it's just really boring. It looks like it might be a great place for a small wedding reception or something, but just going there to explore, there isn't really much to see. I think there might have been some longer trails around somewhere, but we spent more time driving out there than we spent actually being there, and that includes the kids swinging. We didn't check out the museum, but maybe that would have been more exciting?

Inspiration Peak

I'll first note that Inspiration Point and Inspiration Peak are two very different things, so make sure you put "Peak" into your GPS instead of "Point". It's about 30 miles from Alexandria, and although it's kinda neat and the view is cool if you're kinda bored and looking for something to do, we only spent about 30 minutes there total (including hiking up there and back), so I figure if you spend less time at a place than it takes to get there, it's not worth it.

Dining at...

Zorba's

I hate to put it in my "you wouldn't miss it" category, but the food we got from there just wasn't really anything to write home about. We got the spaghetti for the kids, a burrito for myself and some enchiladas for Mark, and none of it gave me that WOW factor. The atmosphere seemed kinda fun, and I can imagine kids from teenagers through their mid-40s enjoying kicking back with some beers and pizza on a weekend night, but it just didn't do it for me. And it *might* be across from the lake, but it's also across the street from the lake, so it's not really on the lake like we thought. I'd pass up an offer to go there again.