Exploring Virginia: Belle Isle State Park

Belle Isle State Park has it all. This Northern Neck park, on the shores of the Rappahannock River is home to forests, farmland, native meadows, tidal wetlands and plenty of spots for a swim. The different habitats make Belle Isle State Park a great place to explore and spot wildlife.

The park has facilities for day use, community events like their summer concert series as well as a campground for overnight visitors. Belle Isle State Park has a ton to do and so does the area. We took advantage of staying in the region for a couple of days by visiting the Chesapeake Bay as well.

Things to do at Belle Isle State Park:

Swimming in the Rappahannock River. We visited on an extremely hot day in June and were looking forward to being able to get in the water. The beach at the park was wonderful and almost empty when we visited. You can walk out quite far before it gets deep which is nice for kids or non swimmers. I found that it was perfect for relaxing on a float. Since the water is moving, it stays quite cool compared to some of the lakes further inland. 

Exploring the diverse habitats and spotting wildlife. We love a park on the water, especially on a hot day. Even better: a park with both great swimming and great hiking. After cooling off in the water, we hiked into the woods and immediately spotted more wildlife. First, we saw a huge king snake cross the trail in front of us. Then a couple deer scattered away as we continued down the trail. We saw a great blue heron from a lookout and only after looking through my pictures did I notice all the osprey hanging out on the water as well.

Belle Isle State Park has an extensive trail network where visitors can experience many different ecosystems including upland forests, wetlands, meadows and the shores of the river. 

Checking out the native meadow. Native plants are critical to protecting pollinators and saving the bees. Thanks to the wonderful ranger at the entrance, we were convinced we could not miss the new meadow at the park. After swimming at the beach and hiking in the forest, we made our way over to the new meadow. And it was buzzing! I loved learning about the different plants (I used my plant ID app on my phone for ones I did not know) and seeing how much life the native meadow supported.

Funding Virginia’s great outdoors

Protecting Virginia’s special places means more nature for Virginians to enjoy and more nature for plants and animals to thrive. Our state parks and other protected lands are critically important to Virginians and the environment. We need to better protect and better fund our great outdoors.

We are visiting every state park in Virginia so check back as our adventure continues!