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

What is a seed bomb?

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

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.

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.

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 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.

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.

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

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

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?

Have you met the animals living at Hungry Mother State Park's Discovery Center?

Take a half of a hike with a park ranger.

Twilight is the perfect time to search for salamanders.

Let’s head over to Edmunds Lake and try to wrangle in some big fish.

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

Join the Friends of Mason Neck and Fairfax Master Naturalists for a rewarding day of volunteer garden work!

Have you ever bumped into one of our tall bark-covered residents and wondered who it is you've just run into?

Curious about how streams in the mountains turn into the Shenandoah River, then the Atlantic Ocean?

Join us for Toddler Adventure Time at Holliday Lake State Park!

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

Join the Rangers on a guided hike through our most popular trail!

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.

Bring your creativity and express your individuality and join Leesylvania State Park Rangers throughout the park for a unique crafting experience!  Each session is a one of a kind experience.  See you there!

Are all snakes venomous?

Like them or loathe them, snakes are important to our ecosystems.

First Landing’s swamp are truly special, largely due to a particular type of tree.

Have you ever wondered what owls look like, what they eat, or where they live?

In the bird world, wingspan means everything.

Join us as we comb the beach to discover what natural treasures await.  Great for all ages!  Meet at the south beach entrance. .

Leesylvania State Park is home to many different turtles!

Grab your gear and saddle up for a ride down the Cape Henry Trail, First Landing‘s longest multi-use trail.

Explore the various ways you can connect with the Earth through keeping a nature journal.

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

Allow the evening to envelop you and enjoy a hay wagon ride with our park guide.

The Perseids is one of the best meteor showers to observe, producing up to 60 meteors per hour at its peak.

Frogs, turtles, and fish, oh my!  Explore the life that exists in the pond while learning about the abundance of animals that call this ecosystem home.  Join a park ranger and learn how you can help protect these fascinating creatures.  For more information, please call the Visitor Center at (703) 583-6904 or send an email to leesylvaniavc@dcr.virginia.gov.

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

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

Try out freshwater fishing from the lake shoreline using our tackle.

This nature walk and talk is about the textures and aromas of three native forest species and their role in developing special relationships between plants and humans.

Want to experience the New River Trail State Park in a way few people get a chance to?

Spend time floating five and a half miles down the Clinch River.

Explore some of the coolest little critters that fly in our amazing world of the night sky above. Join an interpreter on Wednesdays this summer to learn about bats and what they mean for our ecosystem.

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

On this hike, all 5 of your senses will be stimulated as we immerse ourselves in nature.

Douthat Lake is home to some big, beautiful trout.

What animal inspired a popular children's game?

All aboard the Virginia Dare for a fun-filled and informative lunch cruise.

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

Bear Creek Lake is a modest 40 aces in size yet has a many-faceted story to tell.

Get your feet wet and explore life in the creek.

Every animal has unique features and traits that make them special and suited for their natural environment.

What's a benthic organism and how do they survive in the creek?

Like them or loathe them, snakes are important to our ecosystems.

Come along on a hike through Kiptopeke's trails to learn about the nature in our park. Meet at picnic shelter #2. The hike is roughly 2 miles long. Great for all ages!

Join our Park Rangers for a unique experience of Aquia Creek as the cloak of twilight descends.

Hop on over to learn the calls and search for some of Virginia's native frog species.

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

Kayak through the sunset on Swift Creek Lake.

The day has been filled with fun activities, but now it is time to wind down with a peaceful paddle on the lake.

Ever wonder what goes on at night in a park?

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

Paddle your way around the park’s unique ecosystem.

This week's Junior Rangers theme is Animals and their Habitats.

Have you ever wanted to learn how to identify some of Virginia’s native trees? It can take some time to develop this skill, but we have a park Interpreter who is willing to help you get started. We will go on a short hike on the River Bank Trail, and along the way will stop at some of the more well-known trees in Virginia.

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

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

Find time to head down to the Tunnel Platform where you’ll find amazing views of the 300-foot-tall amphitheater walls of the Natural Tunnel, rock pigeons, and if you’re lucky, a train.

Been itching to go fishing?

Explore the 32-acre Prince Edward Lake, the larger of the park's two lakes, on this guided canoe tour.

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

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

Come across our Ranger outposts stationed at a lesser-known part of First Landing State Park: the Narrows Beach!

Enjoy a fun paddling adventure at Leesylvania State Park on Powell's Creek!  Watch majestic bald eagles and ospreys soar above, a heron hunting along the shore, and turtles basking in the  sunshine.

Are all snakes venomous?

Join us as we explore the wonders of nature.

Have you ever heard an owl sing at night?

Have you ever thought about where the railroad at Natural Tunnel goes and what it has been used for through the years?

Did you know you can make paper from paper?