Boating permitted in lakes at Byrd, Forest Hill parks

The Forest Hill Yacht Club can defend its own turf. The first ever Regatta at Forest Hill Park Lake back on May 22 must have impressed someone important because non-motorized watercraft are permitted in three lakes in parks in the City of Richmond as of July 1.

The City of Richmond Department of Parks, Recreation and Community Facilities posted signs Thursday at Byrd Park’s Swan and Shield’s lakes north of the James River and at Forest Hill Park Lake on the southside in Westover Hills.

That’s good news for paddlers. Fishing is possible at all three lakes and they are all big enough to have space to play, but small enough to stay safe. A great family friendly choice by the forward-thinking staff led by director J.R. Pope.

Highlights of the lake boating rules:
1. Non-power boating only
2. No boats over 12 feet in length
4. Lake closed at sunset and open at sunrise daily (April 1 to Nov. 30)
5. No swimming is allowed
6. Persons under age 13 must wear a U.S. Coast Guard approved personal flotation device of proper size and fit when boating

A good quote from Mayor Dwight Jones from the press release, with my bolded highlight:

The use of non-powered watercraft provides park boaters the opportunity to view the beauty of city’s parks from a different perspective. Paddling and rowing are activities that require the engagement of multiple muscle groups and which helps tone muscles and reduce body weight.

That fits my perspective on why I bought a kayak in the first place — to see things on the river from a different perspective.

It’s also a big reason why I’d love to see people allowed into the Haxall Canal. You could become part of the scene and add to the atmosphere at a park or event.

At this time, there is no advancement on being permitted to paddle in the Haxall Canal at Brown’s Island or offering paddle boats for rent during events like Friday Cheers or the Richmond Folk Festival, but we’ll keep working on that one.

Richmond MORE and city open Forest Hill Park trails

After nearly six months and 800 man hours, one of the key elements to the revitalization of Richmond’s Forest Hill Park is now complete with the re-opening of the biking and hiking trail.

The trails were closed to allow the reworking of portions of the original trail to help prevent erosion and to make it easier to maintain, said Nathan Burrell, Trail Builder for the City of Richmond.

“That’s why we build them that way — to cut down on the maintenance and let us work on other projects and continue to expand,” he said.

The restored trail is intended for use by everyone, not just the mountain biking community, he said. The single-track trail winds it’s 3.2 miles around the perimeter of the wooded areas of Forest Hill Park and highlights many of the park’s existing features.

Several new techniques were put to use and the trail looks fantastic.

The restoration of Forest Hill Park’s lake was completed under budget and a month early and the park will soon put in place a footbridge over Reedy Creek at the above the lake in memory of the Bryan Harvey family. The lake has become a marsh after being filled by silt over many years of neglect.

“We’ve turned the corner on perception,” said J.R. Pope, the city’s director of Parks and Recreation Department. “People are taking ownership of the parks.”

The trail restoration was a combined effort from the City of Richmond Parks and Recreation Department, Richmond Mid-Atlantic Off Road Enthusiasts, and many other volunteer groups.

RA-MORE is an all volunteer organization formed in 2005, is dedicated to improving the state of mountain biking in the Greater Richmond Virginia area.

The Forest Hill Park trail project cost $15,000 to complete — $5,000 from the city and $10,000 in donations, mostly from RA-MORE.

One example of the cost is the new wooden multi-use bridge over a brook in the middle of the park.

“The bridge is incredible,” Pope said. The bridge has a curve in the middle as it crosses the ravine and a staircase — a fine example of carpentry.

Several overheard comments from riders as they approached bridge for the first time were nothing but complimentary.

Greg Rollins, president of RA-MORE, congratulated the 25 members that attended an opening day picnic before the group hit the trail to celebrate its completion.

“J.R. saw that the mountain bikers wanted to be a part of the parks,” Rollins said. “Guys that come out and put 8 hours in each Saturday.”

Burrell was the project leader and was especially proud that the trail was completed in time for the Urban Assault mountain bike race, which is part of Dominion Riverrock, scheduled for May 14-15.

“We were able to bring something together that only a small amount of people could use….to something that walkers, hikers, bikers, everyone could use,” he said. “And as a result, everybody is happy!”

Burrell added that the next trail building project is in the wooded hillsides Dogwood Dell, below The Carillon and across the road from Pumphouse Park. 

Pope agreed and said that effort would be the next logical step in establishing the Pumphouse as the new visitor’s center for the James River Park System.

Forest Hill Park in icey freeze

Frozen Forest Hill Park Lake

Something that has not been seen in years: A frozen Forest Hill Park lake.  I confirmed it during a short hike today and found many other watery spots encrusted in ice.

Ice on the quarry wall at Forest Hill Park

After resembling a marshland after years of disrepair, the lake at that beautiful South Richmond park was dredged this past summer and the work was completed just before November. It wrapped up a month earlier than expected –quite fortunate considering all the rain and snow we had in November and December.

The babbling Reedy Creek also had many beautiful frozen spots as it descended toward the lake. The huge boulders held many wide

Winter weather isn’t my favorite, but I can take the 5-10 days of freezing cold if we get something this beautiful to see with snow and ice now and then.

Click on these images for larger versions — the detail is quite good. My favorite is the ivy frozen into the ice — a young and colorful growth that will probably not suffer a bit come springtime.

Ivy trapped in frozen falls on the quarry wall at Forest Hill Park

Frozen falls on Reedy Creek at Forest Hill Park

Ice on Reedy Creek at Forest Hill Park

Ice on Reedy Creek at Forest Hill Park

Upgrades to Forest Hill Park bike trails

Fans of South Richmond’s Forest Hill Park should have even more to celebrate this spring when the weather turns warm. The city plans to celebrate the recently repaired lake at the park, and can now add planned improvements to the excellent and extensive mountain bike trails within the park. This was reported yesterday by Andy Thompson, outdoors writer for the Richmond Times-Dispatch and a consistent user of the FHP and James River Park System trails:

The lake project was just the highest-profile aspect of a parkwide conversion from diamond in the rough to gleaming gem. The next step will be no less dramatic than the lake work: an overhaul of the entire trail system that rings the park’s wooded slopes. And the news on that front is just as good as the recent lake news.

Nathan Burrell, trails manager for the city’s Department of Parks, Recreation and Community Facilities, said he expects to have the project completed by next spring. That means cutting over 3 miles of new trail and reclaiming the old, toting rocks, building crib walls, planting, transplanting, and much more – a huge undertaking.

“If we did it like we do now just with volunteer labor,” Burrell said, “You’re talking about another five years before the trails are actually redeveloped.”

Maybe my favorite part of the article was the mention of the work to combat erosion:

Burrell also took pains to explain that because of advances in trail-building methods, the future trails – and the work to create them – will lead to much less erosion than the current paths.

And fat tire lovers shouldn’t worry that FHP will lose luster. The park will still be a destination ride. In fact, if it turns out as Burrell envisions, it’ll be better than it is now. It will flow more, double back on itself less and generally offer a more rider-friendly experience.

The upgrades are long overdue, and in no fault to Richmond MORE or the City of Richmond.  I vaguely recall there being disputes over the care of the trails, and work was halted. Biking on the trails was not halted, however. Getting Burrell more involved and allowing the excellent people who volunteer for Richmond MORE back in to repair and rework those rocky hillside trails will improve the trails for everyone — not just the trail users.

The trails in the park have no doubt helped to enhance the perception of Westover Hills and Woodland Heights neighborhoods — increasing the real estate values. Just as important, more well-intentioned people in the park helps to raise the levels of safety and could help cut down on the likelihood that some moron graffiti “artist” would defile the place.

Thanks again go to J.R. Pope and the City of Richmond Department of Parks and Recreation!

Forest Hill Park lake repairs complete

Gazebo overlooking the newly restored lake at Forest Hill Park

Forest Hill Park is finally complete, and I couldn’t be happier. I took a walk there today to confirm it for myself. The park is a treat to visit and is a very diverse and under-appreciated gem. The natural beauty combined with wonderful walking, hiking and biking trails are a delight.

Reedy Creek remains a highlight of a trip to Forest Hill Park

The lake looks quite placid, and I assume that it is much deeper now, which would allow for stocking with fish. My favorite part of the park will likely remain the rocky bed of Reedy Creek as is curdles down toward the lake from Forest Hill Avenue, on its way to the James River at the Reedy Creek takeout and the James River Park System visitor’s center.  I’ll be glad to see the gray, silty water clear again at the takeout.

I wrote about the City of the Future helping Richmond parks earlier this week.  A big thank you again to City of Richmond parks director J.R. Pope and his staff.

Michael Martz of the Richmond Times-Dispatch had a report on the project:

The lake, more than a century old, is brimming with water again in the historic South Richmond park. Turtles have been sighted, and so have largemouth bass, even though Richmond hasn’t yet stocked the lake with fish for recreational anglers.

“It’s gorgeous down there,“ J.R. Pope, director of parks, recreation and community facilities, said during the final meeting on the project Tuesday.

A stream bed was uncovered along the marsh and new planted trees

More details on the work that needed to be done:

Richmond finished the $1.7 million project with about $145,000 left in the bank, though some work remains to be done… The contractors began in May to remove fish and other aquatic life so they could begin the process of dredging 34,000 cubic yards of muck that had built up over 30 years, turning a former quarry lake into a cattail-choked marsh. Walkways and water channels that had been buried for years suddenly reappeared.

NBC12’s Andrew Freiden did a nice story about halfway through the project, back in August:

Years of development along Reedy Creek provided the dirt, and rain storms washed it all into what used to be a lake, a gathering place that entertained families for years. But sediment slowly erased the lake from the map. It’s been slowly filling up since the 70s. 

The forebays are located near the dam

So what’s to stop the lake from filling up yet again? It’s not like dirt and trash will stop flowing along Reedy Creek into the park. The solution:  two forebays.

“A forebay is basically a hole. It’s a settlement hole where the silt will kind of build up. We will be able to clear it out with a Bobcat and haul it off and it will fill up again. So the process will be able to continue. But it will not affect the lake so that the citizens’ investment that they have in the lake will certainly be safeguarded,” said Richmond Parks deputy director Roslyn Johnson.

Reedy Creek can be very beautiful

There is some concern that Reedy Creek could silt over the lake again.  I work very closely to Reedy Creek and cross it in several places often. Even the smallest of rain showers causes a large amount of runoff to reach the creek. The buffer zones and concrete walls built to contain the creek around the German School Road area and down to Forest Hill Park is likely not helping, as it just speeds up the flow of water as it heads to the park. Time will tell.

Granite walkways are a classic feature in the park

For now, enjoy the scenery and take a walk around the lake.  To complete a circuit, you’ll have to walk on the sandy natural trail along Reedy Creek, crossing over a wooden footbridge toward the top of the hill near Forest Hill Avenue.  Or start there and walk down hill, the park is great to see from every angle and is safe for kids, except around the rockiest portions.

One of my favorite details of Forest Hill Park is the granite walkways and walls along the trails. In so many shaded areas, there is a deep green mossy hue covering many of the mortar lines and cracks along the walls. Very beautiful.