A new program has been developed to encourage membership on Virginia Outdoors.com and with the Virginia Association for Parks.

Take a walk on the wild side this 4th of July and enjoy America's beautiful outdoors!!

Surprises come in all different packages, this particular day the surprise came wrapped in bright blue eyes and a sweet smile!

If you are an outdoor enthusiast, you’ll love Holliday Lake State Park.  The park is nestled in the heart of Appomattox-Buckingham State Forest.

Surrounded by two lakes in the heart of Central Virginia, Twin Lakes State Park is an ideal setting for a variety of lakefront activities.

False Cape State Park is offering some great paddling programs for all levels of ability.

On Saturday, June 19th, Chippokes Plantation State Park will host "James River Day" featuring stewardship activities, beach clean ups, canoe trips, and wagon rides.  Don't forget sunscreen, bug spray, a bag lunch, and bottled water!!

Worried that oil from the BP disaster will sully Atlantic beaches...

Last month, I challenged readers to make a "Virginia State Parks To-Do List" by visiting our events website at  www.virginiastateparks.gov/ and selecting five things to do at Virginia State Parks.

We are revamping the interpretive information at False Cape State Park.  So far, we've changed the names of trails to reflect the park's cultural and natural history...

Snakes seem to get a bad rap for one reason or another.  Personally, I am a great admirer of snakes.  Sure, some could be dangerous when provoked, but that could be said about most wildlife.

There are a lot of fun things to do at Occoneechee State Park throughout the upcoming weekend. Hike through the woods, ride a bike, visit the museum, have a picnic, and enjoy these great programs along with many others.

Great music is on the way as Ronnie Reno and the Reno Tradition headline the 16th annual Wayne C. Henderson Music Festival and Guitar Competition.

According to Sarah Lankford, Office Manager at Holliday Lake State Park, exciting things are happening at the park!

The end of last week we shipped out 33,000 cards for our park staff to hand out to visitors to let them know about our partnership with WildObs.

Saturday, June 5th is the 22nd Annual Clean the Bay Day sponsored by the Chesapeake Bay Foundation.

Did you know that Mason Neck State Park has six canoes, four solo (one-passenger) kayaks and two tandem (two-passenger) kayaks available for rental from April through October?

A few years back I took my girlfriend's son on his first camping trip to Westmoreland State Park.

Black bears are becoming an increasingly common sight in Virginia—bears now live in almost every county!

On May 5th DGIF Nongame and Watchable Wildlife along with Agency Outreach staff were at the Norfolk Botanical Garden for the banding and transmitter fitting of nestling bald eagles by researchers at the Center for Conservation Biology.

Wilderness Road State Park will host a special birding program on Saturday, June 5 at 1 pm, entitled Backyard Birds.

Kick off the summer at the York River State Park Outdoor Expo.

At the Women's Wellness Weekend we held recently at Fairy Stone State Park we were fortunate to have Carl Boast share his knowledge of nature photography.

One of the benefits of being the Information Manager for State Parks is to be aware of the many events that take place at all of our parks.

False Cape State Park staff will conduct a guided exploration of Back Bay and its marshes during the evening sunset hours.

Discover ways to find directions using nature as a guide, learn how to use a compass, and how to use a GPS as a wayfinding tool.

Odwalla donates funds to purchase trees in area State Parks through a national internet competition in which Virginia State Parks came in second.

Although I myself am new to geocaching, I would like to get the word out about a new and fun geocaching game that all Virginia State Parks will be launching on March 29, 2010 that will run until December 15, 2010.

Have you ever thought of running a triathlon with your kids but the opportunity was not there?  Well that opportunity is now available.

My trip to Occoneechee State Park was well worth the two hour drive to Clarksville, Virginia.

Visitors to Douthat State Park lined Wilson’s Creek and Douthat’s lake in anticipation for 9 o’clock to drop their fishing lines in the water for Douthat’s first day of fee fishing on Saturday, April 3, 2010.

Looking for a change in venue now that spring has finally come to the Eastern Shore of Virginia?

Jo and Johnny Finch, stalwart friends and volunteers for Virginia State Parks, are also Friends of Lake Anna State Park (Jo is President the Friends Group and Johnny is President of the Virginia Association for Parks).

Catch a glimpse of spring along the coastal forest during the "Back Bay Kayak Paddle" hosted by False Cape State Park on Sunday, April 4 from 3pm-6pm.

As I kid I was never a very successful kite flyer but boy did I have some fun trying!

While doing research for a new trail at Chippokes Plantation State Park, Erik Molleen, District Resource Specialist, came upon evidence of an active eagle's nest in the park. 

Working at Mason Neck State Park can be dramatic even on rainy, gloomy days.

After writing this morning's post about rain showers bringing spring wild flowers to Mason Neck State Park, I couldn't resist going to look for early flowers myself.

Spring weather is finally here at Mason Neck State Park, and with warmer days we see not only more park visitors but more park wildlife.  We also see many visitors exploring nature for the first time.

Last week I started a weekly series on recommending other great websites for readers of this blog similar to the Twitter tradition called #FollowFriday. Today's recommendation is The Blue Ridge Parkway.

Kiptopeke State Park, Natural Heritage and Chesapeake Bay Foundation teamed together today planting trees and shrubs creating wildlife habitat while conserving natural resources.

A few weeks ago, False Cape Park Manager Kyle Barbour snapped this beautiful picture of an elusive coyote that has been living in the park.

I know it's almost spring because a glance at our events database show the beginning of our canoe and kayak programs.

The old American Express slogan "Don't Leave Home Without it" came to mind today when my husband called with the news.

Enjoy the outdoors and want to do something new? Now you can enjoy looking for treasures hidden within Kiptopeke State Park as part of the Star Spangled Banner Geotrail.

At a time when we could sure use the revenue and our visitors sure could use an escape from cabin fever, the winter weather has conspired to put a damper on early spring camping.

As Winter sets in I can’t help but reflect how quickly Fall passed. As with each season there are always regrets and always delights to be tucked away.

Did you know that February is National Bird Feeding Month? If you are interested in backyard habitat, this is a great month to assess your own property to determine how well you are feeding our feathered friends.

The Great White Egret is the symbol of the National Audobon Society and represents the regal beauty of all bird species.

Volunteers are incredible people!   Especially Virginia State Park Volunteers!  They never cease to amaze me.

Macro photography--artistic close-ups of insects, plants, flowers--has become quite popular in the photography world with new digital stabilization technology and macro lenses for digital cameras.

False Cape State Park is hosting Wild Women Weekend on March 5-7, 2010 at their Environmental Education Center.

False Cape State Park is offering an Winter Woods Walk on Saturday, Feb. 7th from 1pm-4pm.

Sure, it's cold outside here in Virginia.  It's cold at Holliday Lake State Park, but things are happening here!

This is the second of a four-part series about what we do in parks during the off-season, Part II

Unfortunately, with all the traveling, shopping, cooking, and general hustle and bustle of the season, families are often too busy to really connect with each other during the holiday season.

Snow came a little early this year to central Virginia.

There are three poisonous snakes that can be found in Virginia, and I am starting off this series with my favorite one.

Our family LOVES a relaxing week at Claytor Lake.

Everyone knows what rocks and whoppers are, don’t they? Did you answer a rock is a stone and a whopper is a juicy hamburger? Normally you would be correct, but we’re not talking about the same things now.

Fairy Stone State Park is truly at a mountain lake. For those flat landers this means trees, wildlife, rocky outcroppings,fresh air and NO SHARKS!

The Park Manager at Staunton River State Park tells of how different the park and cabin guests are in the winter verses the rest of the year.

Fall is a gorgeous time to visit Mason Neck State Park.

The Friends of Hungry Mother will again be sponsoring Hungry Mother State Park’s Fall Fear Bike Race on Oct 24, 2009.

Take time to read highlights from Tom's visits and to five state Parks on the far west side of the state. This is the last in the series of five articles.

Only when I peaked behind my garden wagon did I find the most beautiful bird I’d seen in years, a Northern Parula (Parula Americana).

Tom takes time to share highlights of his visits to Southwest Virginia Museum Historical State Park, Wilderness Road State Park, Natural Tunnel State Park, Grayson Highlands State Park and Hungry Mother State Park.

False Cape State Park invites the entire family for a fun-filled weekend of hiking and exploring Virginia’s Outer Banks while discovering tricks and tips on how to survive in the wilderness.

Regardless of whether you are a lark or owl, False Cape State Park has a kayak program right up your alley during the month of October.

Discover the history of the Chippokes Plantation.

National Public Lands Day is the nation’s largest hands-on volunteer effort to improve and enhance the public lands Americans enjoy.

Virginia Beach is a great destination year round and First Landing State Park makes an excellent base for visiting that resort city and the surrounding cities.

Autumn is a great time to explore nature in Mason Neck State Park.

MSNBC Profiles the Wildlife Center of Virginia. This video from MSNBC features the National Wildlife Federation's Doug Inkley:

The latest exhibit upgrade at the Southwest Virginia Museum Historical State Park mixes new technology with historic artifacts to give visitors an in-depth look at the story of coal mining in Southwest Virginia.

Summer is the best time of year for star gazing, programs available at Belle Isle State Park.

Pocahontas Premieres featuring Page Wilson with Recklass Abandon, Marna & Macy and Li'l Ronnie and the Grand Dukes

The Legend of the name of Hungry Mother State Park and the history of her creation.

Virginia State Parks Camping Tips

Director designate Jon Jarvis testified at his confirmation hearing before the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources yesterday morning. The text of his opening statement follows.

Activities At Bear Creek Lake State Park

Butterfly found in Virginia State Parks

Several state parks offer moonlight canoe tours throughout the summer, offering a fun evening of nature and the stars.

The shallop is a handy boat that John Smith and those after him brought with them to Virginia.

Folks don't often spend time outdoors unless someone first takes them under their wing and shows it to them.

A new buoy system on the Chesapeake provides paddlers with real-time conditions as well as historic information.

Virginia has more national parks and monuments than almost every other state in the U.S., and there is something for everyone to enjoy.

Kiptopeke will feature the Eastern Shore Birding and Wildlife Festival in September, and birdwatchers the world over will be on hand.

Moonlight canoe ride on the Staunton River

Mathews County, Rebecca Grow

Summer may be half over, but there are still lots of programs at Belle Isle State Park.

Canoist Lillie Gilbert takes an active roll in sharing knowledge about the coast backwaters of Virginia that she works to protect.