The Friends of Smith Mountain Lake State Park is a friendly, diverse,and talented group. You need not be a nature expert in order to contribute your talents. Below are some of the many ways you can contribute to the organization with the name of the contact person for that activity.

Click on pictures for additional photos of that activity.

DISCOVERY CENTER - Patti Gerhart

Volunteers staff the park Discovery Center on weekdays during the summer months and on weekends during the shoulder seasons. This is a very important effort that the Friends make and is such a big help to the park staff. The park visitors are also appreciative of the volunteers and always happy to find the center open for their exploration and to learn about nature. Maintaining the volunteer calendar for the Discovery Center as well as recruiting and training volunteers to fill all time slots is the main job of the coordinator.

Patti also orients new members, helping them learn about Friends and volunteer opportunities. This enables her to get to know new members, introduce them to others, and help them to start volunteering in areas of interest.

TRAIL CLEANUP - Herm McCreary

Volunteers help maintain the 12 miles of trails monthly on the first and third Thursday. See park trail guide here.

HAYRIDES - Bernie Tipton

Park naturalists conduct hayrides every Wednesday and Saturday during the summer. The hayrides are about an hour long, and the friends provide the tractor driver and usually a person to ride on the hay wagon to assist passengers.

YOUTH PROGRAMS - Lauri Schular

Volunteers assist the Lauri Schular, Park Interpreter in various seasonal activities focused on Children in Nature. They work to increase knowledge and awareness of the oportunities and responsibilities in the great outdoors as well as encouraging a love of nature in young and old alike.

LANDSCAPE COMMITTEE - Patti Gerhart

This committee is composed mainly of members who are interested in gardening and just wish to help the park and to learn. Hands on experience is the best way to learn and also to pick up gardening tips from other volunteers. The Friends members maintain the gardens surrounding the Discovery Center including winter and spring cleanup days. Mulching, weeding, pruning, and planting as well as general upkeep are important parts of the maintenance.

No set days are set for garden maintenance. When the need arises, the call for help goes out and anyone who is willing and able to help is welcome. It is always lots of fun and very rewarding

LECTURE SERIES - Shearere Rumsey

Volunteers sponsor a series of four lectures on the first Sunday of each month from January through April. The lectures are publicized in local newspapers and are well attended.

MUSIC IN THE PARK- Jim Fischer

Volunteers schedule, publicize, and present an interesting variety of bands on the fourth Saturday of the month. An admission fee of $5 per person over age 12 is collected and a crew of volunteers sells hamburgers, hot dogs, snacks, drinks, and ice cream.

ASPIRING YOUTH ANGLERS TOURNAMENT - Charlie Locke

This fishing tournament is for ages 14 and under. Trophies are given for different age groups along with prizes donated by various merchants in the area. Park Friends volunteer to register the children, weigh the fish, cook the lunch, and help where needed during the tournament.

FISHING CLINIC - Herm McCreary

The Friends assist Bedford County Parks and Recreation on the first Saturday in June in conducting a Youth Fishing Clinic. Volunteers guide and assist groups of children ages six to thirteen through a series of stations designed to teach the children about the lake and how to fish.

NEWSLETTER - Frankie Puckett

Any member of the Friends may submit articles for publication in our newsletter. Topics for articles include any area related to the park from legislative concerns to Friends' programs to personal experiences.

MORE WAYS TO VOLUNTEER

Every year the Friends host an Easter egg hunt on the Saturday before Easter and a Halloween Party on the Saturday before Halloween.

We support the Park in matters of legislative interest and assist at special Park events.

Each summer a crew of teenage volunteers work at Smith Mountain Lake State Park under the auspices of the Virginia Youth Conservation Corps (YCC). The Friends host a welcome picnic for the group and sometimes additionally volunteer to host the group at their home. See more information here on state park blog.