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The Chippokes Plantation State Park, which reopened this past July, has some activities planned for the early part of September.

On Sept. 5-6, the Jones-Stewart Mansion will be open for tours from 1 to 4 p.m. on the hour, and each lasts about 30 minutes. Guests must register by registering. See below for details. Walk-up tours won’t be allowed. Groups of four non-related guests or six family members permitted. There is a fee of $3 per person. The house was built for Albert Carroll Jones in 1855. The Stewart family from Ohio would become the next and final owners before bequeathing it to the state park system.

Pasture Pals takes place from 10 to 11 a.m. on Sept. 6. Meet the park’s furry and feathered pasture friends and discover how animals have been used on the farm. Visitors will get a chance to come up and close to some of our animals and even hand-feed the goats. You’ll also find out why some of the animals act and look the way they do. Do you know why a donkey’s ears are so big? Are rabbits rodents? Join to find out. Due to the potential of transmitting the virus through fur/feathers, the park will not be allowing guests to touch the animals. There’s no extra fee for this program.

The Girl Scouts Love State Parks events will be from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sept. 12. Pasture Pals will be held from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Women of Chippokes will be from 11 a.m. to noon. There will be an embroidery lesson, a tour of the cultural garden and a tour of the River house with some of the most intriguing female figures in Chippokes’ history. Meet at the Farm and Forestry Museum.

Mansion tours will be from 1 to 5 p.m. Meet on the back porch of the house.

The fossil walk is from 3 to 4 p.m. Meet at the Farm and Forestry Museum to begin learning about creature that lived in the area eons ago, and how the habitats of Chippokes have undergone drastic changes. Meet at the Farm and Forestry Museum. There is no extra fee.

The park grounds are open from dawn to dusk daily. The park office, Visitor Center and Gift Shop will be open Saturday and Sunday from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Both the pool and guided paddling are closed for the 2020 season.

Face coverings must be worn for each activity, and social distancing guidelines will be followed.

Where reservations are required, call 757-294-3439. Children are welcome to participate in all events.

Email chippokes@dcr.virginia.gov for more information.

The park is located at 695 Chippokes Park Road, Surry.