Pocahontas State Park (Virginia)
Episode Guest
Nate Clark – Park Manager
Pocahontas State Park (Virginia)
Park Stats
Location: Chesterfield, Virginia
Date park was established: 1946
Park size: 7,919 acres
Fun Facts:
-
- Virginia’s largest state park
- Home to 3 lakes – Swift Creek Lake (225 acres), Beaver Lake (24 acres), and Camp 7 lake (7 acres).
- 90 miles trails including 6 miles of hiking trails, 44 miles of mountain biking trails, 13 miles of bridle trails
- 446 plant species, 26 mammals, 109 birds, 28 reptiles, 23 amphibians, 73 dragonfly and damselfly species, 150 butterflies & moths, 411 beetle species and 30 fish!
Speed Round
What is your earliest park memory?
For me, probably my parents taking me to Shenandoah National Park when I was a kid and doing picnics and hiking down to South River Falls. That’s probably my earliest memory.
What made you love the parks?
Just getting out there as a kid. My parents exposed me to a lot. My sister and I. Just getting out there and I just always loved it.
What is your favorite thing about Pocahontas State Park?
The variety of recreational opportunities like we talked about. The variety of visitors that we see. And the trails. I think I mentioned I’m a runner. I’m a trail runner. So I run these trails all the time when I’m not working.
What is your favorite thing to do at Pocahontas State Park?
The trails. I’m here 40 hours a week at least. So when I’m off, it’s nice to get out and get away from people and get out in the trails and just kind of enjoy myself.
What park have you yet to visit but is on your bucket list and why?
I would say Yosemite. I’ve been to Yellowstone several times. Yosemite is kind of one of the iconic parks, Yosemite Valley and Half Dome. I think Yosemite would be my top of my list right now.
What are three must-haves you pack for a park visit?
Well, as a park ranger who has had to go out and find people in the past, I will say some kind of a navigational tool. Rain jacket and some layers for the weather. Even in the summertime when there’s nothing forecast, a storm could always roll through. And good footwear. Finally, food and water.
What is your favorite campfire activity?
I would say just hanging out with friends or family, talking, and just being in front of a campfire.
Tent, camper, or cabin?
If it’s just me, tent. If it’s the family and my wife, probably a cabin.
Hiking with or without trekking poles?
I generally go without.
And what is your favorite trail snack?
For snack, trail mix. But my favorite trail lunch is a turkey and cheese bagel. It just hits perfect.
What is the best animal sighting that you’ve had?
Well, I’ve seen a lot of really cool animals out west: grizzlies, moose, and bison. I had a really cool one though, just about two weeks ago. I saw a Bobcat on the Appalachian trail up in Shenandoah National Park. Just a little south of the Big Meadows.
It’s, I think, the second Bobcat I’ve ever seen, but it was cool. Came around turn and he was standing right in the middle of the trail, about 20 yards away.
What is your favorite sound in the parks?
Silence.
What is the greatest gift the parks give to us?
The protection. The protection and the conservation and the opportunities to get out here and use these resources and love these resources.
Show Notes & Links
Transcript
MISSY_00:
I’m taking you to one of my favorite parks, a spot in Virginia where it’s easy to forget that you are right outside of the state capital and is host to nearly every outdoor recreation activity you could think of. Join me as we explore Pocahontas State Park. I’m your host, Missy Renz, and this is the Parks Podcast. Today, we are lucky to have Nate Clark, who is the park manager at Pocahontas State Park in Virginia. Nate, welcome to the Parks Podcast.
NATE_01:
I appreciate you having me on. I appreciate the time today.
MISSY_00:
We start each episode with park stats. Let’s run through them for Pocahontas State Park. The park is located in Chesterfield, Virginia, which is just south of Richmond. It was established in 1946 after being part of the Virginia Conservation Commission for 12 years. The park is 7,000 919 acres and some fun facts about pocahontas state park it’s virginia’s largest state park it’s home to three lakes swift creek lake which is 225 acres beaver lake is 24 acres and camp seven lake is seven acres there are 90 miles of trails including six miles of hiking trails and 44 miles of mountain biking trails and 13 miles of bridal trails it is a very active park for a recreation, but also for the plants and animals that live there, including 446 plant species, 26 mammals, 109 birds, 28 reptiles, 23 amphibians, 150 butterflies, and so many more animals. Nate, I love this park. I feel like I’m on home turf talking to you because it’s the one I go to all the time.
NATE_01:
Awesome. Awesome. Yeah, it’s a cool park. It’s a really neat place here in the said we’re only 30 minutes south of Richmond and the state capital in a very urban area so to have almost 8,000 acres of protected land here is just a it’s a real gem for this area truly truly really cool park here a lot of activities
MISSY_00:
it is one of those where you’re driving down the interstate and you have 95 and the hustle and the bustle and all of a sudden there’s this peacefulness that you can escape to it’s a gift to the community
NATE_01:
yeah if you pull up a map on your phone of the Chesterfield area, there’s a big green blob in the middle of the county, and that’s us. Chesterfield is definitely an urban county. It’s lots of development, lots of stuff going on, so it’s nice to have this protected area right here.
MISSY_00:
Absolutely. And so I talked about how it was created by the Conservation Commission as a recreation area, and then it later became a Virginia state park. Why is this area so important to preserve for the state parks?
NATE_01:
Well, like we just talked about, in this area having protected public land is kind of rare. We’re the only state park right here in the metro area. There’s a couple other ones, Farmville, Cumberland, Powhatan, and over towards York River and Williamsburg in that area. But we are the only state park right here in the Richmond area. So to be able to protect and conserve this land and to be able to offer these recreational opportunities like we do, it’s just really great opportunities right here.
MISSY_00:
Okay, so we’ve talked to several national parks, particularly in the area. And they talk a lot about the Civilian Conservation Corps. And so I knew it with the national parks, but I didn’t realize that they played such a significant role in the creation of some of the state parks. I read a lot about it, but you all actually have a museum dedicated to the role the CCC played in the park.
NATE_01:
We do. It’s the only Civilian Conservation Corps museum in Virginia State Parks. It’s right down by our visitor center and it’s open on weekends We have a lot of times our volunteers are staffing the building for us. But it’s a really neat facility and the CCC is such a cool history like you talked about. I mean, the impact and the footprint that they left across the country and in particular here in Virginia is pretty amazing. We have seven original CCC state parks in Virginia, which Pocahontas is not one because like you said, we became a park in the 40s a little bit after all the other parks opened. But see if I can get this right because you put me on the spot. The seven original ones are First Landing in Virginia Beach and Douthit in Bath County, Allegheny County. Westmoreland is up in the northern neck. There’s Fairystone in Patrick County, Hungry Mother in Smith County, where I worked about five years there before I came up here, and Stanton River in Halifax County is, I believe that’s seven. Those are the original state parks that we actually, as an agency, opened all seven of those on the same day, June 1936. I hope I have that right. But like you said, we’ve got some CCC history here at Pocahontas also. We’ve got some original facilities still, a lot of things, stonework, culverts on the road, stuff like that that’s original. So it’s a really cool legacy when you look back. The fact that we’re still using some of these buildings and some of the infrastructure that was built back in the 30s is a real testament to the quality and the workmanship that they did. And we have a lot of these CCC cabins around the state and some of those original parks that I just mentioned are still being used as rental cabins. It’s a really cool legacy and pretty incredible what they did for us.
MISSY_00:
Would they have come in and really built the entire park, especially in those seven that you mentioned? Or was their purpose infrastructure or what was their mission there?
NATE_01:
Well, I think it was a little bit of everything. And then obviously all those parks have developed and grown quite a bit since. But I’ll talk a little bit about Hungry Mother because I worked there for five years. So that is in Smith County in Southwest Virginia and one of the original parks, like we said. So there are original cabins. There are five log civilian conservation cabins, civilian conservation corps cabins, plus the lodge at Hunger Mother are still in use. So they’re public rental cabins. Picnic shelters there were built by the CCC. The beach area was built by the CCC. The dam, Hunger Mother Lake, is a dammed impoundment, as is Swift Creek Lake here, or the is also CCC construction. So there’s a lot of, a little bit of everything. I mean, trails, you name it, they build infrastructure, they build cabins. I mean, they built their own camps, of course, the barracks and buildings and workshops while they’re here. I’m sure it was quite a sight to see when they’re in action building everything.
MISSY_00:
I bet. And I always find the structures to be really beautiful too. I feel like maybe now we put up stuff that’s more utilitarian and to see the stonework that goes into those original structures is really beautiful. Oh,
NATE_01:
absolutely. It’s some of the stonework that you see around the state, particularly some of the fireplaces and shelters and some of the culverts and drainage areas off the roads and the infrastructure. Hungry Mother had several water fountains that they built, stone water fountains that the CCC. So it’s really cool because the construction techniques, like you said, now are very, very different. So to think of the quality and the craftsmanship that they did and the construction tools are very, very different. different now, so they didn’t have access to some of the things that we have now. So it’s pretty amazing what they left for us.
MISSY_00:
Yeah, and it’s really great that you guys actually have a museum so that people can go and learn a lot more about what they did and feel a little more connected to the work as they’re walking through the park. I tend to use Pocahontas for recreation, but I loved seeing as you go through the park, it’s very obvious that the preservation is very important to you in the park. And I noticed there’s a lot of the beehive. I think they’re the beehive, the wooden structures that are set up. But there’s also a lot of land that’s protected that’s not meant for us to use. Can you talk a little bit about the preservation and restoration projects that you guys have at Pocahontas?
NATE_01:
Yeah, I mean, resource management for us is part of our mission. We’re the Department of Conservation and Recreation. So on the recreation side, you touched on that a little bit, and I’m sure we’ll talk more about it. The conservation side is the resource management. So it could be natural resources. It could be physical resources like the CCC buildings. It could be cultural resources like we have some artifacts and some things in our museum that would fit under that. So we try to, it’s always a balance with Virginia State Parks because conservation and recreation It’s just a balance between the two. But the biggest, honestly, the biggest conservation aspect that we have is just protecting these lands. There is an 8,000 acre park and I’m making up a stat here. I don’t know if this is accurate or not, but the developed area is probably a 10, maybe a quarter. So you think about all that undeveloped land here in the park still, that’s a great habitat for all the species that you talked about. We’ve got all the typical mammals and plants and birds and everything else that you’ll see in Virginia. Deer, very good white-tailed deer population. We have a couple bear sightings every year, which is actually really cool. I have not seen a bear here in Pocahontas, but two, yeah, one, two, maybe three a year, we get some sightings. And if you think about it, it’s again, it’s just perfect habitat. It’s 8,000 acres of protected area through here. So statewide, and every park is a little different in Virginia, every state park with some of the missions, some of the kind of their resource goals their management goals but the biggest thing is that we’re just protecting all this land across the commonwealth that all that will never be developed and always remain in the state that it is
MISSY_00:
yeah it’s so great and i i mean it’s it’s nice to see it when you’re there and because it’s so big you really do feel that impact of being in preserved spaces and natural spaces but i mentioned i come for the recreation so there’s a lot to do i almost feel like when I come there, it’s like a playground for children of all ages at Pocahontas State Park.
NATE_01:
Definitely is.
MISSY_00:
And so recreation is a big piece of the world that you play in. What can people do when they come to visit the park?
NATE_01:
Everything.
MISSY_00:
That’s so true. That’s very true.
NATE_01:
Well, I guess we’ll kind of break it down into overnight use or day use on very simple terms. So for overnight, we’ve got a campground. We’ve got a rather large campground that has sites that will accommodate most sizes of RVs and motor as well as all the way down to your typical tent, which is usually my still preferred method. Also in the campground, we have yurts and camping cabins. So the yurts are basically a wood-framed, canvas-covered permanent tent, I guess, in very basic terms. But there’s furniture inside, so there’s a bed, there’s a sofa, there’s a table and chairs. So our camping cabins are relatively rustic buildings, but they’ve got a couple sets of bunk beds and table and chairs, and they do have electricity in them, too. So the camping cabins and yurts are really great for first-time campers, someone who may not have the tent in a sleeping bag and all the stuff that you need to go camping, but they want to come try it out. So it’s a great opportunity to get in and camp around and experience an overnight stay here. We also have cabins, kind of full, I mean, nice cabins. Think like beach house cabins. So we’ve got five three-bedroom cabins and one six-bedroom lodge. So a lot of parks around the state have these cabins. Ours are relatively new. We only opened them in 21, I believe. So they are actually the newest cabins in state parks. So overnight options for coming in during the day. One of the big draws here, well, in the summertime, our pool complex, the aquatic complex is really one of the biggest draws. We’ve got a rather large water park, four individual bodies of water, a wet deck, an activity structure. So think like a playground in the middle of the pool with water jets and stuff shooting all over the place and a couple of water slides also. So that’s really, really popular in summertime, especially on weekends. But the other big kind of recreational opportunity here is trail use. We have close to 100 miles of trail total. We have some mountain biking only trails. We have hiking only trails. We have equestrian accessible trails. And we have a pretty extensive network of forest roads, fire roads, kind of what we call them. But they are basically a gravel double track trail running through the woods. So a Great, great opportunities for trail use. Our mountain bike trails are, I would say, world-class. We’ve been recognized by the International Mountain Bike Association for our trails. We get a lot of folks who come in regionally from different states to come and ride our trails. So really, really popular with trail use. And then the lakes, lots of boating opportunities, canoe, kayak, paddle boats, stand-up paddle boards. We got playgrounds. You can go fishing. It’s just a little bit of everything. It’s kind of endless opportunities there.
MISSY_00:
So if you’re new to this, I like this park because you can kind of try things. There’s rental programs, correct? Or do you have to bring all your equipment? Yeah, that’s what I thought. And then, but are there, like if I’m brand new and I’m intimidated by the hiking or whatnot, what kind of programs do you all offer or to kind of help educate people about the park and what there is to do?
NATE_01:
Sure. Sure. Yeah. Well, we do. We have a really extensive educational program, interpretive programs. So out of our visitor center, which is in that same area as the CCC Museum that we talked about, we run all of our nature programs from that, from the visitor center. So our chief ranger, Rebecca Whalen, and her staff just do an awesome job. So kids of all ages ages, adults of all ages. There’s programs that are geared towards the homeschoolers and younger age and then all the way up to really you name it. So they do a great job with the programs down there and think like Junior Ranger programs and Fishing 101. They’ve done some Camping 101 programs and just a little bit of everything. So that’s a great opportunity if you, I mean, again, people of all ages, but if you are a parent and bringing your kids here, that’s a great opportunity get some programs there and let them learn some things. We do rent boats, like you said. So we have canoes and kayaks and paddle boats that we’ll rent out. And if you just want to try a canoe for an hour, you can do that. And then as soon as you’re done, you can cross a little footbridge down there and hike on Co-op Trail, which is about two miles. So there’s a lot of little kind of quick hitters like that that you can do without really spending all day on anything. Or if you want to just try a couple of different opportunities and see what you enjoy or just do several things all in one day.
MISSY_00:
Right. Yeah. I mean, the variety is so great. But I think, at least for me, starting something new and trying something, you want to be able to put your toe in the water and figure out if you actually are going to like it before you invest in it. And I think that you guys do an amazing job offering that. When someone is planning a trip to come visit the park, what do you recommend as far as how they go about planning their trip?
NATE_01:
Well, our website is a good resource. Our website is has all the kind of different amenities and kind of details and a lot of questions that somebody may have will probably be answered on the website. So I would start there and just kind of see what is available and what we have and what might interest you. For the campground and the cabins, if you’re looking for an overnight stay, we, as all parks in Virginia, we stay very busy in the summertime and especially on weekends. So I would say make your reservations as early as you can. And if you’re flexible and can come during the week, then you probably shouldn’t have any problems getting a reservation. The weekends are pretty busy. So definitely check our website. Give us a call at the office or just stop by. Just stop by and pop in to the office of a visitor center and find somebody in a uniform and just ask some questions. We’d be happy to stop whatever we’re doing and talk to people and answer questions.
MISSY_00:
That’s what I love to point that out because I think that the rangers want to talk to people. They want to share their passion and love for the park. So I think that you’re not interrupting. You’re not, no question is silly. You ask the questions because they are the ones to know. And when I go to a park, I like to go talk to a ranger because oftentimes they know the better things to do. They might know that a trail is particularly wet one day and there may be another option or there’s great flowers in bloom on another trail. So it’s really always good to tap into their massive amounts of knowledge in the park.
NATE_01:
Yeah, I mean, we work here. We’re here 40 hours a week or more, so we’re very familiar with the park, and a lot of us use the park also. It’s not just a workplace, but it’s somewhere that we use a lot on our off time, and I certainly do. So yeah, and we… We’ve really seen a lot of new folks and a lot of new families post-COVID, which I think is a national trend. All the visitation numbers went up. Everybody wanted to get outside and start doing some different things. So we’ve seen a lot of new visitors to the park. And you and I, we’ve spent years and years and a lifetime in parks. We kind of were used to it. We’re familiar with it. We know the kind of quote-unquote proper way to use a park. But some people don’t. And so we’re happy to answer those questions. And stewardship ideals is something that we really appreciate. We really enjoy being able to pass that on to folks.
MISSY_00:
And this is a region of the country where you can use the park year-round. Are there peak times that people should be aware of?
NATE_01:
Well, summertime is usually our busiest. Memorial Day through Labor Day is kind of our typical summer season. So weekends are very busy, especially when the pools open. So if you’re looking for a little less crowded time, I would say during the week. And then, of course, spring and fall is just gorgeous. The summertime weather and humidity around the Richmond area. So if you can get out in the spring and fall and get out on a trail when the weather’s nicer, it’s a really nice time to be out. The other really nice thing about this park is that it is 8,000 acres and we’ve got a million plus visitors every year. It’s the busiest state park in the state. But it’s very easy to get out on the trail and be out by yourself. There’s a lot of times, I’m a runner, so I’ll run trails. And there’s a lot of times where I can count on one thing. and how many people I actually see on the trail. So a lot of the crowds and a lot of the congestions are around the pool and the day use areas and all that, but it’s very easy to get out on a trail and really get that experience like you’re out in the woods here.
MISSY_00:
Yeah. Beaver Lake is my go-to, and I have been on it multiple times where I never ran into a single person, which is, even though there’s cars in the parking lot, I don’t know where everybody is. They’re not on my route. And then wintertime is, obviously, you just dress for the weather, but most, I mean, not the pools and stuff, but most things are accessible in the winter. And it’s a really pretty time and a very different time to see a park.
NATE_01:
Yeah, it can be real nice in the winter. And we have pretty mild weather here, so not a whole lot of barriers as far as weather or snow or anything like that. But yeah, it can be a great time out here. The leaves are down, so you can see a little better through the woods, better chance of seeing wildlife, certainly less people. The weather’s not awful, and if you’re moving, you can keep warm pretty easy. Yeah. Yeah, wintertime is one of my favorite times here.
MISSY_00:
The other thing I want to point out with the camping, and if you’re new, because of its proximity, it’s also very easy to stock up on things that you may need. When I was first starting to camp, I felt like every time I set up camp, I forgot something. And so your proximity, it’s really easy to run to the grocery store or just get what you need. So this is a great spot to start your camping and outdoor adventures.
NATE_01:
Yeah, absolutely. Some of the parks across the state are, most of the parks across the state are more rural areas. So you might be 20, 30, 45 minutes away from your nearest grocery store or convenience store or whatever. But right here in Chesterfield, we’re real close. I mean, you can pop out of the park and hit your good end of Route 10 and hit a grocery store pretty quick. And we’ve got a camp store in the campground also, so it can see us. So a lot of basics you can pick up right there.
MISSY_00:
So if someone comes to the park and experiences the park, they may want to get more involved. No. What can you do at Pocahontas State Park if you just want to do a little extra?
NATE_01:
If somebody wants to give back and wants to volunteer, there’s all kinds of opportunities here. The Friends Group is the organization, but there’s a lot of individual opportunities too. It could be trail maintenance. It could be working in the CCC Museum, like we talked about, and spending a few hours there and talking to people, interacting with guests when they come in. There’s some resource opportunities. Master Naturalists is another organization that does a lot of work here in the park, so they do a like bat monitoring and bluebird monitoring and butterfly gardens. And there’s a butterfly count every year that’s happening here in a few weeks. So there’s a lot of opportunities if you want to get involved.
MISSY_00:
That’s pretty cool. Now, if you wanted to get involved, do you just go into the office and ask a park ranger? Is there a place on the website? How would you direct people?
NATE_01:
Yeah, so the friends group is fopsp.org, I believe. If you Google Friends of Pocahontas State Park, it’ll pop right up and And
MISSY_00:
we’ll put a link on the episode page too.
NATE_01:
Okay, great. So yeah, so you can contact them that way. We have a volunteer coordinator here at the park. So if you want to give us a call, we can get you in touch with Brian is his name. Then he can get you all the different opportunities.
MISSY_00:
And we’ll put links to all of these on the website if you go to the episode page. And so you have a quick access if you’re looking to volunteer. I love the butterfly count idea. That’s really neat.
NATE_01:
Yeah, it’s pretty cool. Our volunteers do some awesome things for us. We’re a state agency. so we track everything. But we are always at or very close to the top in the state for volunteer support. So we would not be able to offer the programs in the park that we have if it weren’t for the dedicated volunteers that support us.
MISSY_00:
So Nate, we end every episode with a speed round of questions and I would love to go through these with you.
NATE_01:
Okay.
MISSY_00:
What is your earliest park memory?
NATE_01:
For me, probably my parents taking me up to Shenandoah National Park when I was a kid and going and taking and hiking down to South River Falls. And that’s probably my earliest memory.
MISSY_00:
What made you love the parks?
NATE_01:
Probably same answer as above. Just getting out there as a kid. My parents exposed me to it a lot. My sister and I. Just getting out there and I’ve just always loved it.
MISSY_00:
What is your favorite thing about Pocahontas State Park?
NATE_01:
I think the variety, the variety of recreational opportunities like we talked about, the variety of visitors that we see, and the trails. I think I mentioned I’m a runner, I’m a trail runner, so I run these trails all the time, but I’m not working.
MISSY_00:
What is your favorite thing to do at Pocahontas State Park?
NATE_01:
The trails. I’m here 40 hours a week at least, so when I’m off, it’s nice to get out and get away from people and get out on the trails and just kind of enjoy myself.
MISSY_00:
What park have you yet to visit, but it’s on your bucket list, and why? I
NATE_01:
would say Yosemite. I’ve been to Yeltsin several times. I worked there for a summer, so I’ve been out west. And my mom says that I was at Yosemite when I was very young, but I don’t remember it. But Yosemite is kind of one of the iconic parks. Yosemite Valley and Half Dome, and I think Yosemite would be top of my list right now.
MISSY_00:
What are three must-haves you pack for a park visit?
NATE_01:
Well, as a park ranger who has had to go out and find people in the past, I will say some kind of a navigational tool, whether it’s a phone with some good maps loaded on it and plenty of battery life, because we do have good service here. Rain jacket, some layers for the weather, even in the summertime when there’s nothing forecast, a storm can always roll through. Good footwear and food and water.
MISSY_00:
What is your favorite campfire activity?
NATE_01:
I think I would say just hanging out with friends or family. Talking and just being in front of a campfire.
MISSY_00:
Tent, camper, or cabin?
NATE_01:
If it’s just me, tent. If it’s the family and my wife, probably cabin.
MISSY_00:
Hiking with or without trekking poles?
NATE_01:
It generally goes out.
MISSY_00:
What is your favorite trail snack?
NATE_01:
Well, for snack, of course, trail rigs. My favorite trail lunch, I’ll go to this. My favorite trail lunch is a turkey and cheese bagel. For me, that just hits perfect.
MISSY_00:
What is your favorite animal sighting?
NATE_01:
Well, I’ve seen a lot of really cool animals out west, grizzlies and moose and bison and everything like that. I had a really cool one, though, just about two weeks ago. I saw a bobcat on the Appalachian Trail up in Shenandoah National Park, right in the kind of mile and gap area, a little south of Big Man, it was, I think, the second bobcat I’d ever seen, but it was cool. Came around and turned, and he was standing right in the middle of the trail about 20 yards away.
MISSY_00:
What is your favorite sound in the park?
NATE_01:
Silence.
MISSY_00:
What is the greatest gift that the parks give to us? The
NATE_01:
protection. The protection and the conservation and the opportunities to get out here and use these resources and love these resources.
MISSY_00:
Nate, thank you for being part of the episode. I love learning just a little bit more about the park that I call home. And thanks for being with us today.
NATE_01:
Absolutely. I appreciate the opportunity. Thank you.
MISSY_00:
That’s it for today’s episode. Until next time, we’ll see you in the parks. Thanks for listening. If you enjoyed today’s episode, please be sure to like and share on your favorite podcast platform. Music for the Parks podcast is written, performed, and produced by Porter Hardy. For more information, please follow us on Instagram at theparkspodcast or visit our website at theparkspodcast.com.