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.

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.

This is a fun state park to visit! There is a beautiful area by the water that is great for walking.read more

I'm staying in the lovely guest house in the scenic Riverside Belle Idle and couldn't be more…read morepleased. The view from the bay window is phenomenal, the space large and comfortable. We've had trails to wander, seen wildlife, and could even go crabbing, pots provided (both kinds, to catch and cook!). The park is serene and so beautiful with the estuary, river, beachy, and woodsy biomes to observe.

Grading on the curve of "it's in Maryland", this is a fantastic trail!…read more If this were west of the rockies though, it would be A-OK. There is one tiny section where you actually have to scramble. The rest of it is pretty much a moderate hike with some lite route-finding. We saw multiple snakes on the way in, which were the highlight. Definitely worth doing if you're in the area, but probably not worth a dedicated trip if you're in DC proper.

Not a reflection of the trail as a whole, but when I stopped back on this occasion I was dismayed…read more It was one thing during the peak of the COVID era when there were signs up saying this trail was to be undertaken in one direction only. People were throwing around all sorts of silly rules out of desperation in those days. I doubt any lives were saved by this; maybe the theory was to reduce human contact but realistically, we're talking about hiking in open air. Public health aside, I return to find even now there are still signs saying to take the trail one way. And having done it both ways many times, it's the wrong way! Absurd. Supposedly there's some justification, but I think that grown adults can figure out how to hike in two directions without running into each other. As an overall natural resource, it remains a gem (though it must be noted that the Billy Goat B trail downstream is currently closed due to damage). But whoever is making these stupid rules shouldn't be in the business of making rules at all. Thankfully some rebels were taking the trail in the northernly direction, as well they should.

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.

We had a very nice stay. The fossil beach area was pretty cool, the beach area on the other side…read moreand stairs to get there was a nice walk, and the historical aspect of the park as a whole is great. Worth a stay if in the area.

We arrived a day early and with the exception of the totally clueless young girl staffing the main…read moreentrance booth the staff at the visitors center were kind, knowledgeable and super efficient. They quickly assigned us pull through hook up site A06. Our site and fire pit were super clean as were the bathroom facilities which even had a nice laundry room. The view from the visitor center is breathtaking and the surrounding trails well manicured. Fossils Beach was a high point with an easy hiking level. Our camp host in A1 was very friendly and cleaned every site as it was vacated. I'd highly recommend this State Park gem while visiting VA.

What a great spot! Plenty to do. Wasn't busy at all. Great hiking trails and fishing piers. I took…read moremy 8 year old daughter fishing and we caught 13 fish. We just used nightcrawlers with bobbers, and we caught several little bluegill. Be careful though... several of the spots we fished from had branches in the water or overhead so we got snagged and snapped our lines 3-4 times.

Very friendly helpful staff…read more Reasonable boat rental rates 2 mile hike around the lake Beautiful beaver dam at far end of the park's lake

This is a really cute trail pretty easy to do with kids. You could hear the river which is very…read morecommon. Just be careful with the poison ivy.