Waid Park and Fairy Stone State Park

by Maryann C., Panther Blogger

The weather is finally starting to warm up! This is one of my favorite times of year!  I love being outside, and one of the great things about going to Ferrum College is that there are plenty of places to go spend time outside.

First, the Ferrum College campus has plenty of open grass space for playing games or just relaxing. Now that the weather is warming up, there are students already taking advantage of the space playing frisbee, football, and cornhole. Another great part about attending Ferrum College is that there are many parks within a close drive that are great places to spend time outdoors.

One of the parks my friends and I love to visit is Fairy Stone State Park. There is a large lake, a sandy beach area, as well as wooded trails and grassy, flat spots. What's great about this park is that it's only about a 15-minute drive from Ferrum, it is a beautiful area, and there is plenty to do there.

Another park my friends and I enjoy visiting is Waid Park. This park is a little over 10 minutes away from campus. It has lots of open field space for soccer and lacrosse games, goals included!  There is a huge playground area where we enjoy swinging on swings. There are lots of trails at this park as well, and I love walking and running them. There is also a creek that runs through the park, so when it gets really warm outside, we wade in the creek and skip rocks.

There are also other great outdoor sites that are a bit farther away but always enjoyable to visit. Smith Mountain Lake is about 40 minutes from the college and is a great place for swimming and relaxing when it gets really hot. Roanoke, which is about 45 minutes away, also has some great outdoor trails and parks. My point is that now that the weather is warming up, there are plenty of places to go to spend a great day outside!