If you're like most of us, you love to save money. You work hard and want to get the best bang for your buck.

Now that the peak season is winding down at all of your favorite attractions, it's a great time to get away with friends, family or the one you adore to spend a few days absorbing nature's goodness.

Rustic 2-bedroom waterfront cabin 8 at Fairy Stone State Park.

Virginia State Parks has more than 300 comfy cabins across the state. You can choose from the original rustic log river-rock wood-burning fireplace cabins built in the late 1930s to the newer open floor-plan gas-log fireplace cabins built more recently. 

While we all have our preference for cabin style, location and park amenities, we can all agree that getting away for a few days does a world of good and is just what the doctor ordered in this busy thing we call life.

Here are four easy ways to save money when you want to escape the rat race and enjoy a few days of rest and relaxation at a Virginia State Park:

1. | LAST-MINUTE CABINS

Cozy up in front of a fire at a Virginia State Park cabin.

Each Thursday, you have the opportunity to book any available cabin or lodge for that upcoming weekend. Something fun that we like to do is be ready to get away, have the weekend bag packed and waiting, then call to find out which cabins are available and pick one at random. It is a neat way to visit a new park for the first time.

Learn more about the types of cabins, reservation policies and nitty-gritty.

2. | SEASONAL DISCOUNTS

Simply put, this is a no-brainer. Like all lodging establishments, we have high and low seasons at our parks. The good news is that you save more money when the parks are less crowded; it's a win-win. If you choose to stay in the same cabin in the Standard Season, the rate is reduced, as are the required stay minimums.

For example, a 2-bedroom cabin that is $113 in Prime Season is just $103 in the Standard Season. See the rate schedule here.

3. | LOYALTY PROGRAM

It's excellent to be rewarded for being loyal and a great way to earn free cabin stays or discounts.

Earn, redeem, and enjoy. It's that easy to be rewarded for staying at a Virginia State Park campground, bunkhouse, cabin or lodge. Earn points for every dollar you spend on overnight lodging. Points are given for all overnight reservations completed once you've enrolled in the program. Points are rewarded after the stay is completed.

Be sure to sign up for the Customer Loyalty Program to earn points applied to future overnight stays. 

Pets are allowed in the cabins for a fee of $10 per pet per night. It is less than the cost of boarding them at a kennel, and they get to enjoy a getaway too. See our pet policy.

4. | BUY A GIFT CERTIFICATE

Buy a gift certificate and use them any time during the year.

You can buy a Virginia State Parks Gift Certificate/Gift Card. These can be in any denomination. The certificates are good for anything we book through our Customer Service Center:

• Cabins and Camping
• Picnic Shelters
• Event/Meeting Venues
• Annual Passes

Gift certificates make great gifts. Just call 800-933-7275, option 5, Sunday-Thursday, 7 a.m.-7 p.m., and Friday-Saturday, 7 a.m.-9 p.m. and order your gift certificate(s). Or, even easier, order online! We will send you a nice presentation certificate if you plan to use it as a gift.