Natural Bridge State Park

June 12 2025

Natural Bridge State Park Awarded Green Grant

Beckey Watson Uncategorized $1000, Green Grant, Natural Bridge State Park, non-potable water, rain barrel collection, Recycling and Waste Reduction

Natural Bridge State Park in Rockbridge is awarded a $1,000 Green Grant in the Recycling and Waste Reduction category as part of Keep Virginia Beautiful’s 15th Annual Green Grants program.

Every year, government, non-profit, civic, and service organizations in Virginia are invited to apply for grants ranging from $500 to $1,000 that will help address environmental concerns in their community. Grants must focus on one of the following priorities: Litter Prevention, Recycling & Waste Reduction, Cigarette Litter Prevention & Recycling, or Community Beautification.

Natural Bridge State Park protects and preserves the natural, cultural, and historical features of the 1600-acre park. The park offers 10 miles of hiking trails, Lace Falls with its 50-foot cascade, and group camping. Blue Hollow is a primitive tent group campground that is popular with Scout groups and large families who come from across the states. Currently there is no running water at the campground.

The Friends of Natural Bridge State Park are eager to install rain barrel collection systems in the Blue Hollow Group Campground by reusing wood from old picnic tables for the base and recycled barrels from the wastewater treatment plant. This will enable guests to wash their hands, rinse dishes, and clean off picnic tables.

Park staff will be able to clean the tent pads without having to supply water from a portable reservoir. Each barrel will be labeled as “Non-Potable Water.” Beside each barrel, a sign will be installed explaining the importance of rain collection and the reuse of natural resources.

Natural Bridge State Park will measure the rain collection in gallons and will speak to guest about their experience with the collection system and its use. The park is a leader in sustainability efforts amongst the Virginia State Parks. Natural Bridge will share their data and success of the rain water reuse and encourage others to do barrel installs at their parks.

June 30 2024

The Final Green Grant Award #30: Friends of Natural Bridge State Park

Beckey Watson Uncategorized $1000, Friends of Natural Bridge State Park, Green Grants, Green Park of the Year, Natural Bridge State Park, Recycling Center, Recycling Program, Virginia Green Travel Award

Congratulations to the Friends of Natural Bridge State Park for being our Green Grants Award #30! They will receive a $1,000 grant to be used to enhance their recycling program!

Natural Bridge State Park gets by with a little help from their friends! Since 2023, Friends of Natural Bridge State Park have supported the sustainability and recycling programs at the park, which welcomes close to 200,000 diverse guest each year.

In May of 2023 Natural Bridge State Park converted an old, unusable, floor mounted HVAC unit into the “Recycle Right Center.” The Recycle Center has labeled cans for separated recycling collections, where guests and staff are encouraged to place their recyclable goods into the appropriate container. With the help of informative signage, guests are educated on the initiatives and recycling programs at the park, which include: plastics 1 through 7, mixed paper/cardboard, aluminum/steel cans, food/beverage glass, and food scraps. The recycling efforts are successful, having collected 904 pounds of glass that was transported to EarthMagic to be crushed into sand; 1,000 pounds of plastic film that was sent to the NexTrex Community Program, resulting in two Trex benches for the park; and composted 375 pounds of food waste that will be used throughout the park for landscaping and erosion control. While collecting aluminum and steel cans, park staff and volunteers pulled scrap metal buried deep in the woods. The scrap metal profited the Friends Group over $2,400.00.

Building on their success with recycling in the park, Green Grants funds will used to create an additional Recycle Right Center to be located in the Interactive Class Room. This space host hundreds of people each year for trainings, interpretive programs, and other activities. Currently, guests are encouraged to recycle in the classroom, but there is no separated recycling bins on an adequate scale for large groups. This results in mixed recycling, which has a high cost for the parks. The new, additional Recycle Right Center will have separate bins, and will streamline the amount of recycling, with an anticipated 25% increase for their recycling program.

This year Natural Bridge State Park was awarded the Virginia Green Travel “Green Park of the Year” award and has become know locally and state wide for their commitment to sustainability and recycling. Expanding their successful recycling program to include another “Recycle Right Center” will surely help keep Virginia even more beautiful!

December 13 2021

Light Up Your Life

Beckey Watson Uncategorized Ashlan, downtown lights, Natural Bridge, Natural Bridge State Park, Roanoke Star, train station, Virginia

December can bring with it a landscape of seasonal greenery and twinkling lights. And you don’t even have to travel very far to take in the sights! We’re fortunate to have so many beautiful, drivable destinations right here in the Commonwealth.

To start at the center of the state – or Center of the Universe as it’s often called – Ashland is the place to visit! It’s a charming train town all year round, but it is especially beautiful during December. The train station, downtown stores, and century homes are lit up like a mile-long Christmas card! There are historic walking tours, a vintage movie theater, and plenty of local shopping, delicious food, and craft brews to enjoy. Check out their “Light Up the Tracks” event calendar!

Or you can head west to Roanoke for its Dickens of a Christmas! There’ll be crafts for children, free family photos, and plenty of entertainment and local shopping. You won’t be able to miss the Roanoke Star, towering 1,045 feet above the City with its 2,000 feet of neon tubes outlining three stars. Or, if you want to do a little armchair traveling, check out the livestream StarCam all year round for a birds-eye view of the city and the Blue Ridge Mountains.

If you’re more interested in exploring nature, head for Luminary Nights and Carriage Rides at Natural Bridge State Park! Enjoy an after-dark stroll along the illuminated Cedar Creek Trail, and the Natural Bridge will be lit up to show the crags and clefts of the monolith in festive colors. The Friends of the Natural Bridge State Park will be serving refreshments, and you can warm up around one of the campfires.

And remember, if you’d like a free one-day parking pass to any Virginia State Park, we still have some to give anyone who makes a donation to Keep Virginia Beautiful in any amount!