9 surprising adventures in Virginia state parks

With 41 state parks from the Chesapeake to Cumberland Gap, Virginians have plenty of choices for outdoor fun. But it’s not just nature hikes, river kayaking, and lake swimming that call us outdoors.

The parks also offer surprising adventures, from searching for fossils to exploring a wild cave. Here are some of our favorite Virginia state park experiences. Just remember to call ahead to confirm availability of programs and make reservations when necessary.

The yurts at Kiptopeke State Park on the Eastern Shore are among the best in the state, offering Chesapeake Bay views and breezes. Each has a wooden deck with a picnic table and a fire ring. (The deluxe yurt also has heat and air-conditioning.) All offer easy access to the 562-acre park’s beaches, birding, and fishing.

The park distributes a hunting map and suggests looking around tree roots. No digging tools are allowed, but hands work fine. Rangers regularly lead Fairy Stone hunts, helping visitors to find the treasures. The park shop also sells polished fairy stone jewelry.

For a wild tour that lives up to its name, sign up to explore Bolling Cave (also called “Bowling Cave”) at Natural Tunnel State Park, in the state’s southwest corner.

This isn’t a sidewalk-with-handrails tour. Instead, you’ll head into the darkness with a guide and crawl, crouch, and climb through tunnels and crevasses. You’ll be outfitted with a helmet equipped with an LED light, along with gloves and knee pads, and there are opportunities to walk around tight spots.

The 2-hour tour costs $15 and is offered several days a week from May through fall. You must reserve by calling (276) 940-2674.

For an adventure not designed to get your heart racing, take a guided forest-therapy walk at Seven Bends State Park, located between Harrisonburg and Winchester.

The 2-hour tour is based on shinrin-yoku, the Japanese practice of forest bathing, which lowers blood pressure and heart rate, along with improving attention and mood, according to research.

A certified trainer will help you connect with the setting along the Shenandoah River. Check with the park for the next tour dates; they are typically scheduled 4 times a year.

America’s national symbol was once endangered. Now it’s thriving again, and you can reliably see bald eagles at Caledon State Park, in an old-growth forest in the Northern Neck. Several of the raptors live in the area year-round, making it one of the highest concentrations along the East Coast.

The visitors center offers bald eagle exhibits, but to see them in the wild, you’ll need to hike 3.5 miles round-trip to the Potomac River on the Boyd’s Hole Trail, which usually is open October 1 through March 31.

Rangers suggest looking in the morning. Use binoculars or a camera zoom lens to scan the sky and tree line above the river, where the majestic birds of prey are commonly seen.

Why paddle across a lake when you can pedal? At Claytor Lake State Park, southwest of Lexington off Interstate 81, you can rent a hydro bike, an unusual watercraft that places a bicycle atop a platform to power the watercraft. Hydro bikes are faster than canoes or kayaks, zipping across the water at speeds up to 10 mph.

Prices start at $25 for a 4-hour rental. Although they’re difficult to tip over, you’ll be required to wear a life vest. Make reservations because the hydro bikes sell out.

Virginia may pride itself on its history, but at Westmoreland State Park, you can really go back in time—millions of years or more. That’s when this Potomac River park, about 80 miles north of Yorktown, was under a vast ocean and home to several shark species. Today, you can seek triangular shark teeth and other fossils here.

It’s an easy 1.4-mile round-trip hike on the Big Meadows Trail to the aptly named Fossil Beach. The park sponsors regular guided fossil hunts, but most visitors search on their own.

Tip: Visit at low tide and take a colander or sieve to search through the sand. You can also hunt for fossils at Chippokes Plantation and York River state parks.

Indulge your inner Robin Hood or Katniss from the Hunger Games at an introductory archery class at Bear Creek Lake State Park, about an hour west of Richmond. The sessions, open to visitors ages 10 and up, teach about bows and how to use them, offering a chance to shoot at 3D and bale targets.

The park offers classes every Saturday morning on its 10-lane range from early March to early December for $5 per person. (Archery equipment is available for rent only if you participate in a class.) Registration is required by calling (804) 492-4410. Special midweek sessions sometimes can be arranged by emailing bcguide@dcr.virginia.gov.

Talk about riding high! The hiking and biking path at High Bridge Trail State Park takes riders 100 feet over the Appomattox River on a span that stretches for half a mile, making this the longest recreational bridge in the state. The historic crossing played a strategic role in Civil War battles.

The entire trail is 31 miles on a former rail line, which makes the pedaling easy because the route is mostly flat. Rent bikes in Farmville, which is 4.5 miles from the bridge.

Charlottesville-based writer Larry Bleiberg is always ready for a state park hike.