Events in Virginia State Parks

Celebrate Earth Week by giving back to your park and making a positive impact on the environment!

Come out to Kid's Fishing Day at Natural Tunnel!

Still on the fence about volunteering?

Fancy a spot of volunteering this Spring?    Saturday, April 25th : Waterway Cleanups Spring Cleanup on the Aquia Creek  Join this Stafford-based non-profit as they help keep Aquia Creek clean of trash and debris via kayaks in their Spring cleanup at the park.

Give back to our beautiful planet and create art at Caledon State Park as part of our annual Earth Week celebration.

Celebrate Earth Day with the naturalist of Wilderness Road State Park and create a personalized micro environment.

Have you ever walked by the Timberneck house and wondered what it looks like from the inside and its restoration process?

Join us for a Ranger-led Nature Search to celebrate Earth Week!

Celebrate Earth Day by giving back to beautiful Sky Meadows State Park!

The Dogwood Garden Club of Big Stone Gap, Va., will host “Bee” Power for Our Planet Exhibit in observance for Earth Week.

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

Have you ever wondered what lies under your feet?

Long before there was a York River State Park, or even a York River, 6,000 plus years ago, marine creatures swam here in a shallow sea.

The Survival bracelet is the superhero utility belt of the outdoors.

Celebrate Earth Day in a big way at James River State Park!

Discover the hidden world of James River State Park’s grasslands, and the beauty of its riverfront, on a special Earth Day guided hike.

There are many stories to tell about Sweet Run State Park.

Join costumed interpreters for a demonstration of historical cooking methods in the Jones-Stewart Mansion's original brick kitchen. .

Walk in the footsteps of moonshiners from decades gone by.

Leaf your worries behind and tree-t yourself to a ranger-led hike that shows how trees are everything but still!   We will be hiking ~0.5 miles down an accessible paved trail to Rock Spring Pond.

Join a ranger led tour to reveal what the landscape of Cedar Creek is trying to tell you.

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.

Have some old hiking, camping, fishing, or any other kinds of outdoorsy gear that you no longer need?

Did you know Twin Lakes State Park is part of the Chesapeake Bay watershed?

International Astronomy Day is an annual event created to celebrate the importance of astronomy, a long-standing science throughout the world.

Meet Maverick, our corn snake animal ambassador, as he helps teach us all about our scaly friends and the good that they do for our environment.

Join us in celebrating Earth Day with a special outdoor story time featuring the beloved book The Lorax by Dr.

River Otters are one of many incredible animals that reside here at Staunton River Battlefield State Park.

Celebrate Earth Week by learning the 7 principles of Leave No Trace.

Meet two of our wildlife ambassadors, Henry and Sam, during Turtle Time!

Celebrate Earth Day by discovering the magic of vernal pools!

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

Join us in an Earth Week discussion while making earth crafts. We will gather at the Campfire Circle to express our creativity and our care for the earth. We would love to have you join us, even if you don't want to make a craft.

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.

Join us for an engaging lecture that explores the history of Point Lookout, the largest Union prison camp of the American Civil War.

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

Join our rangers as we complete the new 2026 Junior Ranger Activity Booklet to earn a badge and become a certified Junior Ranger!

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

Come and explore a dynamic ecosystem that prevents erosion and brings life to the river.  The living shoreline between the rip-rap and water’s edge is attracting interesting estuarine and marine creatures and plants.  Discover them and how living shorelines enhance and protect our waterfronts.

Come join the fun.

We only have one planet, and it is up to all of us to help care for it, for ourselves as well as future generations.

Observe and capture the natural world of Chippokes State Park with writing and drawing in this introductory session.

Slime is survival.

Join a park ranger and your fellow earth-lovers in removing Japanese honeysuckle vine which will be used for future basket-weaving programs!

Step into the past on a guided hike through the park.

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.

Discover the hidden world of James River State Park’s grasslands, and the beauty of its riverfront, on a special Earth Day guided hike.

The Friends of Chippokes are sponsoring a Garden Tea at the Chippokes Conference Shelter.  Park visitors can enjoy savory and sweet treats, along with several types of tea.

Kayak season is here!

Join costumed interpreters for a demonstration of historical cooking methods in the Jones-Stewart Mansion's original brick kitchen. .

Explore the Chesapeake Bay through the animals that live in it!

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.

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

Come discover the world of self-publishing!

Looking to get hooked on a new hobby?

Join the rangers for a fun tree craft!

Have you ever thought about what it'd be like with no access to medicine?

 Deep in the forest lies the perfect amphibian retreat - vernal pools.  These special pools fill up each winter to provide a safe habitat for salamanders, fingernail clams, fairy shrimp, and more!

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.

Join use for a garden clean-up at Holliday Lake State Park as we work together to support and enhance vital pollinator habitat.

Give trash a second chance.

Ever wondered what stories Douthat State Park holds?

Learn how Mother Nature can both inspire and help you create your next masterpiece.

Come celebrate national bird day with this fun Birding Bingo.

The creek, flora and fauna have a deep-rooted story, can you read it?

Just because we don’t always spot them, we know the animals are around by the tracks and traces they leave behind.

Learn about how pollution can spread in an aquatic environment and help us protect ourselves and our wildlife by cleaning up our shoreline.

As the sun dips low and the night draws near, we humans usually turn in for the night...but this is show-time for bats!

Can you match the skull to its pelt?

From a vantage point above the Appomattox River’s floodplain, visitors can explore the cosmos from High Bridge with our local Crewe Astronomy Club.

A nearly century-long tradition continues as the Natural Bridge is bathed in light the last Saturday night of every month (plus holiday weekends), April through October.  Experience the 200-foot-tall arch as it is lit from above and below by dozens of lights, with the only sound being the murmuring of Cedar Creek running below.

Join astronomy volunteers as they share the stories written in the night sky.

Celebrate Earth week by getting close up with frogs and toads under the Natural Bridge during the Illumination.  Late spring is the perfect time to check the creek for frogs and toads, and as evening falls they are more common on the trail.

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

Celebrate Earth Week by giving back to your park and making a positive impact on the environment!

Experience the healing benefits of nature!

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

Stop being another brick in the wall and make one instead.

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

During Earth Week, you are invited to see, smell, and taste the many ways the earth nourishes and provides for us! Foraging can foster a special connection with the land as well as with fellow foragers.

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

There are many stories to tell about Sweet Run State Park.

Commemorate the 419th anniversary of the 1607 landing when 3 English ships arrived at Cape Henry, today’s First Landing State Park!

As the weather warms to spring, travel the park's trails to explore what is in bloom with Shenandoah Chapter Virginia Master Naturalist Paul Guay.

Curious about Virginia's native snakes?

National Audubon Day is celebrated annually on April 26th to honor the birthday of renowned ornithologist, naturalist, and painter John James Audubon.

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.

As spring unfolds at Natural Tunnel State Park, the forest floor begins to come to life with the vibrant colors that Mother Nature offers.

It's a bird, it's a plane, it's a bird?

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

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.

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.

Join us for an engaging lecture that explores the history of Point Lookout, the largest Union prison camp of the American Civil War.

Interested in learning about archery in an adult setting?

The Dogwood Garden Club of Big Stone Gap, Va., will host “Bee” Power for Our Planet Exhibit in observance for Earth Week.

Explore the evolution of the park with your B.A.R.K.

Have you ever wondered why this park has two lakes?

Geocaching combines Global Positioning System (GPS) technology with nature to provide adventure for treasure hunters all over the world.

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.

With the park's miles of woodland trails and grassy expanses, you’re sure to see some of the mushrooms that are native to this part of the east coast year-round.  Join us for a basic introduction to fungi in our Visitors Center Discovery Room, then come with us on a short hike to see what fungi we can discover.