The Indigenous History of Virginia is exciting, captivating and challenging to learn about.

Peak into the microscope to view the tiny cells that make up your favorite plants and animals.

How much do you know about Douthat State Park's past?

Do you have a passion for nature, environmental education, and wish to make a difference?

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

Twilight Paddle Adventures are a great way to spend an evening away from the hustle and bustle of work, traffic and the cares of life.

Join us for the 2025 season of Music by the River, one of the highlights of the summer on Virginia’s Northern Neck.

Enjoy a summer evening with live music and local wine in the woods!

Join our friends from Whitetop Yoga to experience a more engaged form of yoga as you strike poses on our standup paddleboards out in the lake.

Stop by this Chesapeake Bay display on your way to the beach to hear a short talk all about one of the nation’s most valuable waterways.

Join us on a ranger-led wagon ride through history. We will take you on a tour of our beautiful park, stopping at multiple places along the way to interpret the amazing history of Staunton River State Park.

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

Drop by the campfire to relax, meet your camping neighbors, enjoy time sharing stories, and learn about critters that call New River Trail home.

Spend a nice summer's evening sitting around the campfire with storyteller Melanie Smith as she spins tales that span Appalachian culture.

Dive into the rich heritage and vibrant culture of Virginia's state parks on History and Culture Day!

Come with us to experience the beginnings of Bluegrass music and follow its evolution as it traveled across the ocean and settled in the Appalachian Mountains.

Secrets and spiders and campfires?

Enjoy a movie under the stars.

Paddle through time and experience the rich history of Douthat State Park under the stars. Celebrate 89 years of Virginia State Parks with a special evening program where you'll glide across the lake in a canoe by moonlight.

Each night when the sun goes down, the owls of First Landing come out to hunt!

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.

Are you ready to get away from the hustle and bustle of the big city?

Looking for a unique way to celebrate Father's Day?

Looking for a fun way to explore the park at your own pace?

This three-hour class will cover the basics of paddling skills including how to select and fit a personal flotation device (PFD), different types of kayaks, planning and safety, reading the river, identifying river hazards, and proper paddling strokes.

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

Visit the park’s Discovery Center (formerly known as The Spot, the interior portion of the concession stand) to check out the park’s display celebrating its civil rights history.

Celebrate Juneteenth with fun, self-guided activities that celebrate the rich history of Twin Lakes State Park, available while supplies last.

Hunting for hidden history on Twin Lakes State Park's trails is easy with the geocaching app.

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

Join a ranger, enjoy Big Meadow Trail, and learn about the natural history of Westmoreland State Park.

Journey to Martin’s Station and find yourself immersed in Virginia’s frontier.

Walk in the footsteps of moonshiners of decades gone by.

Calling all history (and kayak) lovers!   Celebrate Virginia State Park's 89th anniversary with us on a guided kayaking tour!

Travel through time during the 2024 Virginia State Parks History and Culture celebration at First Landing State Park.  Visit the park on Sunday, June 15th for a field day focused on First Landing history, from the pre-colonial era to modern day. This celebration will be based at the Trail Center and go on throughout the afternoon.

Chippokes State Park welcomes visitors to accompany an interpretive guide on a very unique historical building tour experience to explore the oldest dwelling on the grounds.

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

How did Pocahontas State Park come to be? What are the "Original 6" State Parks?

On June 14th and 15th, we invite you to visit the park's historic cemetery for Virginia State Parks History & Culture Weekend.

Get down and dirty with this two-hour wild cave tour.

Read a tale as you walk the trail. Begin at the CCC Museum to begin your exploration and story time at your own pace.

Ever wonder what animals call Kiptopeke home, or what that shell is on the beach?

Join us at an exciting and empowering camp at the Shenandoah River State Park in Bentonville, VA.

Celebrate the rich history and culture of Virginia's State Parks by diving into the archaeological work that has been done on Mason Neck.

Enjoy a refreshing cup of lemonade with a ranger and engage in interesting discussions to gain a unique insight into local wildlife and conservation efforts.

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

Discover wildflowers and their pollinators as we walk along the trail along Saunder's Creek.

Stop by and investigate the variety of flora and fauna found around Smith Mountain Lake.

Come out of your shell and spend some time getting to know the Eastern Box Turtle.

Step back in time and participate in games played in the 18th century.

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

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.

There are many stories to tell about Sweet Run State Park.  Some are visual, some will be tactile, and most do not use words.

Did you know the park's lakes were built by humans?

Celebrate Virginia State Parks History & Culture Weekend with us as we learn about the history of Fairy Stone State Park.

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

The Big Idea that led to there being a Bear Creek Lake State Park was really a collection of smaller ideas that came together at the right time.

Create your own up-cycled Nature Journal! Keeping a Nature Journal is one way of memory keeping.  You don't have to be an artist to journal, it could be filled with stickers from parks, poems, or lists of what you saw. Journals are as unique as the individuals using them.

Dive into excitement with our "Dipnetting Adventure" at Holliday Lake State Park.

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

Have you ever heard the sound of a pack of coyotes howling in the middle of the night?

The Bay can hold many secrets.

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. "Moonshine Murders" reveals the events which sparked a number of these murders.  Due to the gruesome nature of this topic, we ask that no one under age 15 attend.

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

Join us in celebrating 85 years of history, community, and resilience at Green Pastures. On Sunday, June 15, 2025, from 3-6 p.m., this special anniversary event will honor the legacy of Green Pastures and its significance to the region.

Practice your detective skills by uncovering snakes hidden in images of their habitat, and discover how best to avoid those with venom.

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 boom town. 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.

Is the critter this month small, medium, or large?

Meet us on South Beach to help clean up trash and search for treasures.

Who made those footprints?

Did you know that Shenandoah County wasn't always called Shenandoah County?

Do you feel safer walking with a friend?

Is your little one interested in becoming an official Seven Bends State Park Junior Ranger?

Who wants to be a junior ranger?  Join us for our junior ranger camp for ages 10-12 from Monday, June 16 - Thursday, June 19.

This summer, the Junior Ranger program is exploring different biomes, and Week 2 is Meadows & Fields! Programs run Monday - Wednesday from 10am to 1pm. Outdoor and weather appropriate clothing must be worn as we will be exploring the park; getting dirty and wet are both strong possibilities. Closed-toed shoes are required every day. Please don't forget to bring a lunch and a reusable water bottle, as well as apply sunscreen and bugspray before the program begins.

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.

This is the last day of our Batteaux and Banjos event.

Find out what lurks below the surface of the swamp in this fun dip-netting adventure!

Have you ever wondered what secrets the natural world holds? This drop-in program offers a unique opportunity to meet with Virginia Master Naturalists who will be available to answer all your nature-related questions.

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 head to the site.

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

With over two thousand acres, the park has a wide variety of life in the wetlands and woods.  Meet with our naturalist/ranger who will help you discover the aquatic, insect, mammal, and plant life in the park’s ecosystems.

Ever wonder what the fish are doing when they dive deep under water?

Do you enjoy coffee, chocolate, fruits, and vegetables?

How many animals inhabitants of First Landing State Park can you identify?

Are you trying to secure the tarp over your tent, or interested in how to keep your boat or canoe tied up so that it won't float away?

Every Monday evening from May to the first week of September you can find local fresh produce, baked goods, honey, jams and jellies, soap, and local artisan crafters, as well as food vendors, here at Fairy Stone State Park.

The Friends of Smith Mountain Lake State Park is a volunteer organization of interested citizens who actively support the park. The group works on behalf of the park by assisting in daily programs, special events, fund raising, and public education. The partnership provides a mechanism to use the skills, contacts, and resources of private citizens and businesses to improve services that may not otherwise be available.

Ride with a park guide as we experience the shores of Smith Mountain Lake State Park.

The Fairfield Foundation opens the Timberneck house for free walk-in tours every Tuesday.

Come learn what makes cave ecosystems so delicate and special.

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

This summer, the Junior Ranger program is exploring different biomes, and Week 2 is Meadows & Fields! Programs run Monday - Wednesday from 10am to 1pm. Outdoor and weather appropriate clothing must be worn as we will be exploring the park; getting dirty and wet are both strong possibilities. Closed-toed shoes are required every day. Please don't forget to bring a lunch and a reusable water bottle, as well as apply sunscreen and bugspray before the program begins.

First Landing is home to many creatures both large and small.

Stop by and investigate the variety of flora and fauna found around Smith Mountain Lake.

Is the opossum misunderstood?

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 head to the site.

Join the Rangers each week to learn a new skill to help you survive in the wild.

Animals may be shy, but they leave plenty of clues behind.

Come out of your shell and spend some time getting to know the Eastern Box Turtle.