What is your favorite camping activity: roasting marshmallows, hiking a trail, staying up late and looking at the stars, using a flashlight, or sleeping in a tent? Tell the ranger why you think camping is so much fun, then explore camping life as you create some awesome crafts.

Join a park ranger for a gentle 0.5-mile journey that engages all your senses, inviting you to uncover the hidden wonders of the park.

Not all bees live in hives.

Join us for an opportunity to get "a-head" on wildlife knowledge and learn to identify skulls based upon their characteristics.

Do you want to discover how music making can interact with being outdoors?

What's under that rock?

Add S'MORE fun to your camping trip!  Join us for an evening around a crackling fire!

Explore some of Machicomoco’s best views during golden hour while stopping in to talk with a Ranger about some of their favorite park topics.

Shine a light on days gone by with a lantern-lit history tour of the Natural Bridge.

The surface of the water might seem calm, but down under there is an exciting world filled with all kinds of life.

Silent and spooky, the owl is a magnificent animal.

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

Let us teach you all the basics you'll need to know to get yourself started with one of our most popular outdoor activities, from tying on your hook and tackle to casting your line.

Explore the history of the Occoneechee Plantation on this guided hike around the Plantation Trail.

Join Yoga instructor, Kelly Blevins, to experience the calming benefits of yoga in a beautiful outdoor setting.

Overlooking the New River, the Shot Tower was built in the 1800s to make ammunition for the firearms of the early settlers.

Mussels play a huge part in our watershed.

Been itching to go fishing?

Learn the essentials of basic target archery, a skill that, thanks to artifacts found at the park, we know humans have been practicing here for thousands of years.

Can you shout out BINGO first?  Join us for birding bingo, a guided birding hike along the Bluebell Trail.

See First Landing in a whole new lens in this guided hike through one of the most vital ecosystems around: the marsh!

Have you ever seen a tree grow out of a rock?

Leesylvania makes its own worm compost!  Join rangers as we take a closer look at worms and how they can benefit your kitchen and backyard.

With over two thousand acres, the park has a wide variety of life in the wetlands and woods.  Meet with our on-the-go naturalist/ranger who will help you discover the aquatic, insect, mammal, and plant life in the park’s ecosystems.  Don't be surprised if he has a photo or two to share with you.

Second only to humans in the ability to change their environment to fit their needs, learn just how smart a beaver can be.

Join us and Mount Rogers Community Services and immerse yourself in nature's grandeur while fueling your body, mind, and soul every Friday at noon.

Hear the tale of star-crossed lovers that the trail is named after and view the tunnel from above.

Step inside to learn all about the magic of the Chesapeake Bay and its inhabitants.

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.

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 travel to the site.

This is your chance to learn the sport of archery under the watchful eye of a certified instructor.

Learn about the local history of Draper, it's early inhabitants and significant figures and the early industry of the 1800's.  The Draper Historic District, covering 40 acres in Pulaski County, encompasses a concentration of historic resources that coalesced in the Draper Valley into a railroad depot community in the late 1800s.

Join us at Sugar Hill in the Clinch River State Park for a fun arts and crafts activity.

Have you ever touched bear fur or looked at the teeth of a beaver?

This field-based game is a fun and safe way to examine the interactions between a predator population of coyotes and a prey population of deer in a forest. This program is suitable for all ages.

Forest Trails are not just for bikers.

Meet local 'shellebrity', Ranger Shelly, our Red-eared Slider turtle as she suns herself and enjoys some enrichment at the beach area.

You can learn a lot about the health of a stream by seeing what lives beneath its surface.

Native birds are crucial to our ecosystems!

For those who just want something short and sweet, the ADA Fishing Trail is the place for you.

Learn all about birds and their homes.

Flag Day is a celebration of the American flag that occurs each year on the anniversary of the flag’s official adoption, June 14. What we know fondly as the “Stars and Stripes” was adopted by the Continental Congress as the official American flag in 1777, during the Revolutionary War.

Did you know your shoes leave more than tracks behind?

Have you ever been walking along a trail and come across a pile of "Meatballs"?

Become a prospector as we follow in the footsteps of "Stampmill Sam".

Do you have what it takes to be a wildlife detective?  Get ready for a guided mission!

Get hooked on fishing at False Cape State Park.

Did you know there was once a thriving "boom town" located where our lake is today?

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

Southwest Virginia is home to only two venomous snakes.

Dive into the history of the Occaneechi Tribe that once called Occoneechee State Park home.

Stop by the beach to see some cool critters, hold some interesting artifacts, and have your nature and history questions about Douthat State Park answered.

Is the Chesapeake Bay healthy?

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

Do you know what's in the woods?

Can not seem to get your campfire lit?

Get creative and discover the magic of upcycling! Join us in repurposing glass bottles that were headed to the landfill by painting your own vase.

Is the critter this month small, medium, or large?

Tie-dye wasn't the brainchild of American hippies during the 1960s.

You never know what critters you will see around Belle Isle, there's dozens to pick from.

Pollinator populations everywhere are in a steady decline, but why all the buzz about it?

Discover how fire affects our world and how we attempt to harness its power.

The blue crab is one of the most iconic species of the Chesapeake Bay.

End your week with a relaxing paddle along Swift Creek Lake.

High Bridge Trail State Park invites you to witness the spectacular sight of nature's fireflies by the thousands in the treetops below High Bridge.

Enjoy a magnificent sunset on the tranquil Potomac River and listen for nocturnal creatures.

Enjoy the sounds of local musicians as you take in our beautiful park.

It's all fun and games around the campfire.

Join us by the campfire for a relaxing evening as we welcome you back to the park.

What's a camping trip without a campfire?

Fire has been a part of human history since cavemen roamed Earth, with many different uses. Learn how to build a campfire using different methods or enjoy a game of trivia by the glow of the fire.

Paddle under the darkening sky to visit the ghosts that haunt the lost town of Fayerdale.

Welcome to Staunton River State Park.

Join a Westmoreland interpretive ranger and your fellow campers as you enjoy a relaxing evening next to our fire.

Bring your family and friends and join a park ranger for a campfire on the water’s edge at the beach amphitheater.

Join us for "Lamps of Love" as we showcase the beauty of twinkling firefly romance!

As dusk draws near, lightning bugs appear!

Come for the s’mores, stay for the fun!

Virginia State Park license plate holders park for free on some of our national event days.  Parking fees will be waived on Earth Day (4/22), Arbor Day (4/26), National Kids to Parks Day (5/18), Virginia State Parks History and Culture Day (6/15), Veterans Day (11/11), and #OptOutside Day (11/29) for individuals with a Virginia State Park license plate.

Join Twin Lakes State Park during our celebration of Virginia State Park History and Culture Day.

In observance of Virginia State Park's History and Culture Day on June 15, the Southwest Virginia Museum Historical State Park will offer a Civil War Bus Tour.

Join our Park Rangers as they discuss the history, ecology, and culture of the Widewater Peninsula.

Experience life in the early 19th century with live music, blacksmiths, cooking, period camp, boats, and much more. This event will focus on two important parts of history from this area that had a profound influence on transportation and music in America: “batteaux and banjos.” See what it was like to live in the middle of the 19th century.

Join False Cape staff and volunteers in helping keep our beaches pristine by picking up shoreline debris.

Explore historic Prince Edward Lake on this guided canoe tour led by rangers.

Visit the park’s discovery center (formerly known as The Spot, the interior portion of the concession stand) to check out the park’s new display celebrating its civil rights history.

Let's learn all about our friends, THE BEES!

Ride with a park guide as we experience Smith Mountain Lake from a boat.

All of the park's original facilities back in the 1930's were built by hand.

Journey to Martin’s Station and immerse yourself on Virginia’s frontier at the beginning of the American Revolution.

From woodlands to wetlands, fields and pastures, let's investigate the plants, animals and history of farming at Sky Meadows State Park.

Calling all history (and kayak) lovers!   Celebrate Virginia State Park's 88th anniversary with us on a guided kayaking tour!

Explore plants, both native and introduced, with two Virginia Master Naturalists and Native Plant Society members.

The land that holds each Virginia State Park has its own story.

Belle Isle became a Virginia State Park in the1990s but this 892-acre property has a long history. Join a ranger on the grounds of the historic Belle Isle Manor House to hear the latest update on the house restoration project and stories of the people who lived and worked the land before it became Belle Isle.

How did Pocahontas State Park come to be? What are the "Original 6" State Parks?

Interested in the history of Westmoreland State Park?  Join a ranger to learn about the creation of Westmoreland State Park, and the men of the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC).

Celebrate the rich history and culture of Virginia's State Parks by diving into the archaeological work that has been done on Mason Neck.

 Celebrate Virginia State Parks History and Culture Day at Holliday Lake State Park!

Two chances to catch gold fever.