Laurel Loop Trail — Attraction in Dumfries

Twice a year when driving to Florida, Prince William Forest Park is one of our stops to take a few mile walk. We have done different trails in the park but the Laurel Loop Trail is only 1.2 miles. We have also taken the Birch Bluff Trail which adds 1.8 miles and connects back up with Laurel Loop Trail. I’ve had a hard time finding the exact starting point. It’s marked with a little marker off the parking lot that is to the east of the visitor center building. The website for this trail says “Access the trail from the Pine Grove Picnic Area by parking near the picnic area's bathrooms. Walk behind the bathrooms and face the forest to see the trailhead.”

Make sure you take a picture of the trail map or you grab a trail map from the visitor center. Trail signage is good once you get to the trail head. Laurel Loop Trail isn’t really a loop as it starts and ends at different locations but both are close to the visitor center. While here also check out the .2 mile Piedmont Forest Trail which you will walk past in the parking lot at the...

The trails are very pleasant to walk. We appreciated the calm and the serenity of the park once you enter in the forest. We were lucky to spot a beaver in the river. It ws not afraid to swim toward us as he landed a few feet from our position. He acted as we were not there Proof enough park visitors are respectful of the park's wildlife. Walking alongside of the river was refreshing and the sound of the water was calming. We stopped at one of several creeks to relax and meditate. The staff of the park is welcoming, helpfull and knowledgeable. Interaction is very friendly. Thank you to the staff to keep this forest so accessible and well maintained. Thank you to Prince William county to make...

VEHICLE BREAK-IN’S happen here, in a National Park. 😔 The forest is absolutely beautiful and we had a wonderful time hiking, until we came back to the parking lot to find the passenger side window shattered on one family’s car and evidence of another car having been broken into. Luckily one of our vehicles was intact and we were able to get all the kids home safely. I expect this sort of thing to happen anywhere, but you hope in a National Park (where you pay to enter) there would be at least a little reassurance that park rangers are...