Explore the best rated trails in Lakeside, VA, whether you're looking for an easy walking trail or a bike trail like the Mary Washington Hospital Trail and Rappahannock River Heritage Trail . With more than 12 trails covering 116 miles you're bound to find a perfect trail for you. Click on any trail below to find trail descriptions, trail maps, photos, and reviews.
The trail is in great shape going East from FarmVille. Going West from FarmVille needs some attention. It appears that the area had a storm and a lot of trees fell. Heavy equipment used to remove the trees has left ruts in the trail. We rode for about five miles and decided that it wasn’t going to get better, turned around and went back to FarmVille.
Great ride. Wish the trail had more bathrooms along the trail
Parking is actually at 1779 East Pamplin Road. Portapotty here. Adjacent / between rr and business 460
Just finished 4 days biking on trails here!! Beautiful scenery, mostly quiet trails.. a few seniors enjoying Virginia!!Karen from Canada
The High Bridge trail is a great trail with a truly amazing experience as you traverse the bridge. There are three pull offs on the bridge that allow you to stop and view the wonderful landscape. The trail mileage is based on distance from the bridge both East and West, so for example if you start in Farmville, VA you'll be at West 5 miles. The new visitor center on the East side in the State Park is almost complete and was built to look just like the train station in Farmville. I would image it will house historical items on the rail and Civil War. Also, the trail provides a bonus with a Civil War-era fort (Fort Paradise) with plaques explaining the historical significance. I rode my Trek Cyclocross with 700x32 tires and was fine. Definitely looking to go back in the Fall.
I rode the Virginia Capital Trail from Richmond, VA to Jamestown, VA over to Williamsburg, VA to stay the night and back to Richmond. I did it on my Trek Dual Sport + (E-bike) on the lowest assistance (1% assist). First I was really impressed I got over 60 miles on the charge with the extra battery so I made it both ways with an overnight charge.
The trail was nice with some rolling hills, nothing unbearable to climb. However the heat was bad. Yesterday the heat index was 110 degrees. I did have plenty of water and gatorade with me. On Monday the heat index, I think, was around 105 degrees. Majority of the trail is not shaded! And if you are looking for a bench to take a break, well most of the benches (not that there is a lot to choose from) are in the sun. There are places to stop along the way to replenish drinks but there is also about a 15 mile run where there really isn't any convenient place to get food or water. The cool thing with this ride is the American history and history markers along the route. There are many plantations along the way that you can stop. I didn't read most of the markers or stop at any plantations. Once I got to Jamestown I did stop at the visitors center for food and more water before heading to Williamsburg. I found out that part of the Colonial Parkway was closed which sucked since I had to take a little detour through Colonial Williamsburg in order to get to my hotel. This added about 3 extra miles in the heat.
On the way back it was brutal in the heat. On top of the heat I had 9 mph SW winds which meant I was riding into the wind. 9 mph isn't much but on a bike you feel it. It only took me 4 hours to ride from Richmond to Jamestown but 6 hours back. I did enjoy the ride to Jamestown from Richmond better than coming back but I think that was also because of the wind. I really loved the downhill as I got closer to Richmond.
Overall I am really glad I did the trail but I don't need to do it again. There are many other trails I want to do; I am really glad I did this one at least once. I feel very accomplished. This was my longest ride I have done as an overnight trip.
We only had one day to ride so rode from the Herring Creek trailhead to Jamestown and then back. We found the trail to be what most have stated previously. Signage was great, the asphalt trail was in great shape and it was not very crowded (we rode on Thursday). As other have stated there are not many facilities so pack food and water. Yes, there were some hills on that section but nothing crazy in our opinion. We gave it an "A". Would have been A+ if there had been even some port-a-johns here and there.
As stated in the last review, you cannot enter any circumstances ride the Amtrak train back to Richmond from Williamsburg with E bikes! While indeed, my wife and I managed to do that we will clearly be the last people to ever be allowed to do so. To say that it was a nightmare is a huge understatement. We expect to be inducted into the Virginia railroad museum Hall of Fame in the future as the only couple to ever ride the Virginia Trail and return with E bikes on a train. Of this, we are very proud and glad to be trendsetter such as those that sat down at the sit in the 60s in the 70s for equal rights.
We rode from Richmond to Williamsburg on our bikes on April 15. The first 30 or so miles to Charles city were some of the smoothest surfaces I’ve ever seen! We stated a wonderful bed-and-breakfast called the grace field inn bed-and-breakfast. Our host fed us dinner as well as the traditional breakfast both of which were excellent. Larry and Patricia were both thoroughly enjoyable and it was fascinating to talk with Larry about his extensive knowledge of colonial architecture and Williamburg itself. There was a highlight of our trip the next day we rode the slightly bumpier but still wonderful and possibly prettier ride into Jamestown where the trail ends. From there it’s a bit of a navigation Chore to find your way to Williamsburg without getting on a highway for much of the route. We managed to only have to ride one and a half miles of Highway riding without a bike trail. Important note!! Under no circumstances no matter what you read no matter what Amtrak tells you no matter if you even call customer service and talk to them ahead of time, can you possibly will you ever be able to take your E bike on the Amtrak train back to Richmond.
As others have said - this trail is very bumpy. Much of the trail still has railroad ties going across it. I did on a touring bike and even deflated the tires partway into the trail. I still called it after 8 miles. Just not much fun. Hope they will improve it a bit sometime because I lived the countryside and overhanging tree branches etc. Really beautiful. Good walking trail or mountain bikes.
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