Do you take to trails for the journey or the destination? 

No matter your response, Greater Williamsburg has the right answer. These boots are made for walking, so let's get started. Here are five trails guaranteed to make you savor both the journey and the destination. 

 

1. Powhatan Creek Trail

Enjoy stunning views of nature hiking the Powhatan Creek Trail. You'll be treated to the sound of water streaming down the Powhatan Creek as you cross a 696-foot-long timber bridge. This two-mile trail to the Greensprings Interpretive Trail loops through beaver ponds, wetlands, and forests. You’ll walk and learn, strolling by interpretative signs about the environment, historic events of the early colonists and American Indians, and area wildlife.  

 

2. Waller Mill Park

Convenience and variety define Waller Mill Park, not far from downtown Williamsburg. It features a 360-acre lake with a 3.7-mile paved trail with lake views that snakes through tall trees as well as a 2.5-mile wooded trail. A short hike on a bike trail leads to Lookout Tower and the reward of panoramic views of the woods and the lake. 

 

3. The Historic Jamestown Bike Trail

Don't let the title fool you. The Historic Jamestowne Bike Trail is not just for the well wheeled. Get a dose of history with your hike. The first representative assembly in English America met in the church at Jamestown on July 30, 1619. Ponder that as you choose from a three-mile or five-mile loop on Island Drive that features 11 interpretive stops including a panoramic view of the James River, archaeological excavation sites, and the roosting nests of bald eagles.

 

4. Freedom Park

The aptly named Freedom Park in Williamsburg features an interpretative trail for children as well as a multi-use paved trail that is ADA accessible. There's plenty to explore, notably an 18th-century cemetery and a 17th-century building that archaeologists are studying to better understand the early colonial period from 1680-1730. As an added bonus, the Williamsburg Botanical Garden is part of the park. 

 

5. The Virginia Capital Trail

There are nine access points with parking to The Virginia Capital Trail. It covers 52 miles between the commonwealth's old capital in Williamsburg and the present one in Richmond. That might be a little too much in one hike. But you can enjoy a part of it starting in Williamsburg at the Governor's Mansion and following the Colonial Parkway to Jamestown Island, the site of the first permanent English settlement in the New World. 

 

Plan your visit today.