Thornton Gap entrance to Skyline Drive is ~45 min away. Good area to view foliage or hike!
About 1 hour drive
About 1 hour drive to DC. Plenty of museums and other activities.. will try to list more later. PS the Zoo has pandas!
A bit far, 1 hour 40 min, but Charlottesville is a cute town. The orchard on the mountain has some good picking- but look at the website in advance, sometimes you need tickets during the weekend.