The Southwest Virginia Museum Historical State Park is now accepting entries for the “Stitch in Time” Quilt Show.

The Lyrids meteor shower is an average shower, usually producing about 20 meteors per hour at its peak.

Earth Day is a time of celebration and appreciation here at First Landing.

The Eta Aquarids meteor shower is an above average meteor shower with about 30 meteors per hour at its peak in the Northern Hemisphere.

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

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.

Happy Earth Week!

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

Happy Earth Week!

Happy Earth Week!

Let’s show off how amazing our parks can be for wildlife this spring!

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

Celebrate Earth Day with Chippokes State Park by participating in our Beach Clean Up.  In the words of Woodsy Owl (1971), "Give a hoot; don't pollute!"  Earth Day is a special excuse to find ways to volunteer and make a difference out in your local communities.  Volunteer and help out the planet today.

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

Take a walk and discover life in four different aquatic ecosystems.  We will hike to a small woodland and marsh stream, freshwater pond, and brackish/saltwater river.  With nets, we will capture and identify different crustaceans, fish, and take note of plant life. .

The Senior Ranger Series is geared towards citizens 55 and older who are interested in learning more about nature.

Meet at the Big Water Visitor Center and help our resident box turtle have some fun in the sun.

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'.

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.

Take care of your mother Earth by joining the more than one billion people worldwide who celebrate Earth Day annually.

Join a Ranger on a nature adventure through Potomac Trail.

Join a Kiptopeke Park Ranger for a guided hike through our nature trails.

Join a ranger for a tree Identification hike!

Meet Gertie and Birdie, our Educational Ambassadors, and interact with our knowledgeable rangers while they care for these beloved critters.

Learn some of the trade secrets of what it takes to create the perfect 'fairy stone' that everyone is looking for.

Help us celebrate our planet with some special Earth Day programming: Friday, April 25: 3 p.m. - Tree Identification Hike @ the Howe House  Join us for a scenic hike around the historical Howe House and learn how to identify some of our native trees.

How do you tell trees apart? Join us for a scenic hike from the Howe House to the beach as we learn how to identify some of our common native trees.

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.

Join us and discover the basics of birding followed by the opportunity to explore some of our most popular birding habitats.

You're invited on a guided evening hike with an interpretive ranger to learn about the medicinal plants of central Virginia.

Who-who-whooooo's calling?

Kick off your stay at our ranger-led campfire.

'Whooo' will hear 'whooo' first?

Come see the stars and explore our night sky with our park rangers at this International Dark Sky Park.

Happy Earth Week!

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 to see what lives in it and visit its diverse habitats.

In a partnership program with High Bridge Trail, the Margaret Watson Bird Club will have volunteers available to share their knowledge during this birding adventure.

Give back to Mother Nature on this Earth Day by helping to clean our park and keep it beautiful.

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

Join us for the eighth annual running of the Osprey 10K Run/5K Run-Walk, which will highlight the wonderful attributes of the area as participants make their way along the beautiful roadways in Smith Mountain Lake State Park.

The Friends of the Southwest Virginia Museum to host an Earth Day Yard Sale fundraiser on Saturday, April 26 from 9 a.m. – 2 p.m. The Yard Sale will offer a variety of items for purchase, and all proceeds will benefit the Friends of the Southwest Virginia Museum Historical State Park.  Donations are needed for the sale, and the Friends will accept items in good condition, except clothing and shoes.

Come and join us for our monthly Trail Workday on April 26th!

Come help out the park by planting natives in our Marina garden beds for our first volunteer workday project.  Each month, volunteers of all ages and skill levels are welcome to work together on a project that helps improve and maintain our beautiful park.

There is no better time to practice recycling than on Earth Day.

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

Sky Meadows will celebrate Earth Day by introducing visitors to the Homegrown National Park Initiative, which is a grassroots call-to-action to regenerate our planet's biodiversity. The event will begin with a showing of Homegrown National Park's What's the Rush, a 25-minute-long video which encourages a new culture where we all make a difference by removing invasive species and planting natives where we live, work and play.

Gather at the Blockhouse with Daniel Boone to prepare for the journey “Into the Wilderness.” On April 26th from 10 a.m. till 4 p.m. at the Blockhouse at Natural Tunnel State Park, you are invited to attend a Reenactment of Boone’s famous trail blazing from Kingsport to Ft.

Robin Hood, Katniss Everdeen, and Hawkeye: fictional archers with real world skills.

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

Bows and arrows have been a part of human society for thousands of years and used for both survival and sport.

Where are all the ladybugs?

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.

Curious about how the light green house looks from the inside and its restoration process?

Become a Junior Ranger today at Westmoreland State Park.

Pick up a BINGO card at the Visitor Center, then take it out around the park and see if you can use your senses to get BINGO!

Who can pick up the most litter?

How does a plant begin?

Help dig up invasive plants to improve the forests and meadows of Mason Neck.

On this Earth Day, head out to Holliday Lake and lend rangers a hand with litter patrol.

Meet us at the camp store to learn about the 7 Leave No Trace principles while we come together to clean our beaches.

Become an owl pellet detective as we dissect the clues an owl leaves behind.

The eastern woodlands are essential to the Southwestern Virginia landscape.

Become a pollinator this Earth Day as we gather in the wildflower field near the spillway below the dam.

Did you know that almost 1/3 of all Americans go birdwatching or birding?

What will we scoop up this time?

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

Meet at the Visitor Center to start learning about our native birds.

Our friends Hisstopher and Harrold planned a lunch date, and they want you to join.

The Overton/Hillsman family has played a significant role in the history of Sailor's Creek Battlefield.

Join the Northern Virginia Association of Rocketry (NOVAAR) Club as their model rockets go up, up, and away.

Have you ever heard of the Woodbooger?

Join us this Earth Day at Fairy Stone State Park to make a lasting impact on our natural landscapes.

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

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 perfect way to give back to Mother Earth on Earth Day is by helping to keep it beautiful.

Join rangers and other volunteers at Leesylvania State Park to help clean up our beaches and shoreline.

With warmer wetter weather comes springtime fungi!

Robin Hood, Katniss Everdeen, and Hawkeye: fictional archers with real world skills.

Native biodiversity is crucial for a healthy environment.  During this program, a ranger will discuss the importance of native plants.

Do you want to contribute to the environment, but are not sure where to start?

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

Come meet and greet Ranger Myrtle (our Red-Eared Slider turtle), Ranger Scout (our Western Hognose snake), and Ranger Brutus (our Copperhead snake) to discover what makes these rangers so special to Twin Lakes State Park.  Parks are for everyone.

It's feeding time for our ambassador reptiles.  How do we feed our animals?

Plants are far more than just part of park's scenery, many plants have a wide variety of uses for humans.

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.

Ever wanted to learn how to crab?

Animals and plants come in all kinds of colors, but why the variety?

Join us for a special presentation with Department of Forestry, Kirby Woolfolk, who will share what it's like to work in the woods!

Happy Earth Week!

Join the rangers with a fun tree craft.

What's in that ditch?

Slither on down and join the Park Ranger for an in depth look into the fascinating lives of some local reptiles.

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.

Frogs, crawdads, and children, oh my!

Need a break from your long trip and have a little fun? Do you like being creative? We have many things to see at our Visitor Center.

Learn how to recycle your two-liter soda bottles into bird feeders.

Travel through time on this scavenger hunt.

Join a ranger to learn about the wild animals found at Belle Isle State Park that delight your senses.

Volunteer your time this Earth Day and help stop pollution. Learn about how pollution can spread in an aquatic environment and help us protect ourselves and our wildlife by cleaning up our shoreline.

In Virginia, a lot of pre-contact Indigenous history was obscured by colonization.