Thursday, July 21, 2011
Bill Cochran's Outdoors: Here's wishing Virginia's state parks a happy birthday
Bill Cochran is a Roanoke Times outdoors columnist.
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Virginia’s State Park System is celebrating its 75th year, and that has caused me to reflect on the joy the parks have afforded me through the years. I am not certain, but I think my first park visit was to Hungry Mother State Park. I would have been maybe 8 or 9, traveling with my mom and dad. I was fascinated by the name of the park.
When I was outdoor editor of the Roanoke Times I’d occasionally get the question: “Why aren’t Virginia’s Parks as nice as those in West Virginia?”
A comeback to that question now would be, “Why did Virginia’s Park System receive the national Gold Medal for excellence in 2001?”
I probably wouldn’t say that, because I like West Virginia’s Parks, too. The two systems simply have different philosophies on what roughing it means, which doesn’t make one better than the other. West Virginia parks often contain golf courses and fancy, hotel-like lodges and large restaurants.
Early on, it was decided that Virginia parks would present a rustic, back-to-nature flair “where the plain people of Virginia can spend a pleasant outing and find pleasure and recreation close to nature.”
The quote is by Will Carson, the first chairman of the Virginia Conservation and Development Commission, who easily fits the title of “Father of Virginia State Parks.”
It was Carson who persuaded Franklin D. Roosevelt to commit his new Civilian Conservation Corps to build a park system in Virginia. A short time later, the first CCC camp was established at Douthat State Park, which opened for business in 1936. The Corps built Virginia’s first six parks, opening them all the same day.
Mention Douthat and two things come to my mind: the CCC-era cabins and the rainbow trout in the 50-acre lake.
The park system has about 300 cabins and the old CCC structures are giving way to newer facilities, Joe Elton told me. He has been the state park director since 1994 and is the system’s most enthusiastic cheerleader.
Most of the CCC cabins still are in use and some park visitors tell Elton and his staff: “You can keep the new cabins. I like the old ones.”
The old ones harbor the aroma of wood burning in open-hearth fireplaces while the new cabins have gas logs.
Either way, the cabins are highly popular and generate millions in revenue. If you plan to stay in one you’d best get a reservation early.
The parks that came on line in 1936 with Douthat include Fairy Stone and Hungry Mother, all of which are family style facilities located in wooded setting with campgrounds, picnic tables, trails and a lake nearby. Junius Fishburn, publisher of The Roanoke Times, donated 5,000 acres in Patrick County for Fairy Stone. Other parks also got their start thanks to generous land donations. Newer ones mostly have been given birth through bond referendums.
Although always laboring under a frugal budget, the system continues to expand. On this 75th anniversary year, six new parks are under developed, the last two -- Mayo River in Henry County and Biscuit Run in Albemarle County -- on land purchased in 2009.
The system attracted more than 8.1-million visitors last year, and should set a record this year.
I have many favorite parks, but let me highlight five:
DOUTHAT: What is special here is the facility’s old-park atmosphere, including those rustic CCC cabins. When the dogwoods bloom, the lake holds rainbow trout that will grab your spinner and leap high displaying silver sides kissed with pink. In the summer, the same lake becomes a swimming hole. There are 40 miles of mountain bike trails.
BREAKS INTERSTATE PARK: Virginia teams up with Kentucky to highlight what often is called the “Grand Canyon of the South.” Put this on your bucket list. If you demand luxury, the facilities here are a bit more posh than many other Virginia parks.
GRAYSON HIGHLANDS: Here is a bit of Montana left behind in Virginia by the Ice Age. Nearby are Mount Rogers, Virginia’s highest peak, and the Mount Rogers National Recreation Area. Alpine meadows stretch across the horizon affording views of rock outcroppings, red spruce, wild ponies. You can enjoy wilderness hikes through spectacular gardens of rhododendron, some on the famous Appalachian Trail. Winters offer cross-country skiing.
KIPTOPEKE: On the southern end of Virginia’s Eastern Shore, I use this park more than any. It offers boat launching access to key fishing spots of the lower Chesapeake Bay and provides some of the finest bird watching in the country. Since its opening in 1993, bird watchers have banded more than 300,000 songbirds and counted more than 500,000 raptors. Late September and early October are good months for birding.
NEW RIVER TRAIL: This isn’t your typical park. It is a linear, 57-mile abandoned railroad right-of-way along the New River covering four counties, two tunnels, three major bridges and nearly 30 smaller bridges. You can hike/bike/horseback ride the trail or canoe/ kayak the river. Foster Falls gives paddlers a thrilling ride through rapids and a history lesson on a pig-iron mining town.
For more information on Virginia’s state parks check virginiastateparks.gov.
