Forest Hill Park — Attraction in Richmond

i grew up one block north of forest hill park and i'm going to tell you about a secret that i don't see anywhere on any map.....

explore all of the park and enjoy it, especially when there is a good snow, but if you want an adventure.....here goes

i grew up and then lived in richmond from 1959 to 1987 and with all of the changes i'm pretty sure this place i'm sending you to has not changed, it's in the woods

walk out of the park and hang a right (north) on 42nd street, walk down 42nd till you get to riverside drive, hang a right and cross to the north side of the road and walk to the top of the hill (100 feet mb) and you'll see a path going north, down the hill into the woods. all of the paths were made by native americans hundreds of years ago and the names they had for them have long been lost to history. when i roamed the woods and paths in my youth we didn't have names for the paths and later the names given were without historical origins. so the path i'm walking you down may have some name i don't know, but walk down the path another 75 to 100 feet or so and turn left when you see a huge boulder. walk up on it and you'll be at a place i found to be very spiritual and a great place for a picnic

get off of the rock and walk behind it and down the slope and look under the rock and you will see a fossil on the underside of the rock. the fossil covers the entire bottom of the rock. it's impressive

native americans held this rock and fossil in great esteem and william byrd who founded richmond had a large estate that encompassed these hills and this rock and he knew about the fossil

i read about this rock (a william byrd bio) long after my childhood and my experience with it being part of my life. my father was a boy scout master and i grew up going into the woods at a very young age in chatham and then in richmond and i still go into woods often

follow the paths to get across the railroad tracks and get down to the james river. on dry summer days you can walk all the way across the river on the rocks and there are certain spots in the middle of the river that are deep and you can jump off the rock into the james. i could go on & on about favorite places along the james, like the rapids further west, but this is a good...

There's not many challenging trails in the metro area, in my opinion. If you're looking for a good hour hike, try out this scenic circuit on the South Side. Park in the Reedy Creek Landing lot and take the bridge, and go across the street. Take the trail to the left up the hill. You will be going counterclockwise, which will be the best route as it is the most strenuous. You may need to improvise near the creek so as not to miss it. Don't cross the creek the first time, but take the stone stairs up and loop back where you just came from and return along the creek. When you arrive at the creek crossing, step the rocks and continue to the other side. The second half of the course is softer under foot with more tightly enclosed trails. It even winds itself up to the former farmers market, then back down into the woods , across the cement viaduct. Turn left back to the trail head. It's really is...

The park is a great place for picnics and family gatherings and walking the trails. Plus, it's across the street from the James River Park system with even more trails. But this review is based on my Saturday visit and that means Farmer's Market! Stuff being sold here goes way beyond food. The stipulation is that anything sold be made locally. Virginia anyway. In May, the market opens at 8am Saturdays. Until then it opens at 9am. Closing time is noon. It's worth going for the food trucks alone-crepes, Amish donuts, sandwiches, Thai food ans on and on. But if fresh veggies are what you're after, springtime isn't the best time to go since nothing much has yet been harvested. Use your common sense. Aside from that, it's all there just about all the time. Some of the prepared foodz vendors do wait until May to show but most are there now. And there's always lots of leashed friendly dogs to see. Bring...