Events in Virginia State Parks

Feeding Frenzy at the Discovery Center is a chance to get up close with the park's ambassador animals as rangers guide you through a live feeding session.

Come out for a guided hike to the historic bridge and earthworks here at Staunton River Battlefield State Park.

Join our Park Rangers as they discuss the history, ecology, and culture of the Widewater peninsula.

Mark your calendars, music on the cliffs is back and we want you to join us for this amazing summer concert series overlooking the Potomac River! Music on the cliff is our parks outdoor concert series where you can unwind and experience great local music in a beautiful natural setting.  While you're here, enjoy a bite to eat from a local food truck. Don’t forget your lawn chair or blanket!  This event is brought to you by the Friends of Westmoreland State Park.

Come gather around the campfire and immerse yourself in a night of fun.

The Beach Bumz are a Baltimore Maryland, Orlando Florida based Beach Tribute Band.

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

From a vantage point above the Appomattox River’s floodplain, visitors can explore the cosmos from High Bridge with our local Crewe Astronomy Club.

Step into the dark and join us for a fun and wild night walk into the secret world of spiders!

One of the best times to be on Hungry Mother Lake is in the early mornings when no one else is on the lake.

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

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

Stop by our parks' pop-up ranger program to learn about a variety of topics, from historical facts to life cycles of our park animals.

Discover the science beneath the surface at Karst in a Cup, where you'll learn how groundwater moves, how caves develop, and how karst landscapes shape out environment.

During the American Civil War, German-language newspapers played a powerful role in informing immigrant communities and shaping their views on the conflict.

Travel through time on this scavenger hunt.

Join us on a guided golf cart tour of High Bridge where we will learn about the bridge's history and the role it played in the American Civil War.

Westmoreland State Park is home to five different ambassador animals: Reba McEntire the corn snake, Stevie Nicks the king snake, and three red-eared sliders, Ella Fitzgerald, Patsy Cline, and Earl Scruggs.

Salamander Meander invites you to explore Appalachian creeks in search of the region's unique salamander species.

Are you age 60+ with an interest in spending time in nature?

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

Everyone loves a relaxing evening especially out on Hungry Mother Lake.

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

Enjoy a relaxing morning by taking a guided kayak paddle through the marshes of Back Bay.

Join us for a Kayak Paddle trip to fossil beach!

Join us for a Kayak Paddle trip to fossil beach!

Our Friends Group is an organization of citizens who support our park's operations, events, and material needs through fund raising.

Ever wonder what goes on at night in a park?

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

Come join us for a fun Birding Bingo.

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

The library is coming to the park!

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.

Want to explore the New River Trail in a different light?

“The Moon and stars are not above us; they are within us." --John Muir Come join our rangers on an evening hike through the Holly Marsh Trail to view the Full Moon rising above the Potomac River!

Explore an enchanting evening amidst the rolling Blue Ridge Mountains as the sun sets and the world transitions from day to night!

Start your weekend off right with s’mores and more!

Come take a walk with us to search for some of the park's most elusive night-time predators: owls! As we walk along under the quiet cover of darkness, we'll listen for their haunting voices as they cry out across the landscape.

The one and only mammal on the planet capable of true flight absolutely loves Hungry Mother.

The Margaret Watson Bird Club will co-host a birding adventure with High Bridge Trail as we celebrate National Public Lands Day.

Celebrate National Public Lands Day by giving back to your park!

Let's take a hike in the great outdoors to celebrate the 100th Anniversary of Virginia's Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR)!  From the beginning of DCR in 1926, to the first six Virginia state parks to open in 1936, to 44 state parks in 2026, DCR has created a legacy that will last for many years to come.

Celebrate National Public Lands Day at Hayfields State Park by joining our rangers and volunteers in picking up litter along the Bullpasture River and around the park!

National Public Lands Day is the nation's largest, single‐day volunteer effort for public lands and works to connect people to public lands in their community, inspire environmental stewardship, and encourage use of public lands for education, recreation, and general health.

Are you looking to connect with your community while enhancing the natural beauty of your local state park?

Join us at Green Pastures Recreation Area as we celebrate National Public Lands Day, the nation’s largest single-day volunteer effort for public lands.

Celebrate 10 years of Natural Bridge State Park by making its biggest trail shine with various cleanup projects.  Lend a hand and work side by side with park rangers as we detail Cedar Creek trail by clearing brush, closing "social" (unofficial) trails, trimming vegetation, and more.

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

Help us clean up the park in honor of National Public Lands Day.

In the words of Woodsy Owl (1971), "Give a hoot; don't pollute!"   Volunteer and help Chippokes staff with keeping our shorelines clean and safe for others to enjoy.  Meet at the Visitor Center for instructions and supplies (gloves, available trash grabbers, trash bags.

Join Sailor's Creek State Park for National Public Lands Day, the nation's largest single-day volunteer event for public lands!

See if you can spot the round sticker on the monarch as it begins its journey south.

Join us in late September for the Grayson Highlands Fall Festival.

Any trail…anywhere…leave it better.

The Timberneck House got a new paint job last year!

Show your support for America’s public lands by joining Sky Meadows Rangers for a rewarding trail maintenance project on the Gap Run Trail.

Please join us for a very special afternoon with Carl “Gump” Blair and Gene Dunford.

How often do you get to connect with your Virginia State Parks?

Celebrate National Public Lands Day with adventure, exploration, and a little help for the planet!

Bring your family, friends, neighbors, and co-workers to the park to be nature superheroes this National Public Lands Day!

Join Leesylvania State Park Rangers and volunteers to help keep the park clean.

Help preserve the beautiful Belle Isle State Park and protect the wildlife that calls it home.

Grab a trash bag and join us in cleaning up our trails to maintain a healthy environment for our local wildlife and our community on National Public Lands Day.

Become a steward of nature while building your local community and connecting with the people near you that share a passion for the outdoors. Meet with rangers at the Mason Neck State Park Visitor Center for a short talk about conservation and to get supplies to clean up the trash that washes onto the shoreline or is left and scattered along the trails and recreational areas. Clean-Up days are self-paced, so come clean our shoreline for as much time as you can spare to make a difference at the park.

National Public Lands Day is the nation's largest, single - day volunteer effort for public lands and works to connect people to public lands in their community.

Take time today to visit the park and make it yours.

Join Sailor's Creek State Park for National Public Lands Day, the nation's largest single-day volunteer event for public lands!

Those bright purple berries are one of the most eye-catching sights in a Virginia forest.

Will you take up the bow and try your hand at the sport of archery?

Visit our park on National Public Lands Day with special programming. This is a free parking day for all!

Learn about how pollution can spread in an aquatic environment and help us protect ourselves and our wildlife by cleaning up our shoreline.

Fairy Stone State Park will honor National Public Lands Day by hosting a workday designed to offer volunteers the opportunity to help restore, improve, and protect our shared public land.

Help us keep our public land trash-free by participating in a river cleanup!  We'll paddle 2 miles of our shoreline picking up trash in canoes or kayaks.

Step into the shoes of a 19th-century farmer and help care for our heritage breed chickens and goats!

We’re looking for enthusiastic volunteers to help bring an exciting outdoor concert to life!

The Southwest Virginia Museum Historical State Park invites the public to celebrate National Public Lands Day on Saturday, September 26, 2026, from 1pm-4pm with a volunteer event to help clean part of the wall at the museum.

Help park rangers keep the park and the lake clean with this Litter Patrol for National Public Lands Day.

National Public Lands Day is the nation's largest, single-day volunteer effort for public lands and works to connect people to public lands in their community, inspire environmental stewardship, and encourage use of public lands for education, recreation, and general health.

Some Invasive species are pretty to look at, but they have a big impact on our native ecosystem.

Teens and adults are invited to slow down, step outside, and discover how nature journaling can change the way you notice the world around you.

Westmoreland State Park is home to five different ambassador animals: Reba McEntire the corn snake, Stevie Nicks the king snake, and three red-eared sliders, Ella Fitzgerald, Patsy Cline, and Earl Scruggs.

Join us for a Ranger-led hike at New River Trail's Hoover Mountain access!  This 250-acre area was donated to New River Trail State Park in 2019.

Have you ever wondered why this park has two lakes?

Evenings are a wonderful time in the park to be on the water.

Come celebrate Arbor Day with us! Join our rangers for a scenic hike from the Howe House to the beach as we learn how to identify some of our common native trees using our handheld identification sheets.

Tonight, we celebrate the 100th anniversary of Virginia's Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) with some fun trivia.

As the sun dips low and the night draws near, we humans usually turn in for the night...but this is show-time for bats!

Everyone has heard of dancing in the moonlight, but what about kayaking?

Have you ever picked wild blackberries or collected wild herbs for a recipe?

Come gather around the campfire and immerse yourself in a night of fun.

Join us for a special night hike through False Cape State Park.

Join us for a moonlight Kayak Paddle trip to fossil beach!

Celebrate the beauty of autumn with a guided hike under the radiant Harvest Moon!

Join this ranger-guided sunset bike ride along High Bridge Trail.

A nearly century-long tradition continues as the Natural Bridge is bathed in light the last Saturday night of every month (plus holiday weekends), April through October.  Experience the 200-foot-tall arch as it is lit from above and below by dozens of lights, with the only sound being the murmuring of Cedar Creek running below.

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

One of the best times to be on Hungry Mother Lake is in the early mornings when no one else is on the lake.

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

Join us in late September for the Grayson Highlands Fall Festival.

Interested in learning about archery in an adult setting?