James River Park System, Richmond: Belle Isle 3/15/14

With the promise of nice weather on Saturday, and the need to drive to Richmond to return some ill fitting boots to REI, we decided to explore part of the James River Park System. We opted for Belle Isle since it was a hike along the river.


 No one told me I was taking my life in my own hands JUST TO GET TO THE ISLAND.

 

 

What is this craziness? I've never seen such a thing. It was the wobblyest bridge you can imagine--I mean, I've seen rope and board bridges built by kids that were more stable than this puppy. Holy cow.

 

The fact that these photos exist is a testament to how pretty the day was and how badly I wanted to hike. Seriously.

 

FINALLY!

 The river is amazing at this point. It's HUGE and filled with an incredible amount of rocks. The rapids are glorious and dangerous at the same time.

 

That thing, in the distance? 14 foot dam. Yikes.

 


This is why it's called the Fall Line, 4th graders.

 

We kept saying "Yeah, we could kayak that--holy crap, never mind, look at THAT! Yikes. But it looks FUN!" And then we even saw some brave souls out on the very fast, very cold river.

 

I call this picture "Braver Than Me"

 

This park is cool because it has a little something for everyone. The main path around the island is easy and I saw strollers and even a wheelchair.

 

But there are side paths that go practically straight up to climbing walls with built in footholds and to sheer cliffs with rappelling spots. These are some teenagers trying out the climbing wall.

There's also a steep path to a wooden-fenced trail across the bluff above a quarry, as well as a trail around the edge of the quarry itself.

 



The quarry, with the river behind it.

And we did them all.

It also combines science with history. Belle Isle is the site of a Monacan fishing camp from the 1600's, a notorious POW camp from the Civil War, and a late 1800's hydroelectric power plant. There are also a variety of mineral resources on the island. Signage gives the details of all of these, and I enjoyed reading about the various uses of the island as we explored it.

 

 

The day was lovely, the park was enjoyable, and we had a great time.