What Kids Actually Do at Madison Vines: Weekend Activities

Most RV resorts within a couple of hours of Charlottesville save the kids’ programming for three or four holiday weekends a year. The rest of the season, parents are on their own to keep everyone entertained. Madison Vines runs it differently.

From spring through fall, weekends are built around three real places on the property: the Polk Craft Room for seasonal projects, the Jefferson Event Center for family dinners and games, and the Fillmore Ice Cream & Pizza Parlor for treats and rainy-day backup. Most activities are staff-led and signup-based at the office. Sports competitions split into kids-16-and-under and adult flights, so things stay structured without feeling stiff.

Crafts at the Polk Craft Room

The Polk Room is the most reliable indoor draw on the calendar, and projects rotate enough that repeat visitors don’t end up doing the same craft twice. Drop-off is typical: parents leave a kid for an hour and pick them back up with something to take home.

Recent projects include sugar cookies shaped and decorated by hand, a graham cracker rainbow snack, a paper plate sun-and-rainbow craft kit, fingerprint star paintings, diamond art keychains, glitter tattoo sessions (water-resistant and supervised by the activities coordinator), and personalized Sharpie-and-stencil mugs. Materials are provided. Ages range from preschool through tweens, with the coordinator scaling difficulty up or down on the fly.

The Super Soaker Wagon Ride and Outdoor Water Games

The Super Soaker Wagon Ride is Madison Vines’ signature kids’ event, and it earns a reputation. Kids climb onto a hay wagon armed with mega water squirters and bins of ammunition while RVers lurk behind poles and trees with hoses, waiting for the wagon to roll past. It’s a flat-out kids-versus-adults water war, and it reappears on the calendar often enough that it’s worth planning a stay around if your kids are into it.

Beyond the wagon ride, the pool’s kids’ bubbler pad, water-resistant glitter tattoos, and the occasional frozen t-shirt race (kids unfold and put on a fully frozen t-shirt and sprint to the finish line) round out the wet-and-loud category of the weekend.

Sports Courts and Contests

Sports programming runs on a flight system: kids-16-and-under and adults compete in separate brackets, so the same event works for both without putting an eight-year-old up against a parent who’s been holding a ball longer than the kid has been alive.

Recurring contests include a basketball free-throw contest, a pie-eating contest with hands-behind-the-back rules and whipped cream pies, Kickball Darts (kids kick a giant ball at a huge dart board for points across ten turns), and Bocce Ball tutorials on the resort’s courts followed by real team games. Outside organized contests, the basketball half-court, sand volleyball, pickleball courts, bocce field, fishing pond, and playground stay open for casual use.

Evenings at the Jefferson Event Center

Evenings shift indoors to the Jefferson Center. Family dinners are a real meal at a real table, not handed-out plates: prime rib, baked potatoes, and chocolate cheesecake have all shown up on recent menus. Kids eat at the same table on the same menu rather than getting a separate kids’ option.

Bingo runs after most family dinners, with drinks for the kids included so nobody’s standing around waiting on the sidelines. Rainy nights tend to bring out family movie nights, often with hot dogs, kid-friendly drinks, and free glow sticks and bubbles handed out during live music sets.

Most weekends also include a Photo Scavenger Hunt for “Madison Vines’ Treasures” scattered around the property. Kids work through a list of things to find and photograph, and finishing the list earns a free ice cream cone at the Fillmore. The Fillmore doubles as a rainy-day backup with Uno, Jenga, and other board games kept out for guest use.

What Changes Outside Peak Season

The full calendar above runs during peak season, roughly April through October, when the pool is open, and the Polk Room is in use weekly. Outside that window, Madison Vines shifts to winter hours and a lighter schedule.

If a winter stay is built specifically around kids’ programming, call ahead to confirm what’s currently running. Madison Vines is upfront on its own event listings that all activities and menus are subject to change, even in peak season.

Frequently Asked Questions For What Kids Actually Do at Madison Vines

Is Madison Vines actually good for kids, or is it more of an adults’ resort?

It’s built with families as a primary audience. Beyond the weekend programming, there’s a pool with a kids’ bubbler pad, a playground, a fishing pond, and sports courts kids use outside of organized events. The structured guest rules are part of why the programming works as well as it does, since everyone knows what to expect and when.

For some, yes. Crafts with materials and tournaments with limited slots are typically first-come, first-served at the office, so checking in there on arrival is the move. Pool access, the playground, and casual use of the sports courts don’t require any advance booking.

Is Madison Vines kid-friendly if we’re staying in a cottage instead of bringing an RV?

Yes. Cottage guests have the same access to the full weekend activity calendar as RV guests. The programming isn’t tied to how you’re staying, just to being a guest that weekend.

What if we’re visiting outside peak season?

The activity calendar is lighter outside of April through October. Call ahead to confirm what’s currently scheduled if the kids’ programming is a major factor in your trip timing.

Plan Your Family’s Weekend

The best way to know what your kids will be doing is to check the current weekend’s lineup directly, since the schedule changes often enough to be worth a quick look before you pack.

Browse the full weekly activity calendar for what’s coming up, then reserve your cottage or RV site to claim your spot.