Living Here
Area Attractions and Activities
Parks and Recreation Areas
Chickahominy Riverfront Park: Come enjoy this 140-acre park located on the Chickahominy River.
This park has something for every member of your family to enjoy. Facilities include two outdoor swimming pools, boat ramp, fishing pier, campsites, playgrounds, picnic shelters, a small store and access to the Virginia Capital Trail.
You can bring your own boat or rent one at the park to enjoy fishing or exploring the Chickahominy River and Gordon Creek.
Diascund Reservoir: This 1,110-acre water supply reservoir for the City of Newport News is situated along the New Kent and James City County line.
The reservoir provides a rather scenic area for anglers to try their luck on a variety of fish species. The principle species that attract anglers are largemouth bass, bluegill, chain pickerel, redear sunfish, black crappie, and white perch.
Carp, bowfin, and longnose gar provide alternative quarry. Gizzard shad and blueback herring are the main forage species.
Freedom Park: This park is the site of an 18th-century graveyard, the Revolutionary War Battle of Spencer’s Ordinary (1781), a 17th Century domicile that is revealing much archaeological research of the early colonial period (1680-1730) and the Williamsburg Botanical “Ellipse Garden.”
The Division continues to work diligently to preserve one of the nation's earliest Free Black Settlements in America, which include three historically accurate recreated cabins that are located in a meadow and are furnished with items authentic to the period (1803-1850).
This 689-acre forested retreat also features 1.8 miles of hiking trails and more than five miles of mountain bike trails winding through historical sites, forests and along creeks, open meadows, and parking.
Little Creek Reservoir Park: This reservoir park is a fisherman's paradise and has what your family needs for a fun day.
This scenic park overlooks a 996-acre reservoir. It features a concession facility, playground, soft mulch nature trail and two shelters with grills plus rental canoes, kayaks and Jon boats and a launch-your-own boat ramp. Electric trolling motors are the only motors permitted on the reservoir.
Mid County Park: Come to this 19-acre facility that has something for the whole family. For the adults, enjoy lighted recreation areas including softball and baseball fields, basketball and tennis courts, as well as sand volleyball courts.
Enjoy the paved 2/3 mile ADA accessible multi-use path that encircles the park. For the children, play at Kidsburg, a community-built playground that has become an area attraction.
Powhatan Creek Park: This one-acre facility is part of the Chesapeake Gateways Network and provides access to the James River at Jamestown Island, including scenic views of Historic Jamestowne.
Powhatan Creek is listed on the Natural Resources Inventory as the most biodiverse creek on the peninsula. Scenic views of tidal marshes and an abundance of wildlife highlight trips on this beautiful waterway.
Facility consists of a small non-motorized boat/canoe kayak launch with parking for 20 vehicles, and five observation/fishing piers.
Upper County Park: This 91-acre park has a 25m outdoor pool, playground, sand volleyball court, a 3-mile mountain bike trail, basketball court, multi-use field (soccer-size) and picnic shelters, one which seats approximately 150 people and two that seat approximately 50 people each.
Bicentennial Park: This passive park is located near the National Center of State Courts on Court Street.
College Landing Park: Located on South Henry Street, College Landing Park provides a lookout tower and a marsh walkway.
Highland Park Community Park: This 2-acre mini-park is located on North Henry Street in the Highland Park Community. This facility has playground equipment, a half-court basketball court and a picnic shelter with grills.
Kiwanis Municipal Park: This 27-acre park provides two lighted ball fields for the Recreation Department’s youth coach pitch, slow pitch and fast pitch softball programs.
Numerous pieces of playground equipment accent the area for the youngsters. A shelter with picnic tables makes this a nice facility for a group of approximately 75 people. The shelter is first-come, first-serve.
Also at this facility are seven lighted all-weather tennis courts that are available to the public on a first-come, first-served basis, except when leagues or lessons are scheduled.
Quaterpath Park: This 23-acre facility includes three lighted softball fields; a 25-meter, 6- lane, z-shaped outdoor swimming pool; three all-weather tennis courts; two sand volleyball courts; playground equipment; and a picnic shelter that will accommodate approximately 75 people.
Quarterpath Park is also the site of the Quarterpath Recreation Center, a 35,000 square foot facility that was renovated in 2002. The Recreation Center houses offices for the recreation staff, an 18,000 sq. ft. double gymnasium, a 1,700 sq. ft. dance/aerobics room, two classrooms and a 1,900 sq. ft. multipurpose room. Various instructional classes, athletic programs for youth and adults, sports camps, and special events are held throughout the year at this facility.
Redoubt Park: This park was dedicated on May 5, 2007 to celebrate the 145th Anniversary of the Battle of Williamsburg. When Virginia left the Union on April 17, 1861, Southern leaders recognized that the Federal army could approach their capital at Richmond by way of Williamsburg. Benjamin Stoddard Ewell, a West Point graduate and president of the College of William & Mary, conceived the construction of the Williamsburg defensive line.
During the summer of 1861, Confederate Army of the Peninsula commander General John Bankhead Magruder organized the construction of 14 redoubts between College and Queens creeks. The two redoubts, #1 and #2, preserved in Redoubt Park, were built by soldiers and slaves to guard Quarterpath Road and the right flank of the Williamsburg Line overlooking Tutters’ Mill Pond.
On May 5, 1862, the Williamsburg Line was the scene of a terrific battle with over 3800 Union and Confederate casualties. This inconclusive engagement left the Union in control of the Virginia Peninsula. These fortifications remain a stark tribute to those who served, defining America’s future.
Waller Mill Park: Williamsburg’s 2705-acre park situated around its reservoir, Waller Mill Park was opened to the public in July 1972. The 286-acre lake is open for fishing, boating, pedal boating, canoeing and kayaking with a tunnel connecting the upper and lower sections of the lake. Numerous picnic tables, four shelters, play fields, and playground equipment are nestled among the trees providing a scenic picnic area.
Hiking trails provide an interesting, picturesque walk with water and wooded views. A two-mile asphalt bike trail offers a scenic connection between Mooretown and Rochambeau Roads. A short hike from the park along the asphalt bike trail will bring you to the Lookout Tower, which offers a panoramic view of the water and woodlands.
Waller Mill Dog Park: Located at Waller Mill Park, Waller Mill Dog Park is approximately 1½ acres. It has two areas, one for small dogs, 20 lbs. or less, and an area for larger dogs over 20 lbs.
The park allows dog owners to let their dogs run freely within the fenced-in boundaries.
Prior registration is required in order to access the park and all owners/handlers must read and agree to abide by the dog park rules.
New Quarter Park: This 545 acres of mature forests, meadows, ravines and tidal wetlands is located close to historic Williamsburg.
The Park has 10 picnic shelters, 8 hiking trails with scenic overlooks, a mountain bike trail, routes for family biking, an 18-hole disc golf course, basketball and sand volleyball courts, a softball field, horseshoe pits, a large playground and access to the waterways for canoes, kayaks and fishing.
York River State Park: Eleven miles west of Williamsburg, York River State Park offers visitors an opportunity to experience the environment of a coastal estuary. This park is known for its rare and delicate environment, where freshwater and saltwater meet to create a habitat rich in marine and plant life.
The main focus of the park is to preserve a portion of York River frontage and its related marshes while providing an area for passive day-use recreation for visitors. York River State Park served as a role model for all of Virginia’s state parks in developing resource management plans. The park’s natural resources make it a significant place for environmental education at all levels.
More than 25 miles of hiking, biking and equestrian trails provide access to the park’s beautiful and diverse natural areas. There are six bicycle trails, some of which share use with equestrians and hikers. Two are exclusively mountain bike - a six mile single track mountain bike trail (Marl Ravine Trail), which is for advanced riders. Laurel Glen Trail is a 2-mile beginner/intermediate mountain bike trail. The half-mile Black Bear Run Trail connects the other two mountain bike trails.
Yorktown Waterfront: Located in historic Yorktown, this 2-acre beachfront provides opportunities for boating, swimming, and fishing. A fishing pier and 10-acre grass picnic area are also available.
Ford's Colony Realty, One Ford's Colony Drive, Williamsburg, VA 23188, Licensed in VA
