When is the last ranger-led program at First Landing State Park this year? As of early November, the answer is Sunday, Nov. 29. The last guided walk comes two days earlier, with the Salt Marsh Meander on the afternoon of Friday, Nov. 27.
The Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation's First Landing events calendar lists 13 programs between Nov. 20 and Dec. 31. Every one of them falls between Saturday, Nov. 21 and Sunday, Nov. 29. Nothing is listed for the rest of December. The calendar for Jan. 1 and 2, 2027 is empty too, so as of this writing no First Day Hike is posted for the park.
If you live off Shore Drive, the guided part of the park's year fits into the same nine days as Thanksgiving, when the house may be full and everyone wants a reason to get outside. The schedule follows, along with what's new inside the buildings and the fee details that change with the season.
The three places the week meets
The programs gather at three spots, and they sit on different sides of the park. Picking the right parking lot saves a lot of walking.
- The Trail Center, on the Shore Drive side at 2500 Shore Dr. It hosts the Trail Mix Trek, the Discovery Room and Make A Moth. Trees' Knees meets at the Bald Cypress Overlook behind it.
- The Main Boardwalk entrance and Chesapeake Bay Center, on the campground and beach side of Shore Drive. The Autumn Beach Stroll and the beach cleanup start here, and the Bay Lab is inside the Main Visitor Center.
- The Narrows at 64th Street, used for both Fall Fishing 101 sessions and the Salt Marsh Meander.
None of the 13 programs requires registration. The beach cleanup page does encourage people to sign up ahead of time. That makes the week easy to fit around a holiday. You can decide the morning of, as long as you get there before the lots fill.
Day by day, Nov. 21 through Nov. 29
The busiest days are the two Saturdays and the day after Thanksgiving. The weekdays before the holiday have no programs.
Saturday, Nov. 21
This is the fullest day of the week, with three programs in three parts of the park.
- Trees' Knees, 9 to 11 a.m., at the Bald Cypress Overlook behind the Trail Center.
- Walk the Beach for Good Reason! Beach Cleanup at FLSP, 10 a.m. to noon, starting at the Main Boardwalk entrance on the Chesapeake Bay Center side.
- Fall Fishing 101 Workshop, 1 to 3 p.m., at The Narrows at 64th Street. The listing says participants 16 and older need a Virginia saltwater fishing license.
Sunday, Nov. 22
- Autumn Beach Stroll, 10 to 11 a.m., from the Main Boardwalk entrance.
- Bay Lab Exploration, noon to 4 p.m., in the Bay Lab inside the Main Visitor Center. This is the first of four Bay Lab afternoons.
Friday, Nov. 27
The day after Thanksgiving has the program that costs the least to attend.
- Trail Mix Trek, 9 to 11 a.m., from the Trail Center. It's a guided walk of about 3.5 miles through several wetland habitats.
- Bay Lab Exploration, noon to 4 p.m.
- Salt Marsh Meander, 2 to 3:30 p.m., at The Narrows at 64th Street.
Saturday, Nov. 28
- Fall Fishing 101 Workshop, 10 a.m. to noon, at The Narrows at 64th Street, with the same license requirement for ages 16 and up.
- Bay Lab Exploration, noon to 4 p.m.
- Discovery Room Open, 2 to 4 p.m., inside the Trail Center.
Sunday, Nov. 29
- Make A Moth, 9:30 to 11:30 a.m., at the Trail Center.
- Bay Lab Exploration, noon to 4 p.m., the last listed program of the year.
Friday morning is the one time parking is free for a program
Twelve of the 13 listings say the park's standard parking fee applies. Only the Trail Mix Trek on Nov. 27 says it doesn't, and none of the programs charge anything extra.
The event page describes a route where five trails meet. It passes through cypress swamp, salt marsh and maritime forest, with winter wildlife and possibly a bald cypress "knee" or two along the way. DCR rates it moderate, and parts of it cross uneven ground.
Nov. 27 is also #OptOutside Day. On that day, DCR's parking fee page waives fees for cars with a Virginia State Parks license plate, so plate holders can stay into the afternoon for the Salt Marsh Meander without paying for parking. For everyone else, the regular rate applies to the rest of the day.
That regular rate is lower now than in summer. First Landing charges $7 standard. The $10 weekend rate applies only from April through October, so both Thanksgiving weekends cost the same $7 as a weekday.
New exhibits on display, about a month old
People who walk the trails all year may not have been inside the visitor center lately, and it has changed. According to a DCR blog post from Oct. 19, 2026, First Landing's original exhibits had been on display for almost 20 years before they were fully replaced. The new ones opened Oct. 16, 2026.
The date was chosen for the anniversary. In 1936, Virginia became the first state to open a whole system of six state parks on the same day. For the 90th anniversary, new exhibits debuted at six parks on Oct. 16, paid for with American Rescue Plan Act state tourism grants.
At First Landing, DCR says the new displays add hands-on and interactive pieces and cover the park's natural and cultural history. That history includes the 1607 English landing on this shoreline and the cypress swamps that once supplied fresh water to sailors. It also includes the all-African American Civilian Conservation Corps company that helped build the park between 1933 and 1940. The Trail Center also got a new exhibit on the park's transitional environments, the in-between zones where one habitat turns into another.
That makes the trail programs and the exhibits a natural pair. You can walk the Trail Mix Trek through swamp, marsh and forest in the morning, then come back to the Trail Center, where the new exhibit covers how those habitats meet. On the Saturday and Sunday mornings, Make A Moth and Trees' Knees start from the same building.
Getting there
The park page lists day-use hours from 7 a.m. to dusk. The Office and Visitor Center are open daily from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., and the Trail Center from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Because the Trail Center closes earliest, plan any visit to its exhibit for the morning or early afternoon.
The same page warns that weekends are very high-visitation days. Expect delays, and once the lots are full, cars are turned away. With programs on both Saturdays and on Nov. 27, the 9 a.m. starts are the times when arriving early pays off.
Shore Drive itself has construction this fall. The City of Virginia Beach's Shore Drive Phase III page says daytime lane closures resumed Oct. 1, 2026. As of the page's Oct. 2 update, the eastbound sidewalk between Vista Circle and Starfish Road is closed, and pedestrians are detoured to the westbound side.
If someone in your group can't handle the uneven ground, First Landing now has a free all-terrain wheelchair. WAVY reported in July that it's available to children and adults by reservation. DCR's announcement says its pneumatic rubber tires reach more than five miles of trail, and asks for requests at least 48 hours ahead. Same-day use is possible if the chair is free. For the Friday hike, that means asking by Wednesday, the day before Thanksgiving.
Cabin renovations are expected to continue until May 2027. DCR says the work won't affect the regular season for the park's other overnight facilities.
If First Landing is one of the reasons you love living near Shore Drive and you'd like to know how that shows up in your home's value, Robert Ramey can put together a free home valuation and a local market review of the bayfront streets between Lesner Bridge and the park gate.
