This is a list of state parks and reserves in the Virginia state park system.
Virginia opened its entire state park system on 15 June 1936 as a six-park system. The six original state parks were Seashore State Park (now First Landing State Park), Westmoreland State Park, Staunton River State Park, Douthat State Park, Fairy Stone State Park, and Hungry Mother State Park. The park system now oversees 43 parks. [1]
| Name | Web- site | Location | Size [1] | Established [1] | Status | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bear Creek Lake State Park | Cumberland | 329 acres (1.33 km2) | 1939 | Open | ||
| Belle Isle State Park | Lancaster County | 892 acres (3.61 km2) | 1993 | Open | ||
| Breaks Interstate Park | Breaks | 4,500 acres (18 km2) | 1954 | Open | ||
| Caledon State Park | King George | 2,587 acres (10.47 km2) | 1974 | Open | ||
| Chippokes State Park | Surry | 1,947 acres (7.88 km2) | 1967 | Open | ||
| Claytor Lake State Park | Dublin | 472 acres (1.91 km2) | 1951 | Open | ||
| Clinch River State Park | St. Paul | 640 acres (2.6 km2) | 2019 | Open [2] | As of January 2024 [update] , two main properties are open to the public. | |
| Culpeper Battlefields State Park | Culpeper | 263 acres (1.06 km2) | 2024 | Open | ||
| Douthat State Park | Millboro | 4,545 acres (18.39 km2) | 1936 | Open | ||
| Fairy Stone State Park | Stuart | 4,741 acres (19.19 km2) | 1936 | Open | ||
| False Cape State Park | Virginia Beach | 3,844 acres (15.56 km2) | 1968 | Open | ||
| First Landing State Park | Virginia Beach | 2,888 acres (11.69 km2) | 1936 | Open | Originally Seashore State Park [1] | |
| Grayson Highlands State Park | Mouth of Wilson | 4,502 acres (18.22 km2) | 1965 | Open | ||
| High Bridge Trail State Park | Farmville | 1,236 acres (5.00 km2) | 2006 | Open | ||
| Holliday Lake State Park | Appomattox | 560 acres (2.3 km2) | 1939 | Open | ||
| Hungry Mother State Park | Marion | 3,334 acres (13.49 km2) | 1939 | Open | ||
| James River State Park | Gladstone | 1,561 acres (6.32 km2) | 1993 | Open | ||
| Kiptopeke State Park | Cape Charles | 562 acres (2.27 km2) | 1992 | Open | ||
| Lake Anna State Park | Spotsylvania County | 3,127 acres (12.65 km2) | 1972 | Open | ||
| Leesylvania State Park | Woodbridge | 556 acres (2.25 km2) | 1975 | Open | ||
| Machicomoco State Park | Gloucester | 645 acres (2.61 km2) | 2020 | Open [3] | ||
| Mason Neck State Park | Lorton | 1,856 acres (7.51 km2) | 1967 | Open | ||
| Mayo River State Park | Spencer | 617 acres (2.50 km2) | 2009 | Open | ||
| Middle Peninsula State Park | Lancaster County | 408 acres (1.65 km2) | 2006 | Closed | Currently in conservation status [4] | |
| Natural Bridge State Park | Natural Bridge | 1,540 acres (6.2 km2) | 2016 | Open | ||
| Natural Tunnel State Park | Duffield | 909 acres (3.68 km2) | 1967 | Open | ||
| New River Trail State Park | Fosters Falls | 1,217 acres (4.93 km2) | 1987 | Open | ||
| Occoneechee State Park | Clarksville | 2,698 acres (10.92 km2) | 1968 | Open | ||
| Pocahontas State Park | Chesterfield | 7,919 acres (32.05 km2) | 1946 | Open | ||
| Powhatan State Park | Powhatan | 1,565 acres (6.33 km2) | 2003 | Open | ||
| Sailor's Creek Battlefield State Park | Rice | 379 acres (1.53 km2) | 1937 | Open | ||
| Seven Bends State Park | Woodstock | 1,066 acres (4.31 km2) | 2004 | Open | ||
| Shenandoah River Raymond R. "Andy" Guest Jr. State Park | Bentonville | 1,619 acres (6.55 km2) | 1994 | Open | ||
| Shot Tower Historical State Park | Austinville | 10 acres (0.040 km2) | 1964 | Open | ||
| Sky Meadows State Park | Delaplane | 1,860 acres (7.5 km2) | 1975 | Open | ||
| Smith Mountain Lake State Park | Huddleston | 1,248 acres (5.05 km2) | 1967 | Open | ||
| Southwest Virginia Museum Historical State Park | Big Stone Gap | 1.5 acres (0.0061 km2) | 1943 | Open | ||
| Staunton River State Park | Scottsburg | 2,336 acres (9.45 km2) | 1939 | Open | ||
| Staunton River Battlefield State Park | Randolph | 300 acres (1.2 km2) | 1955 | Open | ||
| Sweet Run State Park | Hillsboro | 884 acres (3.58 km2) | 2016 | Open | Facilities under development | |
| Tabb Monument | Amelia County | 1 acre (0.0040 km2) | 1936 | Open | ||
| Twin Lakes State Park | Green Bay | 548 acres (2.22 km2) | 1936 | Open | ||
| Westmoreland State Park | Montross | 1,321 acres (5.35 km2) | 1936 | Open | ||
| Widewater State Park | Stafford | 1,089 acres (4.41 km2) | 2019 | Open | ||
| Wilderness Road State Park | Ewing | 327 acres (1.32 km2) | 1993 | Open | ||
| York River State Park | Williamsburg | 2,954 acres (11.95 km2) | 1969 | Open |
West Virginia is a landlocked state in the Southern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. It is bordered by Pennsylvania and Maryland to the northeast, Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, and Ohio to the northwest. West Virginia is the 10th-smallest state by area and ranks as the 12th-least populous state, with a population of 1,793,716 residents. The capital and most populous city is Charleston with a population of 49,055.
Harpers Ferry is a historic town in Jefferson County, West Virginia, in the lower Shenandoah Valley. The town's population was 269 at the 2020 United States census. Situated at the confluence of the Potomac and Shenandoah rivers, where Maryland, Virginia, and West Virginia meet, it is the easternmost town in West Virginia as well as its lowest point above sea level.
Richmond is the capital city of the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. Incorporated in 1742, Richmond has been an independent city since 1871. The city's population in the 2020 census was 226,610, up from 204,214 in 2010, making it Virginia's fourth-most populous city. The Richmond metropolitan area, with over 1.3 million residents, is the Commonwealth's third-most populous.
Charleston is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of West Virginia and the seat of Kanawha County. Located at the confluence of the Elk and Kanawha rivers. The population was 48,864 at the 2020 census. According to 2023 census estimates, the city is estimated to have a population of 46,838. The Charleston metropolitan area had 203,164 residents in 2023.
Roanoke is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. It is located in Southwest Virginia along the Roanoke River, in the Blue Ridge range of the greater Appalachian Mountains. Roanoke is approximately 50 miles (80 km) north of the Virginia–North Carolina border and 250 miles (400 km) southwest of Washington, D.C., along Interstate 81. At the 2020 census, Roanoke's population was 100,011, making it the most-populous city in Virginia west of the state capital Richmond. It is the primary population center of the Roanoke metropolitan area, which had a population of 315,251 in 2020.
Virginia Beach, officially the City of Virginia Beach, is the most populous city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. The population was 459,470 at the 2020 census. Located on the southeastern coast of Virginia, it is the sixth-most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic and the 43rd-most populous city in the U.S. Located on the Atlantic Ocean at the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay, Virginia Beach is a principal city in the Hampton Roads metropolitan area which has more than 1.8 million inhabitants and is the 37th-largest metropolitan area in the U.S.
Huntington is a city in Cabell and Wayne counties in the U.S. state of West Virginia. The seat of Cabell County, the city is located in SW West Virginia at the confluence of the Ohio and Guyandotte rivers. The population was 46,842 at the 2020 census. According to 2023 census estimates, the city is estimated to have a population of 45,325. Huntington is the second-most populous city in West Virginia. Its metro area, the Huntington–Ashland metropolitan area, is the largest in West Virginia, spanning seven counties across three states and having a population of 368,262 at the 2023 estimate.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with Maryland to its north and east. It was named after George Washington, the first president of the United States. The district is named after Columbia, the female personification of the nation.
Pulaski is a town in Pulaski County, Virginia, United States. The population was 9,086 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Pulaski County.
The Roanoke River runs 410 miles (660 km) long through southern Virginia and northeastern North Carolina in the United States. A major river of the southeastern United States, it drains a largely rural area of the coastal plain from the eastern edge of the Appalachian Mountains southeast across the Piedmont to Albemarle Sound. An important river throughout the history of the United States, it was the site of early settlement in the Virginia Colony and the Carolina Colony. An 81-mile (130 km) section of its lower course in Virginia between the Leesville Lake and Kerr Lake is known as the Staunton River, pronounced, as is the Shenandoah Valley city of that name. It is impounded along much of its middle course to form a chain of reservoirs.
The New River Gorge National Park and Preserve is a United States national park and preserve designed to protect and maintain the New River Gorge in southern West Virginia in the Appalachian Mountains. Established in 1978 as a national river and redesignated in 2020, the park and preserve stretches for 53 miles (85 km) from just downstream of Hinton to Hawks Nest State Park near Ansted.
Middlesex Fells Reservation, often referred to simply as the Fells, is a public recreation area covering more than 2,200 acres (890 ha) in Malden, Medford, Melrose, Stoneham, and Winchester, Massachusetts, United States. The state park surrounds two inactive reservoirs, Spot Pond and the Fells Reservoir, and the three active reservoirs that are part of the water supply system for the town of Winchester. Spot Pond and the Fells Reservoir are part of the Wachusett water system, one of six primary water systems that feed metropolitan Boston's waterworks. The park is managed by the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation and is part of the Metropolitan Park System of Greater Boston.
Breaks Interstate Park, also known as "the Breaks," is a bi-state state park located partly in southeastern Kentucky and southwestern Virginia in the Jefferson National Forest, at the northeastern terminus of Pine Mountain. The land is managed by an interstate compact between the states of Virginia and Kentucky. It is one of two interstate parks in the United States operated jointly under a compact rather than as two separate state park units. The Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation and the Kentucky Department of Parks are still major partner organizations.
Fairy Stone State Park, located in Patrick County, Virginia, is the largest of the original six state parks that opened on June 15, 1936, and is home to the mysterious "fairy stones", or staurolite. The stone, prevalent in the region, may have the St. Andrew's or Roman shape.
High Bridge Trail State Park is a rail trail in Southside Virginia converted from a rail line last belonging to Norfolk Southern.
Westmoreland State Park lies within Westmoreland County, Virginia. The park extends about one and a half miles along the Potomac River and covers 1,321 acres. The Horsehead Cliffs provide visitors with a panoramic view of the Potomac River, and lower levels feature fossils and beach access. The park offers hiking, camping, cabins, fishing, boating and swimming, although mechanical issues have kept the swimming pool closed since 2021. Located on the Northern Neck Peninsula, the park is close to historical sites featuring earlier eras: George Washington's birthplace and Stratford Hall, the birthplace of Robert E. Lee.
The Virginia Natural Area Preserve System is a system of protected areas in the state of Virginia. It is managed by the Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation.
The Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation is a department of the government of Virginia, United States; it oversees all Virginia state parks and Natural Area Preserves.
Alexandria is an independent city in the northern region of the Commonwealth of Virginia, United States. It lies on the western bank of the Potomac River approximately 7 miles (11 km) south of downtown Washington, D.C. Alexandria is the third-largest principal city of the Washington metropolitan area, which is part of the larger Washington–Baltimore combined statistical area. As of 2022, the city's population of 159,467 made it the sixth-most populous city in Virginia and the 173rd-most populous city in the nation.
Mayo River State Park is a state park of Virginia located in Henry County, along the North and South Forks of the Mayo River. The entrance to the park is located in Spencer. The park is located along the Virginia-North Carolina state line, and it is adjacent to a similarly named park in North Carolina.