Events in Virginia State Parks

The Southwest Virginia Museum Historical State Park is now accepting entries for the “Stitch in Time” Quilt Show.

The Lyrids meteor shower is an average shower, usually producing about 20 meteors per hour at its peak.

Come celebrate our planet with First Landing Rangers during Earth Week!

Save the Earth by cleaning with us!

Join us for a bird id and photography walk with Samuels Public Library.  We will meet at the Visitor Center to review bird identification and tips for photographing birds.

Want to help the Chesapeake Bay watershed and our planet this weekend before Earth Day?

Join a Ranger to conserve and protect Leesylvania State Park's natural resources.

Looking for a fun service project to celebrate Earth Day?  Help Park Rangers as we preserve the beauty of the Big Water Visitor Center.  We will be cleaning out flower beds, weeding the walkways, and planting native species.  Meet at the Big Water Visitor Center at 9:00 a.m. Come prepared to get your hands dirty, bring gardening gloves and wear appropriate clothing.  All ages are welcome.

Join First Landing Rangers for an Earth Week shoreline cleanup at the Narrows Beach located at the 64th Street entrance.

Join a Ranger on a rugged trek across the terrain showcasing three of Grayson Highlands State Park's crown jewels!

The Friends of the Southwest Virginia Museum will host a community yard sale on Saturday, April 18 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Attendees can look forward to a diverse selection of unique items for sale!

Celebrate Earth Week 2026 at False Cape State Park all week long by supporting healthy and happy beaches.

Clinch River State Park will be an exhibitor at the Abingdon Earth Day Event in the town of Abingdon, Virginia.

Spring brings so many types of flowers and other flora that it sometimes seems like too many types to get to know.

Join us for a special collaborative planting event as Sweet Run partners with the Virginia Cooperative Extension and Woodgrove High School.

In the words of Woodsy Owl (1971), "Give a hoot; don't pollute!" Volunteer and help out the planet today.

Love your planet!

Join us in discovering the hidden wonders of these temporary seasonal wetlands.

Join us for the 2nd Annual Earth Day Celebration!

Art in the Park programs explore connections between art and the natural world through a different hands-on project each month.  April's program is Paper Making!

Ready to see the forest wake up after winter? Join Master Naturalist Kim Manion for a short, guided hike focused on the fascinating world of spring tree identification.

Come and discover the majestic aerial hunters and their habitats.  Bald eagles, red shouldered and red tailed hawks make their home here year round.  Osprey return to the area to feed and breed.   We may find other birds of prey as well as we hike through the woods and into the marshes.

Discover how to identify common trees in our forest while uncovering the hidden strategies they use to compete for sunlight each spring.  As temperatures warm competition heats up for the most important thing in the forest - sunlight!

Like all wild animals, black bears are food motivated.

As habitat loss reshapes the world around us, the wildlife who have always called it home are facing mounting challenges.

Blink and you might miss them—spring’s wildflowers don’t stick around for long!

Gardens aren't just for show; they are also crucial habitats for pollinators, birds, insects, and small mammals.

Walk in the footsteps of moonshiners from decades gone by.

Join us for the planting of native tree seedlings from Virginia’s Department of Forestry.

Did you know that Westmoreland is one of the original State Parks in Virginia?

Calling all hikers, bikers, equestrians, and trail enthusiasts! Celebrate Earth Week at Lake Anna State Park by joining our Trail Survey Team. Volunteer Trail Surveyors will mark damaged signs, fallen trees, and other potential hazards on the Avenza free navigation app to help guide our maintenance projects for the upcoming season.   Volunteers will check in at the Visitor Center by 10:30AM.

Without pollinators, people and all of Earth's terrestrial ecosystems would not survive.

Where do toads live?

Create a hand-made, nature-inspired souvenir to take home.

Do you know what critters are crawling in your backyard?

Have you ever wondered how civilians experienced the Civil War?

Join us for our new series "Tales and Trails" with Samuels Public Library.

Celebrate Earth Day by discovering the magic of vernal pools!

Join the Northern Virginia Association of Rocketry (NOVAAR) Club as their model rockets go up, up, and away.

Take a 4-hour guided tour through Back Bay National Wildlife Refuge and False Cape State Park!

Happy spring!

Our animal ambassadors Hisstopher and Harrold want to meet you!

This historical building tour is designed to highlight the architecture of the time, designs, furnishings, special touches, ornate decor, and stories within the walls of the Jones-Stewart Mansion.

On the morning of April 6, 1865, Confederate General Robert E.

Step into the shoes of a 19th-century farmer and help care for our heritage breed chickens and goats!

Celebrate Earth Day by diving into the fascinating world of native fish.

This archery session for beginners and provides shooting time for the more experienced. It begins with instruction time on archery equipment, technique, and safety.

Have you ever wondered what a plant would sound like if it could speak...or play music?

A breeding colony of great blue herons is not a rookery, it is a heronry (we didn't make that word up).

Westmoreland State Park is home to four different ambassador animals: Reba the corn snake, Stevie the king snake, and two red-eared sliders, Venus and Jennika.

Take your first shot at archery in this beginner-friendly workshop.

Attract the local pollinator friends with these seed bombs for your garden!

Help bring history back to life alongside park staff and volunteers from the Southwest Virginia Museum Historical State Park in a dynamic historic cemetery preservation workshop.

Learn the legend behind the naturally occurring stone cross formations and travel to the special location in the park to search for your own "fairy stone." After a short presentation on what you will be looking for, we will head to the site.

Create your own Mini Garden and take a little piece of nature home!

Join us on Earth Week for a Hungry Mother Lake clean-up.

Parents, you spoke, and we listened!  We're excited to introduce our first toddler series: Little Wanderers. This series is for parents/guardians with toddlers ages 2-5. Once a month, on a Saturday, we will explore the natural world through short hikes, engaging games, and reading stories.

Join us on a ranger-led hike to certify your canine companion as a New River Trail State Park B.A.R.K Ranger!    The B.A.R.K.

Frogs calling are a true sign of spring.   Frogs and toads rely on water from places like ponds and wetlands to lay their eggs, and many species never stray far from a body of water.

Ahoy, nature-loving engineers.

What are microplastics and what do they do to our ecosystem?

Murders over moonshine rocked the town of Fayerdale in the 1920s and 30s, leaving a dying town remembered for tragedy rather than the mining operations that once made it a boom town. Moonshining (illegal whiskey making) was quite prevalent in and around the Fairy Stone State Park area in the early 1900s. Jealousy, greed, and competition often led to feuds, brawls, and even killings.

Ever wondered what stories Douthat State Park holds?

When a tree falls in the forest, what happens next?

What better way to support Mother Earth on this Earth Day than to plant an eco-friendly garden?

Travel through time on this scavenger hunt.

Take a guided stroll through the vibrant salt marsh along the Cape Henry Trail and uncover the hidden life of this vital wetland ecosystem.

Trees have magical qualities that provide us with many important everyday items, as well as a large portion of the oxygen we breathe.

Find out what's at Staunton River State Park!

When a tree falls in the forest, what happens next?

What is paracord, and what is it used for?

Step into the hidden world of nocturnal insects as Fairy Stone State Park comes alive after dark.

Experience Sky Meadows, an International Dark-Sky Park, at this monthly astronomical celebration!

Come join the storytellers from CHAOS (Chapel Hill Astronomical and Observational Society) on the Observation Field to share the stories of the stars.

The Rappahannock Astronomy Club is pleased to present an evening of deep space viewing.

Take a relaxing stroll along our lake shore as you visit several lights that have been placed in or along the lake to attract critters of all sizes.

Celebrate International Dark Sky Week by learning how to call for owls on Cedar Creek.  There is a whole world that wakes up when daylight ends.

Join the Friends of Hayfield's for a night of beautiful views and new experiences at the parks first ever star party.

James River State Park is a designated International Dark Sky park.

The Eta Aquarids is an above average meteor shower capable of producing up to 60 meteors per hour at its peak.

Create a recycled flowerpot out of newspaper that you can place right in the ground with native flower seeds.

Celebrate Earth Week 2026 at False Cape State Park all week long by supporting healthy and happy beaches.

After the iron industry moved away from the area, residents of Fayerdale went from mining to 'shining.

Join fellow nature-lovers to help safe-guard our native birds during Earth Week! On this guided birding walk, you will be encouraged to practice identification and record the species observed using the eBird app by the Cornell Lab.

Get down and dirty with this two-hour wild cave tour.

Westmoreland State Park is a special place known for rare and common fossils, including, the most desirable and sought after - shark teeth you can find along our shoreline.

We all enjoy a yummy meal and that’s the same for our resident snakes that live here in our Visitor Center.

Why throw away old magazines,  water bottles, or old craft materials when you could use them for an art project?

Get outside and join volunteers at Caledon State Park to help improve Caledon's trail system.

Did you know that it takes nine steps to load an American Civil War musket?

What better craft to celebrate Earth Week than one using earth! After a brief talk about the geology of the park, air-dry clay and modeling tools will be available for your inner artist to mold into sculpted art or a utilitarian sort of pencil holder.  Stop in at the Park Office during posted open hours to purchase a ticket good for a lump of clay for $2 per person, or $6 for four people.

Spring is arriving in the mountains!

Vernal pools are shallow, temporary pools that typically form in early spring.

Celebrate Earth Week by stepping into the forest and discovering why there’s truly no place like home for the incredible array of life that depends on it.

Humans aren't the only ones who build amazing structures.  Insects, birds, and mammals are among the many animals who create complex homes for themselves.  Let's take a look into the world of these master builders of the animal kingdom.

Take a 4-hour guided tour through Back Bay National Wildlife Refuge and False Cape State Park!

Let's Go on an Archery Adventure: Robin Hood, Katniss Everdeen, Hawkeye, fictional archers with real world skills.

Kick off Earth Week with creativity and turn old tees into new treasures!

Learn the legend behind the naturally occurring stone cross formations and travel to the special location in the park to search for your own "fairy stone." After a short presentation on what you will be looking for, we will head to the site.

Learn the legend behind the naturally occurring stone cross formations and travel to the special location in the park to search for your own "fairy stone." After a short presentation on what you will be looking for, we will head to the site.