Governor Terry McAuliffe has many goals to accomplish during his term and one of his goals is to visit all 36 Virginia State Parks before his term is up. So far, he is making great strides and in late August the Governor and his family visited three central Virginia State Parks in one weekend.

Governor Terry McAuliffe and his family at Twin Lakes State Park

Governor McAuliffe gets a guided tour of High Bridge Trail State Park 

For the weekend Bear Creek Lake State Park was the headquarters and where the first family was able to adventure out to visit High Bridge Trail and Twin Lakes State Parks. During these visits, he toured the parks facilities, met with staff, Friends groups and visitors.

Acting park manager, Phil Morgan, talks to Governor McAuliffe and State Parks Director Craig Seaver at Cedar Crest Center at Twin Lakes State Park

For downtime there were plenty of activities to keep the entire family busy. While at Bear Creek Lake they went on a night canoe paddle, roasted marshmallows, and attended a special dinner hosted by the park’s Friends group. If this wasn’t enough, there was an early morning horseback ride in the Cumberland State Forest where the Governor and his family were accompanied by the Virginia Department of Forestry and park staff.

Kids enjoy ice cream with the Governor at Goodwin Lake at Twin Lakes State Park

They road bikes across High Bridge and were accompanied by the park’s education specialist, Bob Flippen, for a historical overview of the bridge. They attended a luncheon, hosted by the park’s Friends group, in the beautiful historical Train Depot in Downtown Farmville. Then it was off to Twin Lakes State Park to attend an afternoon ice cream social hosted by the Friends of Twin Lakes, with a quick visit with folks at a family reunion, and a quiet walk along the shores of Goodwin Lake.

23 down and 13 to go, good luck Governor and we hope to see you at another state park soon!