SKY MEADOWS STATE PARK

This is Fauquier County, one of Virginia's premium horse country areas, and there is plenty of interest in this popular park with access to the Appalachian Trail. There are bridle trails and hiking trails galore, with some primitive, hike-in campsites for those who want to rough it.

There's from-the-bank fishing and a strawberry festival on Memorial Day weekend with a petting zoo and other attractions. A "U-pick" pumpkin patch is open on weekends in October, along with cider squeezing and apple butter making. This is, though, definitely not well-lit suburbia, so astronomers schedule monthly programs from April to November, with several telescopes for viewing the night sky, largely unmarred by urban and suburban light pollution.

How much: $3 a car weekdays; $4 on weekends. Strawberry Festival is $20 a car.

When: Dawn to dusk daily.

Where: 11012 Edmonds Lane, Delaplane. 540-592-3556. http://www.dcr.virginia.gov/state_parks/sky.shtml