Old Mill Park is an expansive flat meadow North East of Fredericksburg, VA and gently slopes off…read moredown to the Rappahannock River. There's place for football, frisbee, grilling and even some goals for soccer. The river is swimmable although the currents are very strong and can be filled with debris after storms. There is a memorial garden, parking area and lots of benches to relax on. On both sides of the wide Rappahannock River are houses or dwellings of a bygone either Civil War or even Colonial Era. This park was lots of fun to explore: hanging around the hiking path along the banks, log skips and throwing a football. The park is maintained by a Fredericksburg municipal park crew that oversees the grass, the shrubs and trees. Review: great outing

I think if you're a resident of Fredericksburg or Stafford this can be a nice place to bring your…read morefamily. However, as we are not we were charged $15 to park for "grass cutting". The bathrooms were not well maintained-no toilet paper and a gaping hole for people to peep into the women's restroom while they are using the restroom. So essentially they are having out of town visitors pay for what I'm not sure. Just park for free on the road, parking in the lot doesn't benefit you in the least. Views are prettier elsewhere on the river anyways.

My husband & I stumbled upon this park when looking for things to do in Fredericksburg. We will be…read morerelocating in the coming months & wanted to get to know the area! The park is pretty big. There are a ton of trails, picnic tables, playgrounds for the kiddos, & a stream that runs all the way through the park. It's a great spot to take family photos and to enjoy one with nature! We love taking our dogs & letting them play in the stream. We have only gone to the park during the fall/winter time, so I can only assume how busy it is in the summer. The trails are dog friendly & we always stumble upon a new trail when visiting (who wants to do the same trail over & over again? Not me!). If you bring the doggies, make sure to also pack a towel & some water. There is no dedicated water station for them. I can't recall if there are poop stations along the trails, so bring those too! I also recommend calling the park ahead of time to see if they are open. There are times after a heavy rainfall that the stream is too high to cross with a vehicle. In this case, you'll have to park on the outside of the park. Another big thing is you have to drive pass an apartment complex (kinda weird I know) in order to enter the park. Don't be alarmed though! You will definitely see the park entrance if you keep going. I give this park a 5 star because it never disappoints. There is always something to do & my fur babies love it. I will definitely be back & can't wait to check it out in the summer! If you are in the Fredericksburg area, go to Alum Spring Park & enjoy the beautiful nature views!

Great park and playground for kids. Beautiful streams and walking trails. Definite must visit in…read moreFredericksburg.

What a fantastic day! I made a new friend, learned about our new community and clocked 6 miles…read more Not bad for a Sunday usually spent on the couch watching football. We clocked more than 3 miles walking the Rappahannock towpath greeted dozens of fur babies and fellow walkers, enjoyed fresh air, saw lots of beautiful birds and each made a new friend.

I'm down here in Fredericksburg for some work training and my hotel is basically at the start of…read morethe trail that takes you down the Canal Path. I decided that after a long, crappy day that I'd take a walk and I started down the path. From where I started down the path to my turnaround point (30 minutes) it was almost all down hill. You know what that means, right? By the time I made it back to my hotel this guy KNEW he needed to lose about 70 pounds before he tried this again! It was actually quite a beautiful walk, but it kicked my butt.

Stafford County has a pretty extensive system of walking/biking trails and parks which house a lot…read moreof that area. there are road trails that connect them as well. they even connect to Fredericksburg over the Chatham Bridge. pretty good system. lots of room for bikes, including to share with walkers (if they pay attention). many of the trails are paved and have a centerline to guide inbound/outbound traffic. only complaint is that the joints on bridges are uneven and provide a serious jolt to cyclists. a little ramp would be nice. great to get out and ride for an hour or so.

This is lovely reservoir park along River Road (northwest of downtown Fredericksburg, but on the…read moresouth bank of the Rappahanock River). It's only a 7 minute drive from the Wegmans in the Carl D. Silver Parkway megaplex. As you enter on the left side, continue past the mini-parking lot along a gravel road. At the end, there's a larger parking lot (upper lot) and the smaller parking area (lower lot). On a Sunday morning in late September, it was calm and peaceful on the reservoir. On weekends from 12pm-5pm, the nature center is open for kids. This is a great place for boating (they have kayak and canoe rentals) and easy hiking. Not so ideal for running because the trails are narrow and full of tree branches (hazardous if you're not watching your step). A river path is a good option for walking (but not ideal for jogging). Across River Road at the "bottom of the hill", there's a public boat ramp that's worth a quick peek for a view of the river. At the far left, walk toward the open space and path along the river. After a short walk of 200 feet, you'll get a clear view of how rocky and shallow the river is - as well as bowls in the ground which may been cannon redouts (used during the Civil War). It's amazing to see both the Union and Confederate forces built cannon redoubts on both sides to prevent people from crossing the river at this shallow and relatively calm area. Enjoy!

Pros: Beautiful, calm lake, with chances to see wildlife and public restrooms are available…read more Cons: Driving down the dirt hill toward the water can be treacherous due to long, wide, deep trenches. Also, this lake allows remote controlled boats, so if someone is using it to speed around the water, we kayakers have to steer clear. Noisy and annoying. Finally, we used our own kayaks and PDFs and the cost was $10.

never enough parking in places like this, but that's my only complaint. this is a great natural…read morearea to hike & the access to the creek for canoeing or kayaking is excellent. it is a relatively long carry for the kayaks - the boardwalk is around 100 meters long, and the path from the parking area is around another 25. having a wheeled trolley to aid moving the boat helps. the area is wonderful - lots of wildlife and sights without compare. such a pleasant workout to paddle through the wilderness. it is a good idea to check times for the tides - the creek is tidally influenced and it can make a big difference in how leisurely your paddling is. excellent place - so glad that Stafford County & the Commonwealth established it.

It's not terribly far from the highway, but this is a very quiet stretch of waterside woods. Of the…read moretwo entrances, the one I took (a right turn on the road leading into the area, as opposed to staying straight) had a long dirt road before reaching the parking area. From there, a path led a few miles through tranquil forest before reaching a fairly anticlimactic ending. The view of the river was obscured by trees, and you couldn't really get down to the water on the muddy cliffs with signs telling you to stay clear. Still, if life is about the journey, it was a pleasant walk, and there were other trails. I suspect the area is interesting by canoe as well.

used the boat ramp to put our kayaks in to paddle with the Fxbg kayaking club on a Friday after…read morework. lovely weather that day - perfect for an evening outing. the river is beautiful along this stretch, and surprisingly wild since we paddled upstream past downtown Fredericksburg. great views of historical buildings - we went up past the Embry power plant and turned around at the bottom edge of Old Mill Park. saw a deer along the shore, surprisingly on the City side. spotted a bald eagle in one tree as we went up, and then saw it out on the river fishing as we headed back down. great exercise, pleasant surroundings, had a great time.

Located at the end of Sophia Street, the city dock is home to many different things over the years…read more The "City of Fredericksburg" Paddle Cruise boat docks here during the summer months. Directly across the river is Ferry Farms, where George Washington grew up. Today the dock is used as a recreation point for many locals. The dock is free to the general public and is enjoyed by many. Grubs ~

The Fredericksburg riverfront has a playground, picnic area, and a set of stairs and a ramp down to…read morethe water. It isn't the most impressive section of river you've ever seen and it was muddy with flooding when I visited, but they've made good use of their waterfront and it is a short walk to the historic part of town.

This is a nicely built park in downtown Fredericksburg, right on the Rappahannock River. There are…read morenice spaces all around, including paved and grassy areas. There's benches and seating for a picnic and it looks like they might have live events here in the warmer months.

Took my Granddaughter to this park today, she is in town visiting for Easter. As I was pulling up…read moreto the guard post it appeared as though the scout was waving me through whenI realized he was actually telling me to stop I did. He went above and beyond to make me feel stupid, laughed and said "of course there is a fee all day everyday and there are signs everywhere " the park was littered with trash so bad that my Granddaughter even commented how nasty the park was. Pretty bad when a 3 year old notices but not the staff. But even worse to project your anger on visitors.

This state park is the best!!! Has a huge space for parking…read moreand for eating lunch but there you can also rent boats. But something that's concerning is how dirty the water is. It's filled with dead fishes, seaweed, and LOTS of bugs. Overall, this trip is fun.