There are a few things you may not know about Virginia State Parks, we think these things are pretty cool, but we'll let you decide.

5. WE'RE TOO TOUGH TO GLAMP

Camping Cabin #1 at Shenandoah River State Park

But we do have camping cabins. We won’t call them glamping quite yet, but unlike a tent you have four walls and a solid wood door. You can find these cutie-pies at Lake Anna State Park, Pocahontas State Park, Westmoreland State Park and Shenandoah River State Park, but bring a Coleman stove or stay near someone with an RV and let them do the cooking. They also don't have restrooms inside, but there is always a campground bathhouse not too far away.

Camping cabins are like bunkhouses only cuter 

Oh and if you want to yurt, minus the skins and Mongolian weather, then Kiptopeke State Park has a yurt.

4. WE HAVE A GATOR AND HER NAME IS TERRA

Take the Terra Gator to False Cape State Park through Back Bay Wildlife Refuge to explore this park like they did

She actually is more bark than her bite. The Terra Gator will transport you to False Cape State Park through Back Bay Wildlife Refuge.

She's a gator but she doesn't bite

The Terra Gator operates only on weekends from November 1 through March 31. The transporter departs Little Island City Park in Virginia Beach at 9 a.m. and returns there at 1 p.m. The trip takes about 45 minutes each way. Call 1-800-933-7275 (PARK) to make reservations. Learn more about Terra Gator and False Cape State Park here.

3. WE'RE GOLD DIGGERS

You can pan for gemstones and there is a real gold mine at Lake Anna State Park

Lake Anna State Park is home to a long abandoned gold mine. Each summer the staff at Lake Anna State Park uses soil from the mine and holds panning for gold programs. 

We're sitting on a gold mine

Gold diggers be warned: no one has gotten rich yet, and here's the spoiler: all proceeds go to the park. But it's still fun!

2. WE'RE FAR OUT AND GROOVY

The view above the Tunnel from Lover's Leap at Natural Tunnel State Park

Natural Tunnel State Park is closer to eight state capitals than its own, Richmond Virginia.

The Commonwealth of Virginia is a very wide state, and most people think it ends in Roanoke, but this park is 3 1/2 hours farther west than Roanoke. Virginia is about 430 miles long and 200 miles wide.

Let's go on a road trip

Driving, not as the crow flies (according to Google maps):

1. Frankfort, KY 218 miles
2. Nashville, TN 283 miles
3. Charleston, W.V. 186 miles
4. Atlanta, GA 329 miles
5. Columbia, SC 262 miles
6. Indianapolis, IN  378 miles
7. Columbus, OH 293 miles
8. Raleigh, NC 304 miles
9. ...and to its own capital Richmond, VA 365 miles

And to push it out even further and groovier, Wilderness Road State Park is 408 miles to Montgomery, AL and 411 miles to Richmond, Virginia, how about that.

1. WE'RE JOLLY GOOD NEIGHBORS 

Searching for a meal along the shore at First Landing State Park

The most visited Virginia State Park is in the same city as the least visited, as First Landing has more than 1.7 million visitors annually and False Cape a fraction of that. Both False Cape State Park and First Landing State Park addresses are Virginia Beach:

• 2500 Shore Dr., Virginia Beach, VA (First Landing State Park)
• 4001 Sandpiper Rd., Virginia Beach, VA (False Cape State Park)

We're both beachie

ALSO, DID YOU KNOW?

False Cape State Park is the southernmost Virginia State Park. Sitting just above the North Carolina border, and it is also the easternmost part of mainland Virginia; is east of state's only Eastern Shore park, Kiptopeke.

Arrrrr matey!

False Cape State Park is often called "The Graveyard of the Atlantic" and once known as the unincorporated town of Wash Woods is rumored to be a favorite stop for pirates, as was First Landing State Park with the notorious Blackbeard the Pirate.

Learn more cool fun facts about Virginia State Parks here