Virginia Association For Parks
Citizen Support Organizations (Friends Groups)
Feel like lending a hand? There's plenty to do. Many parks have citizen support organizations (CSOs), also called friends groups, made up of volunteers who help shore up park projects, programs and management. Many of these groups have formed to advocate for specific state parks. Funds raised onsite by these friends groups - through gift shop sales, special events and other activities - are used for improvements and programs at particular parks. Twenty-seven have a friends group. Visit the friends group website you're interested in to find a perfect fit.
- Bear Creek Lake
- Belle Isle
- Breaks Interstate Park
- Caledon
- Chippokes
- Claytor Lake
- Douthat
- Fairy Stone
- False Cape
- First Landing
- Grayson Highlands
- High Bridge Trail
- Hungry Mother
- James River
- Kiptopeke
- Lake Anna
- Leesylvania
- Machicomoco
- Mason Neck
- Natural Bridge
- Natural Tunnel
- New River Trail
- Occoneechee
- Pocahontas
- Powhatan
- Sailor's Creek Battlefield
- Seven Bends
- Shenandoah River
- Sky Meadows
- Smith Mountain Lake
- Southwest Virginia Museum
- Staunton River Battlefield
- Twin Lakes
- Westmoreland
- Widewater
- Wilderness Road
- York River
Affiliated Member Organizations
- VirginiaForever
- Citizens for a Fort Monroe National Park
- Friends of the Fredericksburg Area Battlefields
- Friends of Prince William Forest Park
- Civilian Conservation Corps Legacy
- DCR volunteerism opportunities
Member resources
The Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation, which oversees Virginia's state parks, publishes this useful guide, Volunteer Citizen Support Organization Manual, for those interested in forming friends groups.