Welcome to Virginia State Parks

The Virginia Tourist Guide is the most comprehensive travel and tourism information guide for Virginia State Parks.

Virginia has thirty-four state parks, thousands of campsites, hundreds of cabins, more than 500 miles of trails, and convenient access to Virginia’s major waterways. The State Parks have beaches, picnic shelters, family lodges, meeting facilities, festivals, concerts, nature programs, cultural happenings, and more. From Cumberland Gap to the Atlantic Ocean, there’s something for everyone at Virginia State Parks; whether you’re after a relaxing picnic or a two-week vacation, leave life’s daily pressures behind and reconnect with nature and your family at a nearby state park.

While visiting the Shenandoah Valley, visit Sky Meadows State Park in Clarke and Fauquier counties. It offers a peaceful getaway on the eastern side of the Blue Ridge Mountains. With rolling pastures and woodlands, the park boasts beautiful vistas of the foothills and access to the Appalachian Trail. Its rich history is shaped by the development of agriculture and the impact of the Civil War. Activities include hiking, fishing, picnicking, horseback riding, primitive camping, and nature and history programs.

Headed North? The land in Lake Anna State Park used to be known as "Gold Hill" and contained the Goodwin Gold Mine. Gold was first discovered in 1829 with mining reaching its peak in the 1880s. In Virginia, the last gold found was in zinc mines during the 1940s. In 1971 Lake Anna was created to serve as a water coolant for Dominion Power’s nuclear plant. In 1972 work began on the acquisition and development of a water-oriented state park. Lake Anna State Park opened in 1983.

While boating and fishing on this beautiful lake is a major attraction, these are only some of the park’s offerings. Lakefront picnic areas and wooded hiking trails are also popular. On summer weekends, interpretive programs on the nature and history of the area complement exhibits and displays in the visitor center.

In Central Virginia there is the second largest body of freshwater in the state, Smith Mountain Lake State Park, and it is not just for water enthusiasts. In addition to a full range of water related activities, including swimming, fishing and boating, the park offers miles of hiking trails, housekeeping cabins, camping, picnicking, a visitor center and interpretive programs.

Located in the rural Northern Neck of Virginia, Belle Isle is a 733-acre site. It is a window to the beautiful lower Rappahannock River in Lancaster County. Waterfront in the area has been developed extensively by private landowners with little public recreational access. This fact made the lower Rappahannock a priority for purchasing land for a new state park. The park has seven miles of frontage on the north shore of the Rappahannock, and it borders Deep and Mulberry creeks. It features diverse tidal and non-tidal wetlands, lowland marshes, tidal coves and upland forests.

If you are traveling to Virginia State Parks, there are many attractions. The Virginia Tourists Guide can help you when planning your vacation.