This time a year ago, I embarked on a journey that, in retrospect, was as rewarding as any I’ve ever undertaken. Last December, I decided to visit one of Virginia’s then 34 state parks each month (there are 35 now) and report back on what I’d found. I solicited input from readers to help me choose my year’s worth of trips. I should have known then what I’d stumbled onto.

There are lots of reasons to visit Kiptopeke State Park on Virginia’s Eastern Shore. There’s ample camping and great fishing in a protected cove on the Chesapeake Bay. But seeing the birds, especially this time of year, is a must.

The people who created the Snowden Trail in Northern Virginia’s Sky Meadows State Park knew their target audience: urban and suburbanites looking for a little breathing space.

Bear Creek Lake State Park in Cumberland is one of the state park system’s smaller parks, a modest 326 acres in a county that has no stoplights.