Take advantage of free parking, volunteer opportunities and more on National Public Lands Day at Virginia State Parks on September 23. Here are five ways to celebrate!
Within your 41 Virginia State Parks, there are 80,000 acres of public lands set aside for Virginians to enjoy. Parking fees are waived* for you on National Public Lands Day (NPLD) so that there’s no barrier for you to explore.
For those who want to give back, you can join thousands across the nation who opt to support public lands by volunteering on this day. If you’ve ever volunteered at a park, you know that it’s so satisfying to do your part to better the lands we collectively own. It’s also a great opportunity to make fellow outdoor-loving friends, earn useful skills and support your well-being just by being in nature.
While volunteering is at the heart of National Public Lands Day, you may need to start with just exploring and getting to know your parks first. Did you know there’s a state park within an hour’s drive of every Virginian? Find a park.
Explore your parks:
Use this day as an excuse to go on self-guided adventures, attend special educational events, go on guided hikes and more.
A great way to get to know a state park, is with self-guided activities. Ask a ranger at the park entrance or stop into the park’s visitor center for activity sheets. You can also download them here. Many of the activity sheets are scavenger hunts.
This year, Shenandoah River State Park is hosting a special scavenger hunt and the individual or team with the fastest time wins a $50 Virginia State Park’s gift certificate!
Learn while you explore:
The following special events happening on NPLD provide great learning opportunities about your natural world.
- York River – Estuaries Day
- Kiptopeke – Outdoor Exploration Day
- Hungry Mother – Trailgate
- Sailor’s Creek Battlefield – Spiders of the Piedmont
- Pocahontas – Creek Crawl
- Bear Creek Lake – Basic Archery
- Occoneechee – Canoeing for Beginners – Morning and Afternoon
- Occoneechee – Wildlife Program by the Alliance of Wild Animal Rehabilitators & Educators
- James River – Bee Hotel Workshop
Explore the trail:
Park trail maps are another resource to explore the park. While you’re exploring trails, you may as well sign up for Trail Quest! Click here to learn about the program. To get the most out of a hike, sign up for a ranger guided one. See opportunities below.
- Fairy Stone – Guided Hike at Mayo River Trails
- Machicomoco – Morning Guided Hike and Afternoon Guided Hike
- Pocahontas – Beaver Lake Guided Hike
- Wilderness Road – Guided Hike
- Sky Meadows – Guided Walk with Virginia Master Naturalists on Sensory Explorers’ Trail
- Shenandoah River – River Walk and Talk with Park Naturalist
- Sweet Run – Bird Hike with Loudoun Wildlife Conservancy
