This past weekend, I went to one of my favorite local parks in Vegas, and it prompted me to think…read moreof my favorite urban parks across the United States. Belle Isle was the first place that came to mind! I lived in RVA (Manchester) for a year from 2007-2008, and Belle Isle became a second home for me during that time. As an avid adventurer, I highly recommend Belle Isle for the following reasons (based on my pre-pandemic/circa 2008 experiences): 1.) Egalitarianism: It's a great place to mix and mingle with people from all walks of life. 2.) It's a great choose your own adventure type of place where you could spend an entire day doing a mix of the following activities: kayaking, hiking, biking, swimming, reading, sunbathing, whiling away time on the rocks, cloud gazing, having a picnic, doing landscape photography/photoshoots, etc. 3.) The James River! It's the only Class III-IV white water rapids in the U.S. running through the heart of a city center. 4.) Wildlife (especially the aquatic birds)! 5.) Proximity to the rich culture, food, and history in Downtown Richmond that you can explore before or after your Belle Isle adventure.

Always a great place to get out into nature. One of my favorite places to hike with great views of…read morethe river or the woods.

This cute park is home to baseball games, soccer matches and skaters alike!! Pole Green park has…read moresomething for everyone. Pole green has a little play area for kids, as well as a fenced in skate park which is pretty cool. The park is located directly behind the school. To the naked eye it kinda feels like your trespassing because the park is THAT close to the school.

We stopped in for a visit to the dog park! The park is a little bit further down, but near PGES…read more There are two fenced areas for the small dogs and large dogs to play and socialize. The parking is easy. The only restroom available is a porta potty and only one from what I saw. There's a track section near the dog park for those who want to exercise as well as a little gazebo type of area for gatherings. The dog park offers little obstacle courses, potty stations with potty bags, and benches for owners to sit on while in the gate. All in all my dog enjoyed her time playing and socializing with other pooches! We shall return.

The park itself is nice and clean. So many things for little ones and older kids to do. The only…read morecomplaint was the bathrooms near the splash pads were atrocious, missing stall handles, reeked of urine. Just filthy! waste on the floor, used pads falling out the trash bins all over the floor. So unfortunate the public is trashing this beautiful park! It gets very crowded in the warmer months especially once the splash pads open up. I went on a Monday afternoon and they were packed.. people are not paying attention to their kids, some older kids are pushing the little ones and a lot of youth groups without the proper amount of chaperones.

Stunning new park that features so many amenities! Including a huge playground, splash area and a…read morebmx/skate park. There is also a nice 1 mile loop trail that courses around the park. The trail is completely paved and has nice views of nature. It is partially shaded and quite open making it an awesome spot for a solo stroll or a walking group.

I had an incredible time at this charming park. As it is getting warmer, I am looking for new to me…read morespots to go on walks after work. Three Lakes Park was the perfect evening refresh. We arrived around 5:30pm and spent until about 7pm exploring all the walking paths. There is something here for everyone. There is a huge playground for little ones, there are paths for walkers/runners/dog walkers, and there were even a bunch of people fishing in the lakes. I love how child-friendly this park is. It felt like most of the bridges, benches, and other fun structures were made by girl or boy scouts. There is a huge parking lot so it's easy to drive to this spot. They also have very clean restrooms. We didn't go in to the nature center, but that was pretty too. I liked that this park had a lot to explore. The water was low enough at one section for us to go to a little island in the middle of one lake. While not all the trees have their leaves yet, I image this is even prettier when everything is in bloom. It was a very serene and lovely place to explore.

Three Lakes is a gem of a park not far from Richmond proper. I love walking here when I happen to…read morebe visiting a business or estate sale nearby and it has always been exceedingly pleasant. This place has plenty of parking, lots of playground equipment, and (as the name suggests) three small lakes to walk around. It's worth noting that the main lake (closes to the park entrance) is where fishing is permitted and has the newest/nicest path as well. The middle lake is enjoyable though is a bit rougher. The far lake was damaged in storms in the past so some of it is pretty rough but still enjoyable to explore. I make sure to hit all three lakes every visit, though if you want a nice clean experience, stick to the main lake. The nature center is nice but fair warning: it's pretty small and won't take more than 10-15 minutes to enjoy in its entirety. Still, the staff member there tends to be nice and there are a few small animals in the little displays there. If you want a fun place to walk (especially if you have kids who like playground equipment), this is a great spot to do it. Overall: 5.0 stars ---- Pros: - Beautiful walking spot. - Pleasant staff. - Lots of free parking. - Fun (if small) nature center. - Plenty of playground equipment for kids. Cons: - It would be great if they fully re-built the third lake, though I suppose the rugged nature of it is part of the charm.

First time at this park and it's beautiful! Even though the park was pretty crowded, I never felt…read morelike there were too many people. Plenty of public spaces for picnics, etc. Henrico parks & rec were setting up for an earth day celebration so it seems like a great place to get together and celebrate. The park is super clean and plenty of parking.

Beautiful park!! Went for a run here with my coworker and we loved the views! I felt safe and the…read morepark was so well maintained. Plenty of parking if I am in this area again I will Be back for a morning run!

Sk8r dudes!! If you are a skater or roller blades, check out this small, neighborhood park in…read moreAshland. There's some cool ramps and a big playground for the tots!! We came here and had lunch on on of the few picnic tables in the park. They were very dirty and I went thru a whole pack of wipes to clean off the table. Ugh. Limited parking for vehicles, this park caters to locals within walking distance. We noticed a few sketchy characters on the park benches so keep your eyes on your little ones. That being said, there were also some charming little nooks like the bird bath garden, the neighborhood pantry stand, and the entry water fountain. Good for Ashland for providing the community with this cute little park! Skate on dude!

This is a small park in Ashland, VA. We chose it for a picnic as part of our celebration of…read moreMothers Day. It is small, like a community afterthought. I suspect that in the past there were maybe three houses on this plot. But it packs a lot in the small space. A small skater park looked well designed -- beginner stuff but the young folks using it seemed to enjoy it. Lots of newer playground equipment. Well-cut grassy areas with three or four tables for picnics, and recent;ly emptied trash cans. Good parking for its size, including a handicapped space. A good place for a family outing, right off the main drag.

Let me tell you about the awesome individuals at Chester Skateland! There's Richard, who does the…read moretraining. He is absolutely the best! He is welcoming, patient and supportive to the children and the parents/guardians of the children. He talks with them about school and things they did during the week! He has been there for many years, and he continues to enjoy what he does! AND There is Joyce! She is always pleasant, friendly and welcoming! She greets you with a smile and she is extremely knowledgeable! This is true customer service Hats off to this amazing team!

Employee at the entrance, standing outside of the ticket window greeted myself and family, "What's…read moreup. What are you here for"? We told her we wanted to skate. Her greeting felt very uninviting and seemed confrontational. We immediately left because the vibe was off. I don't want to spend my money in places where I don't feel welcome

Not safety conscious on their ramps. Needs professional work not from volunteers. A licensed…read morecontractor is necessary to bring it up to par. Please be careful when the kids are skating there. Pads and helmet weren't required here. They don't enforce it. Saw a lot of the kiddies getting hurt. Small space and not enough room. Only for kids under 10 years old in our opinion. Most of the workers are volunteers and not skaters.

Mekos is a really cool skate and surf shop that also has a skate park built into the back. This was…read moresuch a cool discovery for me to make, that I can only imagine how cool it must be to discover if you actually skateboard. As soon as you walk in, you are greeted by one of their friendly staff members. I asked a bunch of questions about the skate park and they were very helpful. The storefront side of that serves as the front of the store is well executed and organized. There's plexiglass in the back separating the park from the store. For those interested, their session times are as follows: 10am-12pm $3.50. 12pm-3pm $7.00. 3pm-6pm $7.00. And 6pm-9pm $7.00. No half sessions and girls "sk8" free. They also offer lessons on Mondays and Tuesdays from 4pm-8:30pm and they cost $20/hour. Furthermore, they have VIP Memberships available Monthly: $55, Quarterly: $140, and Yearly: $500. A VIP Membership offers unlimited skating and in-store discounts. A very cool place and concept overall.

I recently visited Forest hill park and was impressed with how beautiful it is. This park has a few…read moredifferent trails to try, but for this visit, I was on the Buttermilk Trail. The Buttermilk Trail is 6 miles long, though I didn't complete the full distance this time. The trail is clean, well-maintained, and popular enough that I consistently passed other hikers and felt safe. The scenery is beautiful, featuring great views of creeks and lakes. There is so much to discover there that I will definitely return to finish this trail and explore some of the others.

This park has amazing trails, gardens, and an amazing playground for kids. It is ADA accessible…read more just know that the playground is next to the Pickleball court.