New River Valley residents started their new year by connecting with nature through the popular First Day Hikes program at Claytor Lake State Park, continuing a tradition that has grown from a local initiative to a nationwide movement.

Claytor Lake State Park is giving Christmas trees a second life as fish habitats, resuming their annual tree collection program after a year’s hiatus due to Hurricane Helene damage.

Before you toss your old Christmas tree to the curb, Claylor Lake State Park wants you to consider dropping it off at the park to help support the environment.

One year after Hurricane Helene devastated Southwest Virginia, Claytor Lake Marina has transformed from a debris-filled waterway to a thriving recreational destination again, following a multimillion-dollar federal cleanup effort.

Pulaski County High School and the Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources have been working together to improve Claytor Lake following the damage caused by Hurricane Helene in 2024.

After months of cleanup following Hurricane Helene, Claytor Lake is slated to resume normal operations, the Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation has announced.

A body was recovered from Claytor Lake, according to Pulaski County emergency officials.

Pulaski summer camp kids will have another place to enjoy other activities after a major pool house burned. Leaders say they will work Claytor Lake State Park to make sure kids have water recreational activities.

It may be January, but on Tuesday, it was Christmas for the fish at Claytor Lake State Park.

Before you take down the Christmas tree and toss it out, give it one more job this holiday season.

With coronavirus transmission and case numbers low in the New River Valley, residents are on track to a more promising return to a normal summer, according to the health director.

CLAYTOR LAKE, Va. – If you have been waiting to cool off from the summer heat in a lake, your wait is over. Virginia’s state parks, including Claytor Lake and Smith Mountain Lake, reopened their swimming areas Friday morning after COVID-19 delayed the season. Hundreds of people made the trip to Claytor Lake’s swimming area on its first day of operation. “We were stuck in the house and we wanted to have fun, so we came out here,” said Abi Lineberoy. Havens believes the park will continue to draw summer crowds, and that the park has adequately prepared for the rush.

CLAYTOR LAKE, Va. – Claytor Lake State Park usually experiences a Memorial Day Weekend rush of people longing for their first taste of summer. Some people decided to make the trek to Claytor Lake, despite social distancing. “We do typically come down to the lake on Memorial Day Weekend," Williams said. They expected the typical Memorial Day Weekend crowd, but were proven wrong when they arrived. Cicadas have started to emerge at the park, and torrential rain from the week filled Claytor Lake with murky water and driftwood.

“Anything in that 7-10 ft. range, and of course smaller, is what we’re looking for,” said Claytor Lake State Park assistant park manager Brody havens. Live Christmas trees dropped off at the Claytor Lake State Park marina through Jan. 23 will be sunk in designated areas on the lake to create habitats for fish. "When we sink the Christmas trees, the limbs will stay on and the needles will stay on for quite a while. He likes fishing at Claytor Lake as it is, but the trees definitely help make the pastime more enjoyable. The city of Danville offers curbside tree collection for residents or you can drop off your tree at the city’s mulch collection site.

PULASKI COUNTY, Va. - About 10 minutes after a call for help from Pulaski County Emergency Medical Services Monday afternoon, a medical helicopter landed at Claytor Lake State Park to help triage and transport a simulated victim of a two-boat crash on the lake. After landing, he and flight nurse Laura Whitlow rushed to the water to help, where triage was already underway by Pulaski County Emergency Medical Services. For us, thats always important because we need to learn, (if) we have multiple people, our triage process," Whitlow said. Pulaski County EMS EMT Scott Proctor said learning the triage process was something he appreciates, too. Claytor Lake State Park Police and the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries also participated in the training.