Virginia State Parks

The Bear Creek Lake State Park is an ideal getaway for outdoor enthusiasts, nestled within the very heart of central Virginia’s Cumberland State Forest, not even an hour away from the city of Richmond.

• The park is home to an activities center at the forty-acre Bear Creek Lake that includes a beach for swimming, boat rentals, a fishing piers, and a boat launch.
• Other features of the state park include playgrounds, an archery range, picnic areas, campsites, cabins, and a meeting facility.
• Visitors will also find a number of trails and access to the Cumberland State Forest.
• Where You'll Find it: 22 Bear Creek Lake Rd, Cumberland, VA 23040, Phone: 804-492-4410

Bear Creek Lake State Park is 1 hour (55.5 miles via US-60 W) from Richmond.

The Belle Isle State Park boasts seven miles along the shore of the Rappahannock River and offers access to Deep Creek and Mulberry Creek.

• This state park allows visitors to discover a broad array of tidal wetlands that are interspersed with upland forests and farmland.
• Belle Isle consists of three picnic shelters, a campground, car-top launches, motor boat launches, and bridle, biking and hiking trails.
• Overnight lodging is also available at Bel Air and at the Bel Air Guest House.
• Kayak, canoe, and bicycle rentals are offered as well. Visitors can enjoy the fishing pier, boardwalk, and playground.
• Where You'll Find it:1632 Belle Isle Rd, Lancaster, VA 22503, Phone: 804-462-5030

The Claytor Lake State Park is an ideal state park for having a picnic, going for a hike, camping, and swimming. The park is also well known in the state for boating and sport fishing. Claytor Lake features a full-service marina that offers refreshments, boat rentals, fuel, supplies, and docking slips. Fifteen cabins and three lodges in the Claytor Lake state Park overlook the park’s lake that encompasses approximately 4,500 acres, providing a scenic retreat for visitors. The park also includes playgrounds, picnic shelters, a fishing pier, and the Howe House with interactive exhibits that describe the lake’s ecology.

6620 Ben H. Bolen Dr, Dublin, VA 24084, Phone: 540-643-2500

Claytor Lake State Park is 2 hr 35 min (158.6 miles via I-81 S) from Charlottesville.

The Douthat State Park has been a traditional state park for families since the year 1936 and is listed on the country’s National Register of Historic Places due to the role the design of the park has played in the development of other parks throughout the nation. Douthat offers a variety of outdoor activities within some of the most stunning mountain scenery in the state. Visitors will find a lake full of trout, stream fishing, cabins, a camp store, a gift shop, boat rentals, a snack bar, a swimming beach, and over forty-three miles of bridle, mountain biking, and hiking trails.

14239 Douthat State Park Rd, Millboro, VA 24460, Phone: 540-862-8100

Romantic Virginia State Parks

The Fairy Stone State Park is the site of the state of Virginia’s legendary fairy stones and is also well known for the 168-acre lake adjoining to the Philpott Reservoir. Only minutes away from the famous Blue Ridge Parkway, the state park includes picnic areas, kayaks, paddle boats, canoes, rowboats, hiking trails, a conference center, an equestrian campground, campsites for groups, a campground, and cabins. Swimming in the lake is also a popular activity among visitors and children can play on the two playgrounds, one of which is situated in the water. The Fairy Stone State Park is approximately 4,741 acres.

967 Fairystone Lake Dr, Stuart, VA 24171, Phone: 276-930-2424

First Landing State Park is one of Virginia’s most visited state park, providing an oasis within the urban area of Virginia Beach. This park features a trail network spanning twenty miles, as well as about one and a half miles of sandy beachfront along the Chesapeake Bay.

First Landing State Park provides both educational and recreational activities and contains a number of unusual habitats, such as maritime forest, lagoons, and bald cypress swamps, along with rare wildlife and plants. The campground includes electric and water hook-up campsites, cabins, a camp store, boat ramps, and picnic areas.

2500 Shore Dr, Virginia Beach, VA 23451, Phone: 757-412-2300

The Grayson Highlands State Park offers spectacular scenic views of the state’s alpine-like peaks over five thousand feet high. Located near the two highest mountains in the state of Virginia, Whitetop Mountain and Mount Rogers, Grayson Highlands includes a number of hiking trails that guide visitors to overlooks and waterfalls, campgrounds, and a visitor center. The state park also contains scenic horse trails, as well as a camping area for guests with horses that features water and electric hook-ups, parking for trailers, and stables. There is also access to the Virginia Highlands Horse Trail and the Appalachian Trail.

829 Grayson Highland Ln, Mouth of Wilson, VA 24363, Phone: 276-579-7092

Virginia State Parks for Families

The High Bridge Trail State Park is home to the High Bridge Trail, a 31-mile long trail that is suited ideally for horseback riding, bicycling, and hiking. Formerly a rail bed, the High Bridge Trail is generally flat, level, and wide. The dimensions and finely crushed limestone surface make the trail an easy one for visitors to enjoy. The centerpiece of the High Bridge Trail State Park is its grand High Bridge, over 2,400 feet in length, sitting at approximately 125 feet above the river. It is the state’s longest recreation bridge, and one of the longest in the country.

6888 Green Bay Rd, Green Bay, VA 23942, Phone: 434-315-0457

The Hungry Mother State Park has long been a family favorite of Virginia’s state parks, well known for its 108-acre placid lake and beautiful woodlands in the center of the mountains. The park includes a sandy beach good for having fun in the sun, along with a universally accessible fishing pier, a boat launch, a bath hours, and boat rentals, including paddle boats, kayaks, canoes, and fishing boats. There are also cabins, campgrounds, a visitor center, a lodge able to accommodate up to fifteen people, the Hemlock Haven Conference Center, a restaurant, gift shops, biking trails, and hiking trails.

2854 Park Blvd., Marion, VA 24354; Phone: 276-781-7400

The James River State Park is located within the foothills of the scenic Blue Ridge Mountains, featuring stunning views, quiet forests, and rolling grasslands, along with a three-mile stretch of the shore of the James River. Outdoor recreation opportunities abound within the James River State Park, such as tent camping at the Branch Pond or along the historic river banks, fishing, kayaking, canoeing, biking, and hiking. There is also a visitor center, a camp store, cabins, equestrian camping, electric and water campgrounds, multi-use trails, picnic shelters, a natural playground, a gift shop, and a universally accessible fishing pier.

104 Green Hill Dr, Gladstone, VA 24553, Phone: 434-933-4355