Where's the best place to fish at the park?

Ever wonder what goes on at night in a park?

Warm nights combined with the lush, blooming meadows at Powhatan State Park make the perfect stage for dancing fireflies.

Celebrate National Kids to Parks Day at Twin Lakes. This year, Twin Lakes will is offering the following free programs, which meet at the Discovery Area, previously known as "The Spot" or the concession building: 10 a.m. - Lake Explorers  The edges of our lakes feature a tiny world teeming with life.

Interested in the world of fossils?

  Kids to Parks Day is a nationwide celebration connecting families with the beauty and wonder of our public lands.

Make today the day that you get your kids to a park for the healthy benefits and outdoor activities.

Ready to learn the ins and outs of kayaking?

Come out and explore nature using tools like the park rangers use to investigate the park's wildlife in this self-guided adventure. Use your current outdoor skills and develop some new ones too as you learn to use binoculars, a magnifying glass, butterfly nets, and a compass to discover our park in a brand new way!

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

Join us for our nature photography series!

Spend National Kids to Park Day at Natural Tunnel State Park as we celebrate our outdoor resources and get everyone excited about parks; there's more than just meets the eye!

Embark on an aquatic adventure "going up the food chain" through educational explorations and outdoor games.

Celebrate National Kids to Parks Day by discovering more about Pocahontas State Park.

Kids to Parks Day is a nationally coordinated day designed to connect kids and families with their local, state, and national parks.

Get outside and learn a new game along the Thistle Ridge Disc Golf Trail. Rangers and volunteers will be on hand to teach you and your family how to play disc golf by sharing tips and tricks before you hit the course.

Do you want your kids to learn how to kayak?

Connect your family to nature with our special programming for Kids to Parks Day.

Have you ever wondered about the birds in your area?

Enjoy the great outdoors with High Bridge Trail for a full day of programs for kids. Each program will begin in the Camp Paradise Access area.

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

Want to become a Junior Park Ranger?  Join us for some fun activities, games and arts & crafts.  We will have a Park Ranger dress up station, build your own bird house station, shell identification station and our self-guided Junior Ranger Booklets.    Saturday May 18th from 10 am to 12 pm.  All activities will be located at the Big Water Visitor Center. .

Kids love Virginia State Parks!

Kids to Parks Day at First Landing is a time for fun and exploration in your local slice of nature.

Stop by the nature booth to borrow a Family Learning Adventures adventure pack for the day.

Come celebrate National Kids to Parks Day at Caledon!

Celebrate National Kids to Park Day with a fun run at Leesylvania State Park.  Dress up as your favorite animal and race others on the Potomac trail.

National Kids to Parks Day was created to encourage kids and their families to visit one of America's national, state or local parks and promote environmental stewardship and healthy outdoor activity.  10:00 am  Connect with Nature on a mini adventure to explore the Nature Play Area.

Join a Park Ranger in bringing your kids to Clinch River State Park.

Put down your electronic devices and discover life outdoors!  We'll begin with a kid-friendly Pick Your Paddle trip on Taskinas Creek at 10:00 AM.  The popular Fossil Frenzy Hike will begin at 1:00 PM.  Meet at the amphitheater for both activities.  Reservations and prepayment are required for the paddling trip.

 Explore the beautiful wetlands or river with us.

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

Meet with a ranger and go on a guided hike along the Oak Hickory Trail.

What is the oldest way of cooking?

Staunton River Battlefield State Park and Virginia Master Naturalists invite you to learn all about Eastern Bluebirds through the seasons.

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

Otters, wildcats, and bears, oh my!

Explore the park's expansive wetlands with us as we search for and identify the plants and animals that call this unique habitat their home.

Explore the 18th century through the eyes of a child.

Join a ranger to create something special from natural elements found around the park.

It's National Kids to Parks Day and we are celebrating with a Butterfly Safari! Are you quick enough to catch a butterfly?

Join us at Smith Mountain Lake State Park for National Kids to Parks Day.

Adventure into the outdoors and discover wildlife along the Trail with a ranger. All tiny participants will be given helpful hands-on bug finding tools for investigating nature signs.   Let's try to use all of our senses to see, smell, touch, track and observe.

Join us for a day of fun outdoor activities that will help kids enjoy the natural world.

During the Civil War, Union soldiers were always ready for the challenges of marching, training, or engaging in battle.

Come celebrate National Kids to Parks Day at Caledon!

Do you like to get hands-on experience looking for cool critters?

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.

The Friends of Twin Lakes State Park is hosting its second annual 'shellebration' of World Turtle Day® with the following activities: turtle-themed games and face painting, a 'shellfie' station (with wearable turtle shells!), a turtle-themed craft, and visits from turtle experts with live turtles, as well as the beloved local 'shellebrity' Ranger Myrtle the turtle.

To celebrate National Kids to Parks Day, the park is offering a Children's Prowl the Powell program.

Spend National Kids to Park Day at Natural Tunnel State Park as we celebrate our outdoor resources and get everyone excited about parks; there's more than just meets the eye!

Bring the family out to enjoy an afternoon flying kites at our Historic Hillsman House location, which offers a perfect open space for some high-flying fun.

Kids to Parks Day is a national day of outdoor play celebrated annually on the third Saturday of May.

Seven Bends State Park is inviting you to an afternoon of outdoor games, education, and conservation programming.

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.

What is the oldest way of cooking?

Move over NASCAR, NASDUCK is here!

We would like to introduce you to “Boxer” the box turtle.

Kick your summer off with Kids to Parks Day at Staunton River State Park. We will be hosting several programs throughout the day that are perfect for the whole family: Feeding Frenzy (2 p.m.): Observe the beautiful animals in our Nature Center during their feeding times. From snakes to turtles to fish, you will be able to see all of these park animals devouring a meal.   Wagon Ride (5 p.m.): Take a tour of our beautiful park by wagon ride. Enjoy the scenic views of the Staunton and Dan Rivers and witness some of the original work that the Civilian Conservation Corps did to build the park.

Use all your senses to learn something new about the environment.

Kids love Virginia State Parks!

Come celebrate National Kids to Parks Day at Caledon!

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

Come join seasoned leather craftsman Matt Bennett at Shenandoah River State Park!

Spend National Kids to Park Day at Natural Tunnel State Park as we celebrate our outdoor resources and get everyone excited about parks; there's more than just meets the eye!

Be on the lookout for our Roving Ranger as they roam the picnic areas and beaches with interesting animal or historical artifacts from the park.

Join our amazing volunteer Darin Handy as he shows us all sorts of amazing critters, live!

Ever wonder what creatures live in the dark depths of a freshwater marsh?

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

Trees have magical qualities which give us many important everyday items and the oxygen we breathe.

What do you know about our scaly friends?

Frogs, crawdads, and children, oh my!

Participants who are interested in the Prowl the Powell nature series should meet volunteers and park staff at the front gate of the museum.

Join a park ranger for interactive and hands on archery instruction. Have you ever wanted to try archery but have no idea where to start, then this is the program for you.

Come out and explore nature using tools like the park rangers use to investigate the park's wildlife in this self-guided adventure. Use your current outdoor skills and develop some new ones too as you learn to use binoculars, a magnifying glass, butterfly nets, and a compass to discover our park in a brand new way!

Celebrate National Kids to Parks Day with a fun-filled evening in nature!

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.

Bring a picnic and lawn chair for a family friendly evening of live music at the Park's Interpretive Area! The Tidewinders, a local band, will be performing bluegrass music with a modern flare.  The event is free but the $5/vehicle parking fee applies.

Join us at New River Trail State Park for our Foster Falls Music Series!

What would it be like to be able to see in the dark, strike prey like lightning, or soar through the air thousands of feet above the earth?

It's a bird!

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

Kids love Virginia State Parks!

FLSP is excited about our 2024 Junior Ranger Camp!  Online registration will begin Monday, Feb. 19th, at 9:00 a.m. via SignUpGenius.

The Archery Range opens for the season daily from 8 a.m. until dusk.

The Visitor Center at Sailor's Creek Battlefield Historical State Park offers a museum filled with treasured artifacts discovered over the years where the last major fight of the American Civil War in Virginia occurred on April 6, 1865.

Tours of the Hillsman House, a National Historic Landmark, are available to the public by request.

A Self-Guided Driving Tour of Sailor's Creek Battlefield is available to visitors year-round from sunrise to sunset.

Sailor's Creek Battlefield offers six, self-guided Hiking Trails with historic markers for the public to explore year round during daylight hours (sunrise to sunset).

Join us on a real or virtual hike through Claytor Lake State Park as we take a closer look at some of the beautiful native trees.

The Staunton River Scavenger Hunt is a self-guided program that you can enjoy with family and friends.

Pick up the Staunton River State Park bird identification list in the Visitor Center for this self-guided program.

Pick up the Junior Ranger booklet at the Visitor Center to begin this self-guided program.

Pick up this Ranger Quest guide at the Visitor Center to begin this self-guided program.

Did you know that Haven Howe was an early advocate for environmental reform in Virginia? Participate in person or virtually as we examine the fine craftsmanship of the Howe House and learn of its builder, inhabitants, and history.

Take a hike back in time by visiting our tour points located at the same location as our collection of photos and videos from past years at Claytor Lake State Park and Claytor Lake.

Earn your junior ranger patch through a variety of programs and fun family activities.  Visit the park office, gift shop, or contact station for a copy of our junior ranger booklet, or you can download it from the link below.

Find out what it takes to be a ranger at Sky Meadows State Park.

A new discovery awaits your family with Sky Meadows' Discovery Backpacks.