Summer Activities in the Park

It’s almost summertime, and that means it’s almost time for the award-winning “Summer In The Park” activities at Warriors’ Path State Park.

These nature discovery activities will begin Memorial Day weekend and continue into mid-August. Each week, you and your family can enjoy guided nature hikes, evening campfire talks, wildlife demonstrations, nature arts & crafts, night walks, creek explorations, and much more. The schedule is different each week but always packed full of hands-on nature experiences. And it’s all FREE!

TUESDAY, JUNE 8

1:00 PM HABITATS AROUND US – Let’s look for clues to who is “at home” near our homes. Come join us for a short habitat stroll. Meet at the main bathhouse.

4:00 PM MYSTERY BAG – Try your hand at discovering some natural textures. See if you can guess which natural object is which. Meet at the Open Air Chapel, or the main bathhouse if it is raining.

6:00 PM MEET THE OWL – Meet a real live feathered hunter. Come to the Open Air Chapel and see “whooo…” is waiting for you. If it is raining, meet at the main bathhouse.

7:30 PM EVENING BIRD WALK – Evening is roosting time for most park birds. Meet at the main bathhouse, and we’ll go see who is “getting ready for bed” in the bird world.

9:00 PM PLANTS & POLLINATORS – Enjoy a slide-illustrated talk on native wildflowers, and the “busy bugs” who help them thrive. Meet at the Open Air Chapel, or pool entrance if it’s raining.

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 9

10:00 AM NATURE’S POLLINATORS – Pollinators are precious, and our park is home to many of them! Bring yourself and your keen eyes down to the Campfire Circle. We’ll search for park pollinators, and find out why they are so important! (In case of rain, meet at the main bathhouse.)

1:00 PM BEE’S KNEES – Sure bees make delicious honey, but what else do they do? Find out why bees are so important and what they do for us. We’ll even make our own little pet bees that won’t sting! Buzz over to the Open Air Chapel or at the main bathhouse if it’s raining.

2:00 PM MAGNIFYING GLASS HIKE – Use your eyes and some handy little magnifiers to get a close look at nature’s amazing details. Meet at the main bathhouse to begin a short discovery walk.

4:00 PM “WONDERFUL WACKY WET WEDNESDAY” – Let’s enjoy some kidfriendly water play and learning activities. Meet at the Open Air Chapel and be prepared to get VERY WET!

8:00 PM TURTLE TALK – Meet some real, live “shelled friends” and find out more about their amazing lives. Meet at the Open Air Chapel, or pool entrance if it is raining.

THURSDAY, JUNE 10

8:30 AM BREAKFAST WITH THE BIRDS – Come wake up to our feathered neighbors. Meet at the main bathhouse to begin a stroll through bird country! (The first 12 people to come get free doughnut & juice!)

11:30 AM CRITTER PATHS – Be a critter detective! Find out what’s been wandering through the campground habitats. Meet at the camp store. 1:00 PM NOSING FOR NATURE – Nature is full of amazing aromas – some things smell great, and some smell terrible! Let’s use our noses to “sniff out” some new discoveries. Meet at the Main Bath House.

3:30 PM LITTER SCAVENGER HUNT – You can be a park “trash detective!!” Use the clues to find out more about a cleaner park and a cleaner earth. You might win a prize, and you’ll surely win lots of exciting discoveries. Meet at the Open Air Chapel to begin the hunt.

6:00 PM SKULLS – NATURE’S TOOL BOX – Every animal carries along all the tools it needs for survival! Come investigate some natural “tool boxes,” and find out more about each animal’s job! Meet at the Open Air Chapel, or main bathhouse if it is raining.

7:30 PM RACCOON RASCALS – Come discover more about these fascinating fur buddies, and learn more about their adventurous lives. Also, find out how to keep them out of your campsite! Meet at the Open Air Chapel (pool entrance if it is raining).

9:00 PM NIGHT SOUNDS – Nature is full of sounds when the sun goes down! Some seem eerie, but there’s no need to be nervous. Come find out whose noise is whose. Meet at the Open Air Chapel for a short slide show of the creatures who “talk” in the night! (At the pool entrance if it is raining.)

FRIDAY, JUNE 11

9:00 AM MORNING BIRD WALK – Wake up and smell the worms! Come for a nice morning walk around the campground and greet the day with our feathered friends! Bring binoculars if you have them (we’ll have a few extras). Meet at the Camp Store.

12 NOON NATURAL DYES – Nature’s awesome colors mean beauty for us. The early settlers wore some of them! Meet at the Open Air Chapel to try your hand at using the same natural materials as they did, for dyeing cloth. In case of rain, meet at the main bathhouse.

3:00 PM RAFT CRAFT – Years ago, men needed to know how to make rafts of huge logs, to travel the river and to sell timber. Today we can make little rafts just for fun, and to remember those early days. Meet at the Open Air Chapel (or main bathhouse if it is raining). We might even try out our new toy rafts at the shore!

6:00 PM EARTHBALL GAMES – Let’s have a ball – a six foot tall ball!! Meet at the Open Air Chapel for some lively, cooperative games. If it rains, we’ll have some smaller ball games at the main bathhouse.

9:00 PM CAMPFIRE – What a perfect combination: A dark night, a crackling fire, and some local, traditional ghost tales. Meet at the campfire circle, east end of the main campground. If it is raining, we’ll have an indoor “campfire” at the pool entrance.

SATURDAY, JUNE 12

9:30 AM FALL CREEK LOOP TRAIL -Let’s hike the park’s most scenic trail! Enjoy beautiful vistas of the summer fields, as we search for signs of the unique habitats in the open country. Drive to the camp store, and we’ll carpool to the start of a two hour hike.

1:00 PM BARE BONES – It’s what’s inside that counts! We can find out a lot about our wildlife neighbors by a close look at their bones! Meet at the Open Air Chapel, or main bathhouse if it is raining.

3:00 PM WEB OF LIFE – Every living thing is part of the web! Help us get really “tied up” in our work as we build our own living web. You’ll see natural places as you’ve never seen before! Meet at the Open Air Chapel, or main bathhouse if it is raining.

4:00 PM 100 INCH HIKE – Especially for small, tired feet! Discover life on the tiny side. This will also be a great chance to catch a critter for the races! Meet at the main bathhouse.

4:30 PM CRITTER RACE FOR FREEDOM – Bring your best creepy crawler to the main bathhouse. They’ll all win because they’ll all get their freedom. No pets or flying creatures, please.

5:30 PM NATURE BOOKMARKS – Mark your place in your favorite summer reading with a nature-inspired. Creating a lasting souvenir of your park visit. Meet at the Open Air Chapel, or main bathhouse if it is raining.

8:00 PM FOLK MEDICINE – How did folks deal with their ills before there were pharmacies or doctors? Our Appalachian region is rich in tradition, including the tradition of folk medicine. Perhaps you know some traditional medicines or healing methods passed on to you. We would love to listen and learn! Children come to listen, and adults come to share your family traditions. Meet at the Open Air Chapel, or pool entrance if it’s raining.

SUNDAY, JUNE 13

9:00 AM WORSHIP SERVICE – Enjoy a peaceful morning worship service at the Open Air Chapel, or at the pool entrance if it is raining. Sponsored by the Colonial Heights Baptist Church.

All activities meet in and near the park’s Main Campground unless otherwise specified.

For more information visit https://tnstateparks.com/parks/warriors-path.