Have you been wanting to attend one of our ranger programs, but the program wasn't scheduled during your stay or rain kept it from happening?

The Orionids is an average shower producing up to 20 meteors per hour at its peak.

Something weird is happening around Westmoreland State Park!

Play is important work for kids!  Getting outside to play allows kids to develop social-emotional, gross motor, creative thinking and other skills needed for life.  While you can come to our Nature Play Area anytime, during our Pop-In Playtime adventures, volunteers and park staff will be available and have a learning activity or craft that you can do.  All ages welcome, activities are geared for ages 3-5.  Each month will have a different theme.   .

Just as caterpillars grow and change, our Caterpillar Club programs are designed to help your little one grow and change.

Immerse yourself in nature and experience the calming and health-promoting benefits of the forest.

Holliday Lake State Park’s home school program is a set of outdoor classes for homeschool kiddos grades K-12, join us as we explore the wild world around us.

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.

Come on out to Chippokes State Park and discover what is left of a forgotten historic roadway on this ranger-led hike. Learn about historic transportation routes, the area's first inhabitants, speculation and myths of the road, and natural history.

This ranger-led activity involves the creation of a special clay craft and some good ole' fun and friendly competition.  Learn more about the history, purpose, popularity, and design of dugout canoes.

Come learn about the life of hunters and what goes into protecting our ecosystems!

Learn some of the trade secrets of what it takes to create the perfect "Fairy Stone" that everyone is looking for.

The Southwest Virginia Museum Historical State Park is excited to announce the fall semester of the WiseJAMS Music Program.

Enjoy pumpkin painting, costume contests, storytelling and a community based Trunk-or-Treat, where children enjoy an old fashioned Halloween in a safe environment.

Fall is the perfect time for hayrides - ride through forests, fields, and hills with a park ranger as your guide this October.

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

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

Did you know that there are 17 known species of bat that live in the state of Virginia and that 3 of those are Federally recognized as endangered?  Let's learn about the magnificence of these three endangered species while we make a Halloween themed avatar, better known in the Fall season as an abator, that can fly just like a kite.

With the coming of Fall, use the leaves around you to create some beautiful art.

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 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.

Pan for gold in the James River while learning about Virginia’s unique geology, the rocks and minerals of the park, and the magnetic sand on the banks of the river.

Native birds are crucial to our ecosystems!

Did you know all the amazing fall colors are always present in the leaves?

Discover the art of journaling in the wild with a ranger.

Learn some of the trade secrets of what it takes to create the perfect "Fairy Stone" that everyone is looking for.

What bird lives most of its life on the ground, can fly as fast as a car, and was almost our national bird?

Join us at beautiful Staunton River Battlefield State Park for a walk along our trails with a local Virginia Master Naturalist and see what incredible things nature is doing this week in and around the park.

Play classic Hide-and-Seek with a modern twist!

Invaders are taking over Fairy Stone State Park and your own backyard.

  Join us on October 27th for an adventurous kayak journey at Aquia Creek!

Celebrate fall by painting your own pumpkin at the park!

Let us keep the kids entertained while the adults set up or take a break from setting up and stop by for a quick craft; a quick discussion of Belle Isle's history; or a quick lesson on critters.

The leaves are changing and the nights are growing cold, its a prefect time for a hayride.

Join the ranger for an easy exploration of Old Pond Trail as we enjoy the crisp, cool evening air.

Enjoy a cool fall evening with a short, moderate hike to the highest point in the park, Little Pinnacle, to witness one of the most stunning sunsets in Virginia.

Watch for one of the roaming rangers as they travel throughout the park presenting mini-programs on a variety of topics.

Kick off your weekend with an interactive evening by the campfire as we discuss the unique stories and critters of Pocahontas State Park.

It's all treats and no tricks here!

Let’s learn about bats!

Prepare for a spooky story followed by a night hike filled with opportunities to understand the mysteries Machicomoco's night time creatures.

Wondering about Wash Woods?

This October voices from the past will guide you along the trail to the Natural Bridge, all by lantern light.

Whether this is your first time, or you have been here before, enjoy a wonderful evening on us.

Friends, family, and fun can be found at our ranger-led campfire.

Watch as our animal ambassadors enjoy their lunch in the most terrifying way, devouring whole!

Grab your binoculars and get outside.  Loudoun Wildlife Conservancy will lead these monthly hikes to discover and identify birds at Sweet Run State Park.   We will explore parts of this beautiful 900 acre preserve and see what lives in and visits its diverse habitats.

Get outside and explore!  Our park has a vast range of resources to enjoy, and sometimes the best way to enjoy them is on your own.

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

Participants who attend this day-long historic cemetery preservation workshop will learn the proper methods of documenting and conserving a variety of grave monuments.

Would you like to have the chance to explore the trails in Powhatan State Park and meet new people?

Join Virginia Master Naturalists on a fall exploration of the Sensory Explorers' Trail in this first of a series of seasonal walks planned for children.

Campers are invited to decorate their campsites for the season while they’re here.

Bats have evolved an amazing skill involving sound and their ears, echolocation.

Celebrate Fall at Claytor Lake State Park with a full day of activities. Enjoy a scenic hayride throughout the park or get creative and participate in our pumpkin carving or campsite decorating contests.

Save the date for Claytor Lake State Park's Fall Celebration.

Embrace your creativity by exploring unique connections to the natural and historic elements of the park through this dynamic art program *Pre-registration recommended.

Stop by the shot tower for a Halloween treat and tour!

Come celebrate Halloween at Occoneechee State Park.

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

Pocahontas State Park has over 20 graveyards, or burial grounds within the park's boundaries.

The forge is fired up and the blacksmiths are hard at work showing off their skills.

Embrace the changing colors of the season during Sky Meadows' Fall Farm Days.

Let your imagination run wild with this fun scavenger hunt.

Who was Elizabeth Hartwell?

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

It’s a bird, it’s a plane, or is that a bat?

Join us at Westmoreland State Park for a day of fun and spooky programs for the whole family!

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.

Are you interested in learning about the most common and rare fossils that can be found along the James River?

Are you comfortable climbing in a gym but want to try bouldering in the wild?

Come celebrate Halloween at Occoneechee State Park.

Join us as we open the doors to the old Norfolk and Western caboose 518517.

It's that creepy time of year...Join a ranger to make your own seasonal treat to eat.

We are hosting a Trunk-or-Treat for the local community at Holliday Lake State Park on Saturday, October 28th from 1-4pm. We have partnered with several local organizations to make this an event you won't forget.

Bring the family to the park to enjoy the fall colors and a fun-filled Halloween event. Activities include a costume contest (for ages 12 and younger), pumpkin decorating, crafts, candy and games.

Did you know that 11 to 3 million years ago Chippokes, the James River, and most of the Tidewater area of Virginia was all under water and at the bottom of the Claremont Manor Sea? Join an interpreter on an adventure through the Fossil Beds of Chippokes to see what we can find...

🎃👻 Join us for a spooktacular adventure at the Trek and Treat event in Widewater State Park!

Kick off 'Hallo-weekend' with a good ole-fashioned costume contest.

Discover what being a Junior Ranger is all about! A park ranger will guide you on different adventures while you explore a variety of aspects of Twin Lakes State Park through the eyes of a Junior Ranger. Each Junior Ranger session is a chance to explore something new; no two sessions are the same, so even if you've participated in this program before, stop by to explore something new.  Junior Rangers must wear appropriate clothing for exploring the outdoors.

Not all bees live in hives.

It's International Bat Week!

Get into the spirit of the holiday by joining the Rangers for a scary themed fall craft!

Being mindful and appreciative of nature can help you care for yourself and find a deeper understanding of why it is important to care for nature.

Put your investigation skills to work as we search for clues about what...or who was eaten by owls!  We will dissect owl pellets and look among fur and bones to find some answers.

Learn about the only mammals with true flight, bats!

🌳🐍 WIDE WATER STATE PARK PRESENTS: "SNAKES ALIVE" 🐍🌳 Join us Saturday at 2:30 pm for an unforgettable experience at Wide Water State Park's "Snakes Alive" program!

Time to create a mask so scary, you can chase the monsters away.

This land-based, hook-free fishing game is a fun and safe way to learn how to cast, but even those who are fishing fanatics will enjoy trying to beat out the competition in this game of limited resources.

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

Wear your best costume and come join us at Fairy Stone State Park for a fun filled afternoon of Trunk-or-Treating. Parking for the event will be in the overflow lot directly across the street from the entrance to Shelters 3 & 4.

Crows, Spiders, Owls and Bats....Keep your ears and eyes open for one of the many Spooktacular creatures you may see at Belle Isle.  Join a ranger and learn about the critters we see and don't see, and make a craft to take home and share with friends and family.

Scared of our eight-legged friend?

Come Trunk-or-Treat at Caledon!

Learn about some of the "creepy" animals that live in our park, while winning prizes in a game of bingo.

Join a ranger at the campfire circle to enjoy night programs, learn campfire basics, storytelling, and the opportunity to make s'mores.

Bring out your most artistic or spooky ideas in our pumpkin carving contest.

Peek at the autumn leaves of the Blue Ridge Mountains' peaks on this guided sunset hike.

Come take a walk with us under a full moon to search for some of the park's most illusive night-time predators -- owls!  As we walk along under the quiet cover of darkness, we'll listen for their haunting voices as they cry out across the landscape.

Gather 'round the campfire as we illuminate the night with scary stories, activities, s'mores, and more!