On July 14th, 2012Virginia State Park!
With that being said, there are some changes taking place and we want you to come visit so we can show you around…plus we want to showoff our new trails!
Caledon was donated to the state by the Smoot family in 1974 to serve as a state park.
We're opening over 6.5 miles of hiking and biking trails, just for you. The park has so much potential for trails winding through the wooded mature trees, towards the Potomac River, far from the hustle and bustle of city life…ahhhh…we had to take advantage of ourselves. For the nature lovers out there, don't be overly concerned. Park rangers have been studying our sensitivenatural areas for years, there are only certain areas thatwe're offering verylimited interaction. Hey, no one cares more about our eagles than we do!So rest assure, we'll protect them just like wealways have.
The Bald Eagle was removed from the endangered species list five years ago, thanks to many of our parks like Caledon who protect them.
Now, for the weekend warriors out there, we blazed these rock dust trails leading out to a few of our favorite overlooks of the river. Boyd's Hole Trail is a favorite, before it was forhikers only, now bikers are allowed too. Then there's Jones Pond Loop, Hampstead Road Trail and thePotomac Overlook to name a few.Before we became a state park, we didn't allow access to certain areas of the park and certainly didn't allow biking.Now we're excited to lift our old restrictions and offer all kinds recreationalthings to do!Not only can you bike and hike, but you can run along these trails too.
Boyd's Hole Trail is 2.06 miles long and takes youtoBoyd's Hole, an area with picnic tables and a pier overlooking the Potomac River.
On July 14th we'll be having our official ribbon cutting ceremony starting at 9 a.m. where we'll explain more and our Rangerscananswer any questions youmay have.
Park Manager, Nina Cox, has beenat Caledonfor 22 years and knows more about the trees than the eagles, so nothing gets by her!“I’m just so excited to be here for this significant change. I’m pleased to see the eagle population recover to healthy levels, and I’m especially pleased to know that so many more people will now have the opportunity to enjoy the park in new ways.”
Besides the new trails, we'll be holding activities through the day, including kayak trips, hayrides, star gazing through telescopesand a bunch of other fun stuff! We also added these two awesomescenic overlooks of the river just off the trail, andwe're workin' on one more. Eventually, we'll add another picnic area near Boyd's Hole, and MAYBE, just maybe, hike-in campsites and a canoe/kayak landings with campsites! Cool, huh? Can you imagine kayaking your way down the Potomac River and stopping to setup camp at Caledon?
THIS could be you!
Speaking of the kayaking…make sure you stick around till the sunset kayaking trip.Sunset means6:30 p.m. and we supply the kayaks.All we ask is you contact us to let us know you want to come because it's soawesome you might not get a spot.That's right, we're awesome, and space is limited. The cost is $19 for a solo and $25 for a tandem.
Call here for a Google map with directions.