Central Virginia Outdoors

Surrounded by two lakes in the heart of Central Virginia, Twin Lakes State Park is an ideal setting for a variety of lakefront activities.  Visitors can enjoy swimming, camping, fishing, biking, canoeing and six miles of hiking trails along the Prince Edward Lake, Goodwin Lake and neighboring trail in Prince Edward-Gallion State Forest.

Well-appointed cabins and lodge, featuring an English Tudor exterior, are furnished with the comforts of home. Three have a view of Prince William Lake.  Each cabin features a screened porch with rocking chairs, deck, picnic table, pedestal grill and kitchen. 

The park has thirty-four campsites many with electric and water hookups.  Each campsite has a fire ring with grill cover and a bathhouse is available.

Goodwin Lake offers a beach with a bathhouse and “The Spot” a 1950s theme snack bar featuring premium hand-dipped ice cream and gift shop.  Rowboats and canoes are available for rent year-round.

Nature hikes, canoe trips, stargazing, campfire and children programs are just a few nature and environment programs offered during the summer.  During the month of June, park visitors will have the opportunity to learn how to prospect for gold and try their hand at panning for gold.  If you’re into stargazing, the Crewe Astronomy Club will be at the park on Saturday, June 19th to offer a program on astronomy.
 

On Saturday, June 5, 2010, High Bridge Trail State Park will host the 2nd Annual National Trails Day Celebration in celebration of American Hiking Society’s 18th Annual National Trails Day.  The event will be held at Riverfront Park on Main Street in Farmville from 10 a.m. to noon.  A Family Fun Walk will start at 9 a.m. at the trail head on Main Street. Trail related organizations will be onsite to provide information about different trail use opportunities.

High Bridge Trail State Park is a 30 mile multi-use trail that runs through three counties and five towns in Central Virginia.  Its centerpiece is the majestic High Bridge, which is more than 2,400 feet long and 160 feet above the Appomattox River. 

Since 1993, NTD has inspired thousands of people to enjoy trails on the same day nationwide, taking part in hikes, bike and horse rides, trail maintenance and other activities. 
 

The Richmond Symphony’s Youth Orchestras will perform on Sunday, May 23rd at 7 p.m. at the Heritage Amphitheatre at Pocahontas State Park.  Admission to the concert is FREE.

The Richmond Symphony's flagship educational program consists of four youth orchestras providing beginning to advanced musical training.  As the premiere orchestral training program of central Virginia, students participate in weekly rehearsals, coachings and master classes by Richmond Symphony musicians, chamber music performances, mentoring and other musical and social activities.

A $5 parking fee applies.  Food and beverages will be available.  For more information, call the park office at 804-796-4255 or visit www.virginiastateparks.gov.  The concert is sponsored by Chesterfield County Parks and Recreation. Pocahontas State Park hosts a summer concert series, Pocahontas Premieres, that begins June 19th. Entertainers such as Robin Rogers, Casper, Sterling Riggs and Eilen Jewell will perfrom at the outdoor amphitheater. 
 

Maybe you've been reading about Women's Weekends at Virginia State Parks, but can't seem to find the time to get away from your family obligations to enjoy the outdoors.  

False Cape State Park has created a "Summer Wilderness Survival Weekend" program for families to be held on July 10-11, 2010.  Of course the program isn't limited to just families, but this is really a unique opportunity for an family overnight adventure at False Cape State Park.

Pre-registration is REQUIRED.  Cost is $100 per person payable in advance. (Children accompanying adults must also pay the $100 fee.) Registration must be completed through the Virginia State Parks Reservation Center at 1-800-933-PARK.  Registration is limited to 20 people.  Registration is limited to children ages 5 and up.  Children MUST be accompanied by a paying adult.  Accommodations are in the park's Environmental Education Center that has bunk beds and shared bathrooms.  A private room is not guaranteed. 

Okay, now for the fun part... Vicky Shufer is the Park Naturalist at False Cape State Park and here is what she has to say about "Summer Wilderness Survival Weekend" 

“What do you all do for your survival weekend?” is a question I keep getting. The very name conjures up images of hiking long distances in the hot sun with no water, sleeping in debris huts infested with chiggers, ticks, possibly even snakes, eating whatever food you can find raw because you can’t have a fire. When I tell them we stay in a lodge with central air/heat, completely furnished with fully equipped kitchen, beds and linens provided they then want to know why it’s called a survival weekend. As I tell people, we live in comfort while we practice survival skills. You don’t wait until you’re in a survival situation to learn how to survive.

One of the first things I introduce people to are the plants. They are, after all, at the base of the food chain. In the summer when it’s hot, sweet juicy berries provide us with fluids for hydration and sugar for energy. Blueberries, blackberries and cherries, easily identified, and readily available, became our treat last year on our ride in to False Cape for the summer survival weekend. After arriving at the lodge, solar stills were put in place while we headed to the beach to look for coquina clams for our evening chowder. A few leaves of sea rocket growing at the base of the dune line added some spicy seasoning, as well as the bay leaves growing in the understory of the forest. An afternoon kayak paddle turned up some clams in the bay plus a few other treats growing along the marsh edges.

Back at the center, our visitors had a choice: they could either join one of our resource persons to go out and practice tracking and awareness skills or they could stay at the center with me and prepare wild foods for our dinner. In addition to what we had found that morning, I also brought a wild assortment of edibles from my yard and garden. Dinner was a wild feast. Wild salad, stir-fries, clam chowder, bean cakes, blackberry cake for dessert served with yaupon tea, sumac ade and juice drinks were some of the items we prepared. After dinner we went out for a night hike and owl hoot.

Sunday morning activities were optional. One could either hike to the beach and watch the sun rise over the ocean, do yoga exercises, birdwatch, or help prepare breakfast, which had a wild side. After breakfast was clean-up time, followed by a time to reflect on the weekend.

Even though we stayed in a fully equipped lodge, everyone left with a sense of thinking survival, what it means, and realizing it’s not something you learn in one weekend. Feeling comfortable in the outdoors, becoming aware of what’s around you and knowing what your resources are, can help one survive if there ever is a need.

Remember you must pre-register through the Virginia State Parks Reservation Center at 1-800-933-PARK and the program is limited to 20!

Get outdoors and play with us!
 

Snow came a little early this year to central Virginia.  It is unusual for us to get snow before Christmas, but maybe some will stick around until the 25th this time.  I decided to take a walk through the woods of Pocahontas State Park this morning, and I snapped a couple pictures of various tracks I came across.  Can you identify the fauna that created them?

An additional six miles of trail are now open at High Bridge Trail State Park from Prospect to Route 660 near Pamplin.  This brings total mileage open to 22 miles from just outside Pamplin (Route 660) to the end of High Bridge in Cumberland County. High Bridge Trail State Park is a 33.8 mile multi-use trail that runs through three counties and five towns in Central Virginia.

Its centerpiece is the majestic High Bridge, which is more than 2,400 feet long and 160 feet above the Appomattox River.  High Bridge is registered as a Virginia Historic Landmark. Park Manager Eric Hougland is excited about announcing the additional miles, “Trails continue to be a great resource for improving the quality of life and I’m glad we are opening more of the park for the community.” 

Trail visitors can access the trail at Route 660 near Pamplin, Elam, Prospect, Tuggle, municipal parking in Farmville, Osborne Road and River Road.  High Bridge Trail State Park is a perfect place for hikers, bicyclists and horseback riders  to enjoy the beauty of Central Virginia. For more information on the trail, please call the park office at 434-315-0457.

For those you who visit this blog site regularly are probably familiar by now with Virginia State Parks’ Youth Conversation Corp.  Enough can’t be written or said about this group of young men and women who come into our parks for three weeks during the summer to help us with huge projects. 

This past Saturday was the graduation for the first session.  The staff of Twin Lakes, High Bridge Trail and Sailor’s Creek Battlefield State Parks would like to express our gratitude for all their efforts this year.  The YCC group that was assigned to these parks this year was a team of young men who turned out to be hard workers and not enough could be said about their supervisors who are probably three of the best in the program.
 

This year the parks located in central Virginia did something different with our YCC group – we split their three weeks between three state parks.  During first week, they worked at Twin Lakes doing trail improvements and building park benches for a playground and Goodwin Lake trail. At High Bridge Trail the group built picnic tables that will be placed along the trail so that our park visitors can enjoy a picnic lunch while riding or walking the trail.  The last week of their stay they repaired a split rail fence and removed over 300 old brick pavers at the historical park, Sailor’s Creek Battlefield. 

Of course it was not always all work and no play.  They enjoyed field trips such as tubing down the James River, bowling, and visiting local tourist attractions.  They also enjoyed park activities such as nature programs, hiking, canoeing and the ritual of attempting to eat the Avalanche, a huge ice cream sundae available only at Twin Lakes’ snack bar.

As park staff said our goodbyes on Saturday, I kept thinking about the groups that came before them.  Some crew members return year after year and eventually become supervisors.  Our hopes and desires for these young men and women as they return to their everyday lives is to leave us with the knowledge of nature and the yearning to continue to support our parks through the YCC program or as a volunteer. 

Again, to the fifteen young men who became a member of our park family this summer we thank you for all your hard work and we hope to see you in the YCC program next year.
 

Days 1 and 2

On your way to Twin Lakes State Park a quick side trip will bring you to MacCallum More Museum and Gardens in nearby Chase City, VA. Here you will find five acres of gardens highlighted with eight imported fountains, friezes and sculptures, along with an extensive collection of Native American artifacts dating back from 9500 BC to 1600 AD.