The Newport News Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism (also known as Newport News Parks) is the government agency responsible for maintaining city parks and other sites of interest to tourists and the general population within the city of Newport News, Virginia. It is under the authority of Assistant City Manager Alan Archer. The Director of Newport News Parks is Michael Poplawski.

Parks

Newport News Parks is responsible for the maintenance of thirty-two city parks. The smallest is less than half an acre (2,000 m²). The largest, Newport News Park, is .{{cite web , title=Parks, Squares & Plazas , url=https://www.nnva.gov/894/Parks-Squares-Plazas , website=Newport News, VA - Official Website , publisher=City of Newport News, VA , accessdate=4 January 2020 The parks are scattered throughout the city, from

Endview Plantation Endview Plantation (Harwood Plantation) is an 18th-century plantation which is located on Virginia State Route 238 in the Lee Hall community in the northwestern area of the independent city An independent city or independent town is a city ...

in the northern end of the city to King-Lincoln Park in the southern end near the Monitor-Merrimac Memorial Bridge-Tunnel. The parks offer a variety of services to visitors, ranging from traditional park services like

camping Camping is an outdoor activity involving overnight stays away from home, either without shelter or using basic shelter such as a tent, or a recreational vehicle. Typically, participants leave developed areas to spend time outdoors in more na ...

and

fishing Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment, but may also be caught from stocked bodies of water such as ponds, canals, park wetlands and reservoirs. Fishing techniques inclu ...

to activities like archery and disc golf. See List of parks in Newport News, Virginia

Historic sites

Newport News Parks maintains eight historic sites within the city. Four of these are located within parks. * Battle of Dam #1, located in Newport News Park * Battle of Lee's Mill, located in Lee's Mill Park * Congress and Cumberland Overlook, located in Christopher Newport Park * Monitor-Merrimac Overlook, located in Anderson Park * Skiffe's Creek Redoubt * Warwick Court House *

Newport News Victory Arch The Newport News Victory Arch (or simply Victory Arch) is a monument in Newport News, Virginia, erected first in 1919 and then rebuilt in 1962. The Victory Arch was established as a memorial to those who served in the American armed forces during ...

* Young's Mill All of these historic sites (with the exception of the Victory Arch) were significant during the Peninsula Campaign of the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states ...

in 1862.

Museums

Five museums are run by the department: * Endview Plantation, located in Newport News Park * Lee Hall Mansion * Lee Hall Train Depot * Newsome House Museum & Cultural Center *

Virginia War Museum The Virginia War Museum is located in Huntington Park on Warwick Blvd., Newport News, Virginia. The museum contains exhibits on American military history from 1775 to the present.Virginia War Museum. "Virginia War Museum" brochure, Winter 2007. ...

Mariners' Museum The Mariners' Museum and Park is located in Newport News, Virginia, United States. Designated as America’s ''National Maritime Museum'' by Congress, it is one of the largest maritime museums in North America. The Mariners' Museum Library, cont ...

Sports programs and community centers

Newport News Parks runs eight sports facilities and community centers in the city for use by city residents. * Achievable Dream Tennis Center * Brittingham-Midtown Community Center * Deer Run Golf Course * Doris Miller Recreation Center * Huntington Park Tennis Center * Riverview Gymnastics Center * Stoney Run Athletics Center * Warwick Recreation Center The department runs youth leagues for

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wi ...

, soccer, indoor

field hockey Field hockey is a team sport structured in standard hockey format, in which each team plays with ten outfield players and a goalkeeper. Teams must drive a round hockey ball by hitting it with a hockey stick towards the rival team's shooting ...

, and

wrestling Wrestling is a series of combat sports involving grappling-type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. Wrestling techniques have been incorporated into martial arts, combat ...

. Leagues are also run for adults in basketball,

flag football Flag football is a variant of American football where, instead of tackling players to the ground, the defensive team must remove a flag or flag belt from the ball carrier ("deflagging") to end a down. The sport has a strong amateur following ...

softball Softball is a game similar to baseball played with a larger ball on a smaller field. Softball is played competitively at club levels, the college level, and the professional level. The game was first created in 1887 in Chicago by George Hanc ...

table tennis Table tennis, also known as ping-pong and whiff-whaff, is a sport in which two or four players hit a lightweight ball, also known as the ping-pong ball, back and forth across a table using small solid rackets. It takes place on a hard table div ...

, and

volleyball Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Sum ...

External links

Newport News Department of Parks, Recreation, and Tourism official siteCity of Newport News site
Organizations based in Newport News, Virginia