Explore the marshes of Back Bay by kayak while observing birds and other wildlife.

Come out for some toe-tapping live music with Haze & Dacey!

Pack a picnic and come early to pick the best spot on the lawn for one of the highlights of the summer season on Virginia’s Northern Neck.

Join Yoga Instructor Kelly Blevins to experience a more engaged form of yoga as you strike poses on our stand-up paddle boards out in the lake.

Come create your own fire starter for your next camping adventure.

Practice your netting skills to find out what lives in the Bay using techniques dating back to ancient times!

Would you choose a skunk for supper?

Throughout the summer we offer multiple opportunities for you to take a tour of our beautiful park by wagon ride.

Test your survival skills by learning to build a fire without a match or lighter.

Nestled at the base of the Blue Ridge Mountains, Sky Meadows' campground provides you with a fantastic place to enjoy peaceful rejuvenation, but how much do you know about this wonderful park?

Step back in time as we uncover the mysteries of those at rest in the park's historic cemetery.

Join us in stepping into the boots of a Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) worker and learning about the daily struggles had by the young men who built our state parks.

Take a wagon ride to the scenic Tye Overlook and enjoy the prettiest view for miles around.

Spend an entertaining evening sitting around the campfire with an interpreter.

Join us for the Community Campfire at Holliday Lake State Park, a delightful evening event where you can gather around a roaring fire, share stories, and enjoy the natural beauty of the park.

Come join us as we discover the secret lives of our nighttime pollinators.

Relax and have a s'more by the campfire as we learn about one of our most common nocturnal animals: bats!

Join us at the outdoor stage for an evening program about the soaring predators that hunt from the sky at night, including learning different owl calls, adaptations, and a chance to dissect an owl pellet.

Join astronomers from the Richmond Astronomical Society for Saturday Under the Stars.

Who is that calling to you in the night?

Experience Douthat State Park's history and evening creatures all under the night stars in the middle of the lake.

When the sun takes its daily dive below the horizon and delivers night time to your doorstep, there’s no rule saying you have to stay in for the evening.

Experience the park at night with a ranger guide pointing out stars and planets, nocturnal wildlife, and the joys of a natural night with low light pollution.

Have you ever seen or heard an actual owl call in the night?

The Bear Creek Lake State Park Archery Club is open to beginner and intermediate level archers 18 years old and older.

Enjoy a peaceful morning canoe adventure at Leesylvania State Park on Powell's Creek!  Take in the tranquility of this tributary, watch majestic bald eagles and ospreys soar above, a heron hunting along the shore, turtles basking in the morning sunshine, or a river otter retiring for the day to its den .

Enjoy a quiet morning walk along Farmstead Loop.

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

Staunton River State Park is home for many different types of wild animals.

What better way to enjoy the many sights and sounds of the park than by kayak?

10 and 2, 10 and 2, get into the rhythm of fly fishing.

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

Are you new to fishing and would like to learn the basics?

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

Over 200 years ago, early adventurers like Daniel Boone walked these same hills and valleys we see today.

Walk in the footsteps of moonshiners of decades gone by.

Come visit the discovery table to behold some of nature's most amazing treasures!

Explore the mighty James River via canoe with your very own guide!

Join us for a week-long celebration honoring the vibrant history of Pocahontas State Park, specifically highlighting the activities and programs once offered at its formerly segregated side, Group Camp 7, which was opened for use for the first time on July 15th, 1939.

Culture was an important aspect of activities held at Group Camp 7.

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

Beneath fallen tree branches and layers of fallen leaves exists an abundance of exciting mushrooms and other organisms!

Ever wonder what animals call Kiptopeke home or what those shells on the beach are called?

The use of bows to shoot arrows has been a part of global history for thousands of years whether for defense, survival, or sport.

Get ready to catch gold fever and mosey on over to join our interpretive rangers on a quest for this elusive mineral.

Have you ever thought about what an animal eats?

Stop by the Visitor Center and have the opportunity to view the sun through a telescope.

Westmoreland State Park invites you to learn about the different fossil types that you can find here along the shoreline, and why, as you create your very own shark tooth necklace keepsake.

Come learn about how Mason Neck was made by studying how rocks and land have changed over time.

A face only a mother could love?

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.

Hungry Mother State Park's interpreters are always finding cool things around the park and thinking up new activities and crafts.

More than just bees, pollinators are butterflies, birds and even bats.  12:00 pm Learn about pollination, native plants, and how to help pollinators thrive in our park and your yard.

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

Time to go on a scavenger hunt in the campground.

Watch park staff feed "Ranger Shelly," our resident pet turtle, and learn fascinating facts about these shelled reptiles.

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

What is a seed bomb?

Leather working is the craft of making leather into practical objects using different techniques.

Sunday Funday anyone?  Swing by our interpretive table in the picnic area to add some fun to your Sunday picnic!

Take a break from the heat and come cool off with the rangers.

Are you new to fishing and would like to learn the basics?

Take a guided kayak paddle through beautiful Back Bay to look for wildlife and learn about this spectacular freshwater ecosystem.

Explore the mighty James River via canoe with your very own guide!

Introduced by the National Parks, B.A.R.K.

What would a tree tell us? Join a ranger to learn how to investigate various tree parts to discover the history of the tree and the forest ecosystem it grows in. We will learn a little about tree anatomy and how to identify trees using reference books and materials.

Surviving as a colonist was drastically different and more complex than the 21st century, but we can still find similarities between them and us.

10 and 2, 10 and 2, get into the rhythm of fly fishing.

Hike a short two-mile section of the Lake Loop Trail with a park guide.

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 boomtown. 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 certified Forest Therapy volunteer, Tina Hayes, for a relaxing program made to calm the mind.

Meet at the Big Water Visitor Center and help our resident box turtle have some fun in the sun!  Learn about different turtles that call Kiptopeke home and why it's important to keep wildlife wild.

Explore fascinating natural treasures at the Park Office, where a park ranger will showcase intriguing items you can see, touch, and learn about.

Of all the mammals, opossums are the most misunderstood. They are fascinating creatures with very unique characteristics.

Ready, set, crawl, to join General Raphael, our non-releasable rescue eastern box turtle, as we explore more about her and the animal friends she shares her habitat with.

Join us to learn about insects and the different jobs they do here at Fairy Stone State Park and in your own backyard. Our adventure will continue as we search the area to find examples of these important members of our neighborhood.

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.

When a tree falls in the forest, what happens next?

Join a ranger for an engaging program on campfire making and survival skills.

Take a short walk with a ranger and explore the history of Douthat State Park.

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

Discover the art of being a park ranger!

Your next adventure is HERE!  Join us for a week-long day camp as we explore Mason Neck State Park.  Each day we will find new adventures and learn more about the ecology of the park, while we play and challenge ourselves to try something new. Each camp will run Monday through Friday, from 9 am to 1:00 pm.

The Park is excited to announce their Children’s Junior Ranger Camp is back again for 2024.

Who wants to be a junior ranger?  Join us for our junior ranger camp for ages 6-9 from Monday, July 15 - Thursday, July 18.

Let’s go on a fun "History Hike" at Staunton River State Park.

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

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 wet, muddy, has lots of plants and animals, and kind of stinks?

Join us for an unforgettable Junior Ranger Camp adventure at Holliday Lake State Park.

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

Perched upon a small hill overlooking the old Norfolk & Western railway station sits the old Foster Falls Hotel.

Come be a scientist for the day with our park rangers!

Douthat State Park is home to many mammals including black bears.

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.

Can you recall taking a break on a hot summer day and sitting under the shade of a maple tree, or swinging on a tire swing hung from a giant oak? Trees provide many benefits including food, shelter, and oxygen, to both humans and wildlife.

Discover the art of being a park ranger!

Want to learn how to play the outdoorsman’s version of BINGO?

Do you love art and nature?

Do you enjoy listening to the birds chirp outside and hearing the trees in the wind?