Pocahontas State Park is open year-round with camping options and a variety of trails. (Photo by Michael Simon)
Twenty miles from Richmond is Pocahontas State Park, the largest and most popular destination in the state’s park system.
In 2019, more than 1 million visitors took advantage of the park’s leisure, recreation, sports, arts programs and other activities. The 2019 Virginia State Parks Economic Impact Report, published by Virginia Tech, shows that the park generated $38 million in user fees.
The park is named for Chief Powhatan’s daughter Matoaka, more commonly known as Pocahontas. It was built by members of the Civilian Conservation Corps, part of a program developed by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1933 during the Great Depression. Over nine years, the CCC employed more than 3 million men who built more than 40,000 bridges, restored beaches and roads, and created 800 state parks across the country, including six in Virginia. The CCC Museum is one of several original buildings at Pocahontas State Park.
Most visitors to the park come to hike the more than 100 miles of marked trails. There are multiuse trails, as well as trails designated for hikers, mountain bikers and equestrians (bring your own horse). On a brisk sunny day in January, with COVID-19 restrictions in place, there were hikers and bikers dressed for the weather and enjoying many of the trails that are open year-round.
“The majority of our visitors, across state parks, when we surveyed them ... the No. 1 reason for visiting a state park is for hiking,” says Andrew Sporrer, Eastern Region public relations and marketing specialist for Virginia State Parks.
Brittany Speigner, a recent transplant to Virginia from Chicago, has visited Pocahontas State Park several times and finds it a comfortable place to exercise and explore. “Nature-wise, I look around, get some fresh air and get my joints moving,” she says.
Pocahontas has a bronze-level riding status designation from the International Mountain Biking Association. Jeff Saxman, a local resident and mountain bike enthusiast, touts “the variety of trails and the number of miles of trails” as major draws. He notes that the IMBA status makes the park a regional destination. Saxman is planning the 2021 RVA BikeFest for early October at Pocahontas State Park. (See rvabikefest.com for updates.)
If biking doesn’t float your boat, Pocahontas State Park has three lakes for boating, fishing or relaxing. Swift Creek Lake is the largest, at 225 acres. Beaver Lake is 24 acres, and Camp 7 Lake (whose name pays homage to the park’s CCC history) is, appropriately, 7 acres. Depending on the season and the weather, visitors can rent paddleboats, kayaks and canoes.
The park has largely recovered from damages caused by a storm in August 2020. That deluge overwhelmed the park with more than 9 inches of rain, and washed away the boat rental buildings, inundated the boat ramp field, breached the park’s two dams and damaged many of the trails. Within days, Friends of Pocahontas State Park, a nonprofit organization dedicated to maintaining the park, began restoration work.
With some park facilities closed for the winter, any remaining damage is difficult to see. What is evident is ongoing maintenance and construction. A team of workers was busy at the pool complex.
Ground was broken in December on an expansion of the Loop Forest parking lot off Courthouse Road. “It’s such a popular mountain biking destination that the mountain bike community members, and the Friends of Pocahontas [State Park] got together and raised a bunch of money to expand the parking lot,” Sporrer says.
A yurt at the park (Photo by Big Orange Frame)
Five new modern overnight facilities (four three-bedroom cabins and a six-bedroom lodge) are being added to the park’s camping inventory. There also are 132 campsites, including space for RVs and tents, six cabins and four yurts. Camping is available year-round, and a January visit found several campsites occupied and families enjoying the outdoor life.
“The camping is great,” Saxman says. “And the new cabins that are being built look pretty special; I’ve seen similar cabins at other state parks. These are really nice.”
The park also offers a nature center where visitors can see the snakes, turtles and reptiles that are native residents. There’s also a series of performances at the amphitheater that features acts ranging from the Richmond Symphony to rock cover bands.
Fall is prime time for camping and for several major high school cross-country running races that use park trails. Winter is excellent for birding, and spring is when camping and camp programs ramp up.
Pocahontas State Park is a local treasure filled with an exceptional diversity of recreational activities. There’s no entrance fee, but there are parking fees and pool fees. It’s best to call ahead (804-796-4255) to see what is open. The park is open from 7:30 a.m. to dusk, and COVID-19 restrictions require masks and social distancing.
