Which Parks Are Included?
From among the many parks in the Central Virginia area, we have chosen only those parks that offer nature walks of at least a modest length. We have excluded small neighborhood parks, athletic complexes, and short exercise trails. Our list is by no means complete, and we will add more as time goes along.
Where Should I Start My Park Explorations?
If you are a beginner hiker, you should start off by taking guided hikes near your home. As you become familiar with the tools we offer, you may want to branch out and explore more parks. See the section on Park Systems to learn more about the different types of parks you can visit. Local parks and State Parks may be your best bet at first, since they tend to offer lots of amenities, and hunting is prohibited or very limited. For budding nature lovers, local nature preserves and/or State Natural Area Preserves can be an excellent choice, since they often offer access to unique and rich natural habitats without the crowds (but far fewer amenities). If you are feeling more adventurous, you may want to venture into Wildlife Management Areas and/or State Forests. These areas allow hunting, and require you to research hunting schedules for individual parks (see the section Know Hunting Locations and Seasons). The reward is access to large tracts of land with extensive trail systems, as well as extensive wildlife observation opportunities. Use our trail guides and maps to narrow your choices.
Guided Hikes and Park Trail Collections
Our guided hikes offer detailed information about each individual hike, including trail directions, waypoints with narratives, and so on. Sometimes, our guided hike is only one of several hikes in a park, while other parks have no guided hikes so far. To help you explore those areas we have yet to reach, we created park trail collections. These consist of a set of tracks for multiple hikes within a given park, all in a GPS format. Similar to a guided hike, you can download these tracks to your smartphone (Maps.me only), choose a hike, and follow the track on the trail. While you will only have the path to follow (no waypoints or narrative), this can be a convenient way to further explore the trail system of a favorite park – the trails are ready for you on your smartphone. Note that the tracks in trail collections come from a variety of sources, and may not be as reliable as our guided hikes. Always download a park map and contact park personnel before going.
Showcases and Top Destinations
For most parks, we provide basic information about the park, together with trail collections and guided hikes (where available). These tools introduce you to the park and make it easy to walk one or more of its better trails. In order to enrich your park experience, however, we have gone a step further and created park showcases for a number of featured parks. For these showcases, our naturalists explore a given park in greater depth, documenting its many riches and using that knowledge to build a showcase page. When you visit a park showcase, you may find additional guided hikes, recommended activities, checklists of plant and animal life, and scavenger hunts for natural treasures. These tools will help you learn more about the park and its natural environment, expand your naturalist skills and knowledge, and give you much more to see and do in the park. We hope that showcases will increase your enjoyment of the park and encourage many repeat visits.
For other parks, we identify Top Destinations. These are park recommendations based on your interests. For example, Civil War buffs may want to visit the different battlefields in the Richmond National Battlefield park, while hardcore hiking enthusiasts may enjoy the longer hikes and larger trail systems in a few of our State Parks and Wildlife Management Systems.