Since we have been getting calls in the Reservation Center today about whether we will be open tomorrow, I realized that if you don't actually work for a government entity you might think of government as one large nebulous thing.
Photo by Shawn Rossi. Used under creative commons license.
The possible Federal shutdown at midnight tonight will not effect your Virginia State Park visit or reservation. We are open for business and if you were planning on a visit to one of Virginia's National Parks, we will be more than happy to satisfy your outdoor recreation needs!
THERE IS ONE EXCEPTION to this. FALSE CAPE STATE PARK. If you have never been to the park you may not realize that it is landlocked on the Virginia side. The Back Bay National Wildlife Refuge is between the Sandbridge section of Virginia Beach and our park. If there is a Federal Government shutdown at midnight, public land access to our park will be impacted.
Our emergency web notification system will have updates posted on the False Cape website if that happens. Basically, you can boat to our park from Sandbridge but you won't be able to access via land. We have a plan for campers that will be fine tuned and folks with reservations will be contacted. Our staff can still access the park. There is not regular vehicular access for visitors to the park anyway.
So, if you were planning a visit to False Cape this weekend or anytime if the Federal shutdown happens and lasts, check out the False Cape webpage here for specific info. There will be a brown box at the top of the page that says there is an important message available and to click for more information.