What could be better than sipping hot cider and eating cookies fresh from the oven while rocking by the fire on a cold winter’s day! 

Enjoy family, fun and all the Holidays have to offer at Westmoreland State Park’s Annual Winter Open House on December 11th from 2p.m. to 6p.m. at Helen & Tayloe Murphy Hall.

Get those great holiday gifts at a special one day discount! Back by popular demand this year will be the Westmoreland State Park Christmas Ornament. The ornament is a lovely filigreed representation of the river, cliffs, wildlife and cabins and is made from 24k gold flashed brass. There will also be a wide variety of new gifts available. The gift shop at the Visitor Center will be open to the public. There will even be a special appearance by Daniel C. Raccoon!

Painting by Mike Lambert, hangs over the fireplace in Murphy Hall

If you are up for a winters day hike, you can walk from Murphy Hall down Big Meadows Trail to Fossil Beach. Directions and guides will be available at the information table. There you can hunt for shark’s teeth and eight million year old fossils!

Ancient Shark's teeth found on Fossil Beach

Join the community for fun and refreshments at the beautiful Helen & Tayloe Murphy Hall. Murphy Hall sits high up on the cliffs overlooking the Potomac River. On a clear day you can see across the span of the wide river to Maryland! Make sure to bring your camera to capture eagles and ospreys as they forge for fish, from the cliffs. 

Picture of American Bald Eagle taken on Horsehead Cliffs

Murphy Hall was built in the 1930’s by the Civilian Conservation Corps. It was used as a dining hall and social meeting place for the young men in the Corps to meet people from the area. Local folks still refer to it as “The Tavern”.  It spent many years as a restaurant and was a favorite place for the community to share a meal with family and friends. 

Murphy Hall decorated for the Holidays!

This historic building was renovated a few years ago, but still maintains its charm and warmth of days gone by. Since it has been refreshed, Murphy Hall has become a very popular place to hold weddings and family reunions.

I think she is looking for Santa!

Spend a relaxing winter afternoon sitting by the fire in an oversized rocking chair listening to music.  Talk with your family & friends or experience wondrous Christmas tales as told by our staff. There will be holiday crafts and programs for kids. Door prizes too!

Goodies table!

This year is Virginia State Park’s celebrates it's 75^th Anniversary. The state parks were part Franklin Delano Roosevelt's New Deal in 1933. These  programs instituted bold changes in the federal government that energized the economy and created an equilibrium that helped to bolster the needs of citizens.

Out of this economic chaos emerged the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC). Its purpose was two-fold, conservation of our natural resources and the salvage of our young men. The CCC is recognized as the single greatest conservation program in America and it served as a catalyst to develop the very tenets of modern conservation. The work of America's young men dramatically changed the future and today we still enjoy a legacy of natural resource treasures that dot the American landscape. 

Fountain built by the CCC and restored by the Friends of Westmoreland

In the 1930s, work began on six “soon to be state parks” in Virginia; Westmoreland was one of those parks. SP-24 was the project designation for Westmoreland State Park in 1933. One hundred men and boys from Pennsylvania and Virginia were brought together to form CCC Company 2352 the park was opened, along with the five other parks, on Monday June 16, 1936.  

To commemorate this milestone, Virginia State Parks is offering special 75^th Anniversary items for purchase in the gift shop. 

Parking is free to those visiting the gift shop and Open House. Westmoreland offers great overnight accommodations. Spend a fews hours with us, the day or spend a few nights!

Westmoreland State Park, 1650 State Park Road, Montross, Va. 22520-9717; Phone: (804) 493-8821

Drive Time: Northern Virginia and Washington D. C., two hours; Richmond, one and a half hours; Tidewater/Norfolk/Virginia Beach, two and a half hours; Roanoke, five and a half hours