10 Spring Break Ideas That Won’t Drain Your Wallet

With spring break approaching fast, you may find yourself in need of plans over the break. Few students want to spend spring break just sitting home all week. On the other hand, they don’t want to spend every last dime finding fun things to do.  If you are simply at a loss for ideas of how to spend your break, or on a budget, here are 10 fun things to do over break that won’t empty your wallet.

1)  Have a cookout

Gather up some friends or some family members and have a cookout. Get everyone to contribute to the cookout in some way, and your cookout will be super low budget. With some good music and friends, a cookout can be a fun way to spend the day, especially in the (hopefully) warmer weather.

2) Have a picnic

Much like a cookout, a picnic is a fun way to spend time with your friends and family, and for very little money. Pick a nice place like Pleasant Grove, Carter’s Mountain, or one of the scenic spots on the Blue Ridge Parkway and enjoy the great outdoors.

3) Go on a hike

You can hike almost anywhere in Virginia, as there are so many beautiful trails you can visit. The website AllTrails (https://www.alltrails.com/us/virginia), which lists all the hiking or walking trails in Virginia by region, is a great place to start. You can also round up some friends and venture to local spots like Crabtree Falls or Humpback Rock, or just take a 5-20 minute drive to the local trails at Pleasant Grove and Carter’s Mountain. Bring along a picnic and make a day of it.

4) Go camping

With the warmer weather, most if not all, Virginia campgrounds are open in time for spring break, so camping is a great way to vacation in the mountains, near a lake, or at the beach for very little money. The website Virginiacampgrounds.com (https://virginiacampgrounds.com/campgrounds/virginia-1/) is a helpful place to start as you can look up campgrounds by area, check out campground amenities, and even make a reservation. If you want to go really cheap, just round up some friends and camp in your own backyard to have fun and get away from social media and technology for a while.

5) Visit a nearby city

This option requires a little bit of money. It’s fun to explore new places, so going to a close city or small town you’ve never been to before can be an exciting experience. Richmond is only an hour away, yet is packed with lots of museums (several of which, like the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts and the Virginia Historical Society, are free) and historical locations. Consider going for a walk in Hollywood Cemetery or Belle Isle, visiting their vibrant downtown area, or Short Pump for some shopping. In the other direction, the town of Staunton is a place to explore historic buildings, check out the downtown area, and watch glass-blowing for free at Sunspots Galery.

6) Start a garden

Now is the perfect time to plant some flowers or vegetables. You will feel proud and excited when you see your plants start to grow, and gardening is a fun way to spend some time in nature. Depending on where you live, the hard part is protecting your garden from hungry deer. Check out https://www.crosscreeknursery.com/deer-resistant-plants.html

for advice on how to ward off deer from your garden

7) Have a movie marathon

Get together with a group of friends and have everyone bring one or two movies and binge-watch them. You can pick themes for the movies like horror, comedy, Disney–the possibilities are endless. For even more fun, invite your friends to dress up as their favorite character. You can either watch movies on Netflix, Hulu, rent from Redbox, or just bring old movies you have lying around your house. Have everyone bring a snack or candy to share, and settle back for some fun.

8) Do some volunteer work

Volunteering is a good way to give back to your community. There are many different places you can volunteer at, even if it’s just for the day. If you volunteer with friends, it can make the experience more fun, or you could go into the job and make new friends. Either way, it’s an all around enjoyable experience. Plus, it looks good on a college or job application.

9) Have a trip down memory lane

Grab some old yearbooks, picture books, or even just books from your childhood and look through all of them. It’s always fun to revisit your childhood. You can even get a group of friends together and compare all of your childhood memories.

10) Visit your relatives or old friends

Now is a good time to make Grandma’s day with a visit. Or, you can take a drive to see the friends at your old school. Visiting old friends that you haven’t hung out with in a while is a fun way to get out of the house too, and it’s a good way to build a stronger bond and just all around reconnect.