Hey yawl Junie B here and it's hot out there...it's hotter than two goats in a pepper patch outside, it's so hot I saw two trees fighting over a dawg! 

Mum tells me school is coming back around again as she saw the school supplies filling the aisles at the big stuff-mart. You know what that means that you kids who are outside enjoying your favorite Virginia State Barks will stuck inside soon and the summer fun will just be a fond memory. We dawgs will be sitting on the porch watching that big yeller school bus pull away...

And that is a doggone shame!

Virginia State Barks has water, lots and lots of water and there is no better way to have it made in the shade than to go for a swim. Don't let your school schedule get you down, as your family can still take you to your favorite swimmin' hole at a Virginia State Bark after school to cool off. Just because they force you back behind a desk doesn't mean summer is over. In fact, you will need that swim more than ever!

Nothing touches this dawg's heart more than to hear splashing and laughing as the four-leggeds leap, lunge and swim while having fun in the water. Even though I am not that fond of those floatation noodles, I know that when my big sisters are in the water with them they always have a good time.

Two of these cute girls having fun in the sun are my sisters

Swimming beaches are great for the day and Mum always packs us a picnic lunch

Sometimes it's nice to chill out and relax on a float

Here is a list of all Virginia State Barks offering swimming

Guarded swimming ends on Labor Day but may have reduced hours from Mid-August until Labor Day - so be sure to call the park before you go just in case.

Blue Ridge

Claytor Lake State Park Dublin, VA 24084

Hungry Mother State Park Marion, VA 24354

Central Virginia

Bear Creek Lake State Park Cumberland, VA 23040

Holliday Lake State Park Appomattox, VA 24522

Pocahontas State Park Chesterfield, VA 23832

Smith Mountain Lake State Park Huddleston, VA 24104

Twin Lakes State Park Green Bay, VA 23942

Eastern Shore

Kiptopeke State Park Cape Charles, VA 23310

Hampton Roads

First Landing State Park Virginia Beach, VA 23451

Heart of Appalachia

Natural Tunnel State Park Duffield, VA 24244

Northern Virginia

Lake Anna State Park Spotsylvania, VA 22551

Shenandoah Valley

Douthat State Park Millboro, VA 24460

Southern Virginia

Fairy Stone State Park Stuart, VA 24171

Staunton River State Park Scottsburg, VA 24589

Almost all of our parks have a natural water feature of some sort to enjoy and refresh after hiking the trails or riding your bikes. These don't always list swimming as a feature like New River Trail State Park, or Occoneechee State Park. The parks do not recommend swimming, but they won't freak out if you put your legs in the water to cool off, that is what I do, all four of them.

If you need to cool off dawgs just jump right in! 

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CALLING ALL COOL DAWGS

Remember, paws were meant to get muddy!