All Day

2023 Bull Run Festival of Lights

Bull Run Regional Park 7700 Bull Run Drive, Centreville

(VA) (NOVA Parks) Enjoy a 2.5 mile drive-through of festive light displays, walk-through a Christmas Village and Carnival. The show is open nightly from November 11, 2022 through January 8, 2023. Times vary on weekday and weekends. PLEASE NOTE: YOU ONLY NEED TO BUY ONE TICKET PER VEHICLE.

$30 – $75

2023 Meadowlark’s Winter Walk of Lights

Meadowlark Botanical Gardens 9750 Meadowlark Gardens, Vienna

(VA) (NOVA Parks) Enjoy even more lights this year as Meadowlark Botanical Gardens sparkles with displays of flowers, animals, trees, and holiday scenes along the Winter Walk of Lights .6-mile trail. Times and prices vary by weekday or weekend. See website for all details.

$18 – $22

Sunday Morning Bird Walk at Dyke Marsh

Dyke Marsh Alexandria

(VA) (Friends of Dyke Marsh) Join FODM for a bird walk every Sunday at 8 a.m. The Dyke Marsh Wildlife Preserve is a freshwater, tidal marsh on the Virginia side of the Potomac River in Fairfax County. It is a unit of the George Washington Memorial Parkway, U.S. National Park Service.

Free

Bird Walk: Four Mile Run Park

Four Mile Run Park 3700 Commonwealth Ave, Alexandria

(VA) (Audubon Society of Northern VA) Morning is a great time for a bird walk through Four Mile Run Park – newer birders as well as veteran birders are welcome to join!

Free

Arboretum Fall 5K

U.S. National Arboretum 24th & R St NE, Washington DC

(DC) (Friends of the National Arboretum) Join us for a 5k run or walk on the idyllic grounds of the National Arboretum and help us raise funds for Arboretum programs. Strollers and dogs are allowed but dogs must stay on a 6′ non-retractable leash. Can’t make it to the National Arboretum but still want to break out your running shoes? ...

$30 – $50

Habitat Restoration Workday at Kingman

Langston Golf Course 2600 Benning Rd NE, Washington

(DC) (Anacostia Watershed Society) Join the Anacostia Watershed Society (AWS) and National Links Trust (NLT) for a Habitat Restoration Workday! During this workday you will help AWS with our invasive plant control and revegetation efforts along the riverside area of Kingman Island at Langston Golf Course.

Free

Little Critters Nature Play

Smithsonian’s National Zoo 3001 Connecticut Avenue, NW, Washington

(DC) (National Zoo) Join us for a wild time as we explore animals and the natural world through creative, free-choice activity stations in our brand-new indoor/outdoor classroom! Dig for horseshoe crabs in the sand table, make lunch for a bird in the mud kitchens, or just join us for a story or two!

Free

Tree Walk: Oxon Run Park

Oxon Run Park 1200 Mississippi Ave SE, Washington DC

(DC) (Casey Trees) Join Casey Trees with Tree Ambassador Glenn Hall for a Tree Walk at Oxon Run! We’ll start off with an easy-paced tree walk, where Glenn will give an overview of the history of Oxon Run Park and then point out some of the species of trees in the park, and finally go over the importance of green ...

Free

Exhibit: Recovering Our Night Sky

Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History 1000 Madison Drive NW, Washington

(DC) (Smithsonian Natural History Museum) What do brighter nights mean for people and wildlife? Through over 100 photographs, nearly 250 objects, interactive experiences, tactile models, and a theater program, discover why dark nights matter, rekindle your connection with the night sky, and consider how much light at night is enough—for whom, for what purpose, and who gets to decide?

Free

Mounted Plant Workshop

Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture 1400 Constitution Ave. NW, Washington

(DC) (Smithsonian) In this workshop, you will learn how to mount and care for hoyas or wax plants to create a living wall hanging inspired by the foliage on Bisa Butler’s quilt, I Go Prepare a Place for You. In their natural environment, many hoyas grow on rocks or trees, not in the pots you see at the garden store. ...

$20

Mushroom Walk

Fort C.F. Smith Park 2411 24th St N, Arlington

(VA) (Arlington Parks) An introduction to mushroom identification for beginners. We’ll learn how fungi grows in the soil and their role in the environment on a fun nature walk through the park. Families.

$5

Wild Forest Time at Black Hill

Black Hill Nature Programs2 20926 Lake Ridge Dr

(MD) (Montgomery Parks) Do you dream of building forts in the woods, or climbing a tree? Maybe you want to learn about woodland critters or create some art in the woods. Join us for a time to explore the woods how you want to. We’ll supply some materials and a space to create and explore, you supply the imagination and ...

Free

Volunteer Service Day at Potomac Overlook

Potomac Overlook Park 2845 Marcey Rd, Arlington

(VA) (NOVA Parks) Join us as we work to keep our park healthy and beautiful!  Assist with invasive plant removal, habitat restoration, and other projects as needed.  Come dressed for and prepared to work outdoors. Gloves and snippers are recommended, but extras may be provided if needed.  Meet at the picnic shelter (located in main parking lot).  Free and appropriate ...

Free

Bird Walk: Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge

Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge 14050 Dawson Beach Rd, Woodbridge

(VA) (Audubon Society of Northern VA) Join us for a family-friendly afternoon bird walk on the trails of the Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge. Your birding guide is Andreas Seiter, an experienced local birder, member of the Board of Directors of the Audubon Society of Nothern Virginia, member of the Northern Virginia Bird Club and Virginia Society of Ornithology.

Free

Talkin’ About Turtles

Potomac Overlook Regional Park 2845 N. Marcey Road, Arlington

(VA) (NOVA Parks) Come out of your shell and join us for a turtley awesome program! Meet some of our resident turtles and learn about their adaptations, habitat, and what sets them apart from each other. Then help us “race” our turtles with some live food to see who is the fastest (or rather the least slow!)

$7

Autumn’s Harvest: Reflective Writing Workshop (Virtual)

(DC) (Smithsonian Associates) Experience the power of reflective writing guided by the founding instructor of the National Gallery of Art’s popular Writing Salon, Mary Hall Surface. Inspired by works of art by Hudson River landscape painter Jasper Francis Cropsey and poetry by Mary Oliver, explore the lessons that the season of autumn offers us when we slow down, look closely, and ...

$40 – $45
Capital Nature