Nestled between the Potomac and Rappahannock Rivers, King George County is a destination that offers adventure on land and water.
Our guests, Jenna and Warren Veazey, members of the Friends of Dahlgren Railroad Heritage Trail and the Friends of Caledon State Park, lead us on an exploration of this Northern Neck community’s hidden gems.
Hike, run, or cycle the Dahlgren Railroad Heritage Trail, a converted railway where you’ll find everything from smooth, accessible pathways to more rugged terrain. Along the Dahlgren Trail, you’ll discover “Poetry on the Trail,” featuring works by Virginia poets paired with nature facts, inviting trail users to connect with the landscape.
We’ll also explore Caledon State Park, known for its old growth forests and abundance of Bald Eagles. Caledon offers primitive riverside camping, guided kayak programs, and wildlife viewing.
King George provides multiple river access points for kayaking, fishing, boating, and more. And when the adventure winds down, you’ll find waterfront dining and local breweries and wineries serving up the best of the region.
Jenna and Warren help you plan the perfect King George weekend getaway full of natural beauty and unforgettable Potomac River sunsets.
Find it all between the rivers in this Virginia Adventure Town. Let’s Go!
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Mentioned in this Episode:
48-Hours of Unforgettable Outdoor Adventure in King George
Dahlgren Railroad Heritage Trail
Episode 26. Elizabeth River Trail
Dahlgren Trail Maps and Access
Potomac and Rappahannock Rivers Access
Episode 59. Wandering Waters Paddle Quest
Fan Mail - Send Jessica a Text Message
Contact Show Host, Jessica Bowser:
jessica@virginiaoutdooradventures.com
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Jessica Bowser (00:00):
Jenna and Warren, welcome to Virginia
(00:02):
outdoor adventures. Thank you somuch. We're so excited to be
Unknown (00:05):
here. Yeah, can't wait to talk about King George with
Jessica Bowser (00:08):
you. What do you love about King George?
Unknown (00:10):
It's a little jewel of a rural county surrounded by the
big cities of DC and Richmondand two rivers, but it still has
some high tech Navy base. Sothere's plenty to do for
outdoors and also for work andlife. And in an hour or so, get
to a city, or an hour and a halfget to a mountain up in
Shenandoah. So has a lot tooffer. I think,
(00:31):
hands down, I was gonna saynatural beauty. It's so gorgeous
here. It's coastal, as Warrensaid, It's nestled in between
two rivers, the Potomac and theRappahannock, and just all the
wildlife and flowers andeverything.
Jessica Bowser (00:47):
Could you two describe King George a little
more for people who arecompletely unfamiliar with it,
sure
Unknown (00:52):
it's uh, east of 95 and Fredericksburg, that's our exit.
There's really only three waysto get into the county. Is route
three from Fredericksburg, the301 nice bridge from Maryland,
or the 301 bridge in Port Royalfrom down south. So unless
you're boating in, those are thethree roads to get into the
county. Yeah, it's an old, oldfarming and fishing county that,
(01:16):
because of the Navy base atDahlgren, developed into a high
tech hub, and a very noisy oneat that, because of all the gun
testing and that they do on thebase. So if you come here,
expect to hear the sound offreedom. But because of that,
there's a lot of good jobs andlacks. Think we have the highest
ratio of PhDs in the statebecause of that, because of all
(01:38):
the scientists and engineersworking here at the base. So
it's an interesting mix offarmers and and physicists in
Jessica Bowser (01:46):
here. Tell us about your involvement with the
Friends of the Dahlgren railroadHeritage Trail and the friends
of Caledon State Park.
Unknown (01:54):
Sure, the third time we moved here, we came we're just
above Caledon, and we joinedthat to have our kids have a
place to learn about nature andwhatnot, and then we're actually
looking as the kids got older,it's like, Alright, where do we
teach them how to ride a bike?
Because all the roads are dirt.
So just turned out that a friendthat we started a little biking
(02:15):
group with got contacted to helpopen, privately, an old rail
trail that goes through thecounty a rail to make it into a
rail trail. So we startedvolunteering back in 2006 and
for the last 19 years, been outmaintaining the trail and taught
the kids how to ride a bike,taught the kids how to hike. Now
They've all moved on, and we'restill out here volunteering at
(02:39):
Caledon and the friends of thedog and
trail. In some ways, I feel likewe identified really early on,
when we moved here, howimportant Caledon State Park was
and how beautiful it was, and sowe really it was important to
both of us to be volunteersthere. Warren kind of dipped his
toe in first becoming theFriends of Caledon getting on
(03:03):
the board. And then, as he said,When the dog run railroad
Heritage Trail friends groupstarted forming, he decided that
he needed to volunteer there.
And so I took over his position.
With our kids being a little bitolder, I took over the position
his position at the Friends ofboard, I assisted in the
(03:26):
beginning with some of their artand wine festivals, and now I
continue mainly as a volunteerMaster Naturalist, helping out
with some of their programming.
So we're still, we're stillpretty involved, and then I
think we will get in a littlemore deeply later on, about a
poetry installation on the dogand railroad Heritage Trail. So
little teaser,
Jessica Bowser (03:47):
yes, I'm excited to dive into both the Rail Trail
and the State Park, because Ifeel like both of those are gems
in King George County. And infact, I am super excited to have
both of you as guests. Do youremember when we met each other
a couple of years back at anoutdoor adventure Expo, and you
two came up to me, and you weretelling me about poetry on the
(04:08):
trail and about Caledon, and wehit it off right away, because
I'm a member of the Friends ofMesa next state park. You're a
member of your friends groups,and I think we had that
volunteerism and stewardshipconnection right away, and so
we, I think we were fastfriends. So when you two were
identified as potential guestsfor this episode, I thought that
(04:29):
was absolutely perfect. Becauseof your involvement in the
community, your involvement inthe trails and the parks, I
think it's you were the perfectchoice for this episode. So I'm
super excited to talk about theDahlgren Trail and the state
park, and, of course, also theriver access, because that's
what makes King George County. Imean, there's two major rivers
(04:52):
to the north and south of thecounty, and I think there's
like, 131 miles of shoreline,and that's just amazing. That's
that's a. Think it makes KingGeorge really special. It does
indeed. Okay, so let's kick itoff by talking about the
Dahlgren railroad HeritageTrail. Can you give us some
information about the trail?
Unknown (05:10):
I'll try to keep it short. Let's see. So in 4142 is
when the Navy decided theyneeded to have a railroad to the
Navy base, because back then,the river would freeze over
quite often, several months ayear, and they needed to test
fire every gun, every largecaliber gun that was gonna go
out to the fleet before they putit out on the fleet. So couldn't
(05:32):
have it, you know, shut down fora couple months out of the year.
So they built this railroad fromFredericksburg all the way to
King George, to the base, andused it until about 62 actually
has a commuter rail in additionto, you know, carrying the
ammunition and whatnot, switchit over to Norfolk Southern, I
guess, and our RFP, Richmond,Fredericksburg and Potomac
railroad, I guess, CSXeventually took over the whole
(05:56):
thing, and they stopped reallyusing our section of it, I think
an 8682 86 timeframe. So theyput it up for sale. None of the
local Jason property ownerswanted to buy it. So a Joe
Williams, who was on theplanning commission here in the
county, saw sitting around onbought for years, and he thought
it would be a perfectopportunity to buy and and give
(06:18):
it to the county as a countypark. So he did that the county
said they did. Weren'tinterested. They actually were a
little unhappy in the years pastwhen Caledon State Park became a
park in 76 that they were losingtheir real estate taxes for the
land when it becomes a statepark. So they weren't interested
in taking it. So he bought it,and then David Brickley, who was
(06:39):
was the head of DCR departmentConservation Recreation,
actually came out and visited.
It said, Oh, this would make agreat part. So he attempted to
do that during his stay inoffice down there, but couldn't
get it through. So he decided,alright, we're going to open it
up and let the public use it.
And so we've been doing for thelast 19 years. It's been a
private property, a free permitthat you sign up and agree not
(07:02):
to be a bad neighbor to any ofthe 100 and some properties that
touch the trail. And we haveapproaching 10,000 free permits
of people to come out, to use,use the trail. We hold several
races over the year. I think wejust literally yesterday, had
our 17th annual 50k and, Ithink, 16th annual half
(07:24):
marathon, just yesterday, onSaturday, and the first week in
August, 1 weekend in August. Andthen we also do a race in
February. Another local residenthas started his own race called
sheets to sheets. It's now inApril, which sells out within
like an hour, 350 spots. Then wedo other, you know, bike events
and whatnot on the trail, builta couple campgrounds, picnic
(07:46):
tables, have a lot of EagleScout projects to help help us
maintain the trail. We weredonated a 1917 wooden and iron
Caboose and freight car, whichwe're working on maintaining or
trying to rehab, becauseobviously, wood doesn't last so
well when it gets rained on for100 years. So that's our big
(08:07):
focus right now, besidesimproving the surface of the
trail to hopefully, in the nextcouple years, with a a bill from
down in Richmond to add it toCaledon State Park. That's what
that's our mission of thefriends group is to make it a
part of the state parks, sothat's what we have been
pushing. And let Jen and I'lltalk about one of the things
that she came up with to helphave help people
(08:29):
interact. As you can tell, we'revery involved with with the dog
and railroad Heritage Trail andlots of scheduled activities,
races, bike events. And when yougo out on the trail, you will
see people walking their dogs orrunning for leisure. And I
earlier mentioned how I'm justsuch a nature lover. And I
(08:51):
really love watching the birds,the wildlife, and the trail is
so varied. You have farmland,you have forest, you have marshy
areas, wetlands, really, reallygorgeous opportunities to see
wildlife. And I thought, wow, wehave these really neat benches
(09:11):
along the trail, but I never seeanybody just kind of hanging
out. And, you know, watchingbirds, watching for wildlife. I
say birds because I think of thegreen Heron and the Great Blue
Heron that we often see, alongwith all the turtles and
sometimes Beaver and muskratseven so cool. So I thought,
Well, I'm a I'm a poet and apoetry lover, and poetry in
(09:36):
public spaces is not a new idea.
Wouldn't it be super cool tosomehow get poetry on this
trail, and I thought, I know QRcodes. So along those benches,
we have a series of seven. Iinstalled a QR code on each of
those seven benches with reallykind of unique vistas. And if
(09:56):
you use your. Phone to pull upthe QR code, you can get a poem,
a nature poem, written by a poetliving in Virginia. You can hear
it read to you in their voice.
And then I worked with my localMaster Naturalist group to
actually put in some, I callthem nature notes, about what's
(10:20):
so unique about that particularspot that you're standing in,
you know, are there Paw Pawsbehind you? Or may apples along
the along your feet? Are youlooking at a beaver made
wetlands? It's called poetry onthe trail. My hope in creating
it was that a the users who arealready familiar with the dog
run railroad Heritage Trailwould be invited to kind of sit
(10:44):
with the trail a little moreintimately. And the other hope
was people who had never heardof the dog and railroad Heritage
Trail might think, oh, that'skind of cool. Let me go visit
that. Let me go check that out.
And then would become traillovers, just like us.
Jessica Bowser (11:02):
It is really cool. When we were together on
the trail, we went to all sevenbenches, and you scanned every
QR code, and I thought it wasreally beautifully presented the
way there was a photo and thenthe poem is printed on your
screen. But also, like you said,you could hear the author
reading it in their own voice,and then to have some actual
(11:24):
facts about that area. I thinkit gives people an opportunity
to really interact with a trailand with nature in a way that
probably they wouldn'totherwise. I mean, to be able to
learn about like you said,beaver created marshland. I
mean, maybe people will notice abeaver or a beaver hut when
they're going by, but also maybethey wouldn't otherwise, just a
(11:47):
really great opportunity tointeract and learn something.
And some of these poets are sotalented. I mean, I was moved
almost to tears a couple oftimes just how beautiful the
writing is, and they're allshort. You know, nothing is very
long, but just a little shortsnippet that really gets you
thinking about the beauty thatyou're surrounded by, and how
(12:09):
lucky we are to have it.
Unknown (12:11):
And we have such wonderful it's such a wonderful
showcase for all the poets thatwe have in Virginia. We change
over the poems every season,we're just getting ready to have
our this is our third season onthe Dahlgren railroad Heritage
Trail. So we're just gettingready to change over. By the
time the podcast airs, we'llhave a new new crop of poems on
(12:33):
so we're constantly having areason to invite people to come
back. Come hear these poems.
Jessica Bowser (12:40):
It's very unique. And doesn't the Dahlgren
trail also have a sister trailsomewhere else in Virginia that
does something similar.
Unknown (12:48):
It does. It does. I'm so excited. Last year we
partnered with the ElizabethRiver Trail with one of my
favorite people ever, Kendra,and we have poetry on the trail
now on the Elizabeth RiverTrail. Yeah, that
Jessica Bowser (13:06):
is so cool. And I bring that up because not only
is it something that peoplewould be interested in, but
Kendra McDonald Green has been aguest on this podcast in the
past. She's the ExecutiveDirector of the Elizabeth River
Trail. I should probably put alink to that episode in the show
notes for anybody who would liketo learn about the Elizabeth
River Trail down in Norfolk. ButI think it's so cool that the
(13:28):
two of you get together and youput a call out for entries, and
anybody who wants to submit canright. And then the two of you
go through all those poems andselect the ones that are going
to be chosen for the next periodof time. So I mean kudos to both
of you for for doing that sothat the rest of us can enjoy
(13:48):
it.
Unknown (13:48):
Thank you. Thank you.
It's so much fun.
Jessica Bowser (13:53):
I want to talk a little bit more about the trail,
just as far as like, what thesurface of it is, like, how long
it is, where the access pointsare, so that anybody who wants
to come ride the Dahlgren trailis prepared and knows where to
go. So Warren, could you talk alittle bit about those details?
Sure, the trail
Unknown (14:10):
itself is, I think, 15.7 miles, the last half mile
to get to the eastern end at 301right at gate B of the Dahlgren
base is privately held, but itstill exists, and I'm sure it
will be kept and hopefullyeventually donated, along with
the other 15.7 as we cleared it,we had some limited funding from
(14:31):
Jay Gerald, a local developerfrom spot See, whose son was
also an Eagle Scout with some ofour friends. And that's he loved
it and donated a lot of money,and that's what allowed us to
pull up all the railroad ties.
But we just left, you know, thegravel underneath it was cut and
fill. So the to build it veryquickly, they cut the hills and
used whatever materials on thathill to push into the valley
when the Navy created it. Butbecause of that, it's a lot of
(14:54):
loose round gravel. Over theyears, they've added, you know,
some. Blue Stone from up in theShenandoah occasionally, and
then we had enough money tocover about four miles with
stone dust. So it's almost likehard, like a sidewalk from the
western end where the caboose isat, route 605 in the county. It
was about a mile and a half sideby side with the railroad,
(15:17):
because there actually were aline of two tracks there, and we
pulled up one track and left theother one there. So we actually
can use it for pumper cars andstuff for about a half a mile.
But so that that first mile orso with stone dust and nice and
smooth, and then it goes to thewhatever the material was in the
hillside next to you until mileeight. And then again, we had
stone dust for about a mile anda half past the where the poetry
(15:40):
on the trail is and campsite. Soyou could actually even use a
wheelchair in those sections.
But the rest of the trail youreally want, like, you know, a
mountain bike to or running, andit's going to have roots and
occasional railroad tie that wedidn't pull up, you know, if it
was stuck on roots or something.
So it is very much more of atrail with, you know, gravel and
(16:00):
whatnot in between for 14 of the12 of the miles. Yeah, you're
going to kind of see all kindsof different surfaces there.
And, you know, as we get grants,we're looking hopefully to do
another half mile of stone dust,and we've gotten grants to help
pave into the parking lot so youdon't spend your tires when
you're pulling up onto theexisting state roads. But I
(16:22):
think we have five real statecrossings, you know, regular
state roads, six to five, as Imentioned, common road is a good
parking lot, Indian town road610 is another good parking lot,
right in the center of thetrail. And then you really need
to go all the way to the far tothe eastern end, where you can
park at the Walmart parking lotor the sheets and walk onto the
trail from there, and that'swhere we have the run. Just this
(16:46):
past weekend, we had 260 runnersdown the trail from one end to
the other and back. So it's wellused, but it does vary. So
that's one of the things we'retrying to do as friends, is
improve the surfaces as we getour funding. That's, you know,
besides the caboose, that's ourmajor thing that we all the
funds that we get goes to 100%of all donations go to that to
(17:09):
improve the trail.
Jessica Bowser (17:12):
That's fantastic. And I would also note
that there is a website that hasa map and all the access
locations. And I'll link that inthe show notes, so that people
don't have to try to figure outwhere these access points are.
There are addresses that you canplug into your GPS to get you
there. But I think for planningpurposes, the type of surface I
(17:33):
think is most important to note,because, like you said, in at
Mile Zero, it's prettyaccessible. So if you've got
young kids with you, or you'rewalking in. You have strollers
or wheelchairs or whatever itmay be, the beginning of the
trail is pretty friendly forthat. But then, like, once you
start getting farther down thetrail, then it's more like a
hiking trail. And like you said,rocks, roots, you know, who
(17:55):
knows what. So if you don't havea type of bike that they can
accommodate that, then you'reprobably going to want to stick
to the beginning of the trail,yeah. But we had,
Unknown (18:04):
like, one of the Eagle Scout projects was for a
handicap accessible pick a tableat the Mile Zero. So, you know,
we've got a few little gems hereand there, but, yeah, the rest
of it's very much still rough.
So yeah, you have to, if youlook at the link, I think we
have little descriptions on ourdog and trail.org website that
kind of gives you the hint, youknow, between this section of
this section, you're going tohave, you know, large stones or,
(18:24):
nope, this is good stone dust,you know, you can, you know,
take a baby stroller out if youwant,
Jessica Bowser (18:30):
right? And can you talk a little bit about
permits, and then also, like,group events or overnight stays,
because that's a possibility aswell. So,
Unknown (18:38):
as I mentioned, it's, it's privately owned. David
Brickley, the owner has a realsimple, you know, we set paper
permits to, you know, freepermit to use the trail.
Obviously, everybody wantseverything digital now, so we've
gotten to the point where wehave QR codes that you simply
put in your name and address andclick, I agree not to wander off
the trail, leave trash, youknow, the usual, and leave no
(18:58):
trace, and then you're good togo and allows you and up, I
think it's up to 10 friends tocome along with you. We do have
another Eagle Scout project,where we built a campground
around mile eight and a half,which about a half a mile off of
the parking lot area where wehold our, you know, annual New
Year's day now, because we'regetting old, instead of New
Year's Eve parties. But there's,I think, four picking tables
(19:21):
there. We just bought some newones, large fire ring with a
wire screen that I built overtop so you can use have a fire
year round. That screen helpsyou cover the open fire law,
but, yeah, it's you just have tocontact us betrayal, to say,
Hey, I would like to use thecampsite. It's free. Just want
to make sure you're using it andnobody else crashes your your
(19:44):
tent. So we just try to it'sstrictly for scheduling and de
conflicting, just letting usknow we're going to use it.
Jessica Bowser (19:50):
Yeah, I was really surprised to see that,
that there was a large picnicarea with room to set up tents
and and whatnot. I thought thatwas really unique. You don't
often see that. And. Trail. Sothat was kind of nice. And for
it all to be available for free,you just need to go to the
website and put your informationin. I think that's fantastic.
And then, Jenna, do you want tosay exactly on the trail where
(20:12):
the poetry spots are?
Unknown (20:14):
Yes, thank you. The poetry on the trail is actually
located right in the middle ofthe 16 roughly 16 miles. So it
begins around mile eight. Theentire trail is one mile long
out, and then you have to comeback, and it's accessible from
(20:34):
the route 610, parking lot, andthere's a little lot there with
room for several cars, and thatis the same place where you
would go to access the thatcampground area. So we have had
events there, which has been anice little bonus to have all
those picnic tables,
Jessica Bowser (20:54):
aside from the Dahlgren railroad Heritage
Trail, King George is surroundedby two major rivers in Virginia,
which I think is what makes itso unique. We've got the Potomac
and the Rappahannock. So forpeople who love water sports and
are drawn to water activities,could you go over some of the
access points and what peopleneed to know
Unknown (21:16):
Sure, on the Rappahannock side, we have hop
yard landing, which is a new NWRspot that was put in with, I
think it's parking for like, 12Tre, you know, boats and
trailers. So it's, it's gotplenty of room. It does fill up
with fishermen on the weekends,but it's actually quite large
and and new. And then down riverfrom that, just below the 301
Port Royal section of the countyis Wilmont landing, which is
(21:39):
much smaller, you know, gravel,but still has good access. And
that's much quieter part of theriver on the Rappahannock and
then on the Potomac side,Caledon actually has a, you
know, a mile and a half or moreof of riverfront, but there's no
driving down to it. You have tohike down about two and a half
miles. They have a to thecampground. I think we have six
(22:01):
spots and a kayak rack orwhatnot, so you can put in
there, and I assume it's free. Idon't think anybody's ever
portages boarded their kayakdown that far the 301 bridge. We
have a little small county parkcalled wayside, which you can
park 50 yards away from theSandy River, and you can drag
(22:21):
your boat over and put in there.
And then we have two privatelyowned boat launches, machody
Creek Marina and Dahlgren, whichalso rents kayaks and whatnot.
You can put in there, and has anice cafe. And then over on
upriver is Fairview beach. Wehave Fairview Fairview beach
Marina right now doesn't have arestaurant attached to it, but
has a full, full service Marinafor gas and and for launching,
(22:44):
and then Tim's too, I believe,will let you launch right at the
base of the pier restaurant andpark there. So those are the
current accesses we have to theriver. Let's in the military.
Obviously you can put in at themaybe base as well.
Jessica Bowser (22:58):
There's lots of water access in King George. But
I think this is great foranybody who's interested in
fishing, for wildlife viewing,for camping, and, of course, for
paddling and boating and any ofthose water activities. There's
there's great access points.
What I thought was reallyenjoyable was how much wildlife
there is. I mean, we saw so manydifferent things in just two
(23:21):
short days, everything frombirds, we saw bald eagles, we
saw Ospreys, herons, all kindsof other wildlife. And it was so
cool to see those things upclose. I think there's great
opportunities for wildlifewatching that probably not that
you couldn't see them in otherplaces, but there's really an
abundance of wildlife there.
Unknown (23:43):
Yeah, we're still very rural county, like there's
28,000 residents in the wholecounty, so there's a lot of
green space, a lot of connectedgreen space, so all the animals
can still get around. You know,they're not isolated in little
islands from development. Sothere's, it's still a very
vibrant wildlife area to be ableto see everything. And you know,
(24:03):
we're a major stop, I guess, forbald eagles and a lot of you
know, other ducks and thingsflying north and south twice a
year. So we have all thempopping in, so things just every
month or two. The view iscompletely different with new
animals moving through.
Occasionally, we'll have a bearor two that'll wander down from
the mountains, exciting thewhole county, and everybody's
(24:23):
watching their bird feeders. Butyeah, we have being in the
middle of the Atlantic flyway, Iguess is, I guess you would
describe us. There's so much
Jessica Bowser (24:32):
to see. And then as just as far as access, I
wanted to make sure we pointedout if you have your own boat or
kayak or canoe, it's best tobring it, but if you do not, I'm
glad you mentioned majoda CreekMarina, because you can rent
them there. And so that's oneplace to rent them. And then the
other really great option isCaledon State Park, because they
(24:55):
have guided kayak programs. I'mpretty sure they do a morning
program. And then. The EveningProgram is really popular, like,
if you if you want to go on asunset paddle, you better get on
their website and call up thepark to make your reservation,
because otherwise you might beout of luck. They fill up pretty
quickly. I understand
Unknown (25:15):
it is one of my favorite volunteer activities to
help out with their paddlingprograms. And yeah, you're
absolutely right. The sunsets onthe Potomac are just amazing,
Jessica Bowser (25:26):
absolutely stunning. And for anybody who is
doing wandering waters paddlequest, which is paddling at all
of the state parks that offerpaddling opportunities, you're
going to want to do one of thoseguided paddles. Because unlike
other parks where you can bringyour own Kayak or your own canoe
and just put in, like you said,it's a very long walk down to
(25:48):
the water, several miles, andmost people are not going to
want to carry kayaks that far,so you're going to want to sign
up for a guided paddle programwith the park. I think
Unknown (25:57):
we had a donation for I think there's 12 kayaks and the
large trailer, and they loadeverybody up in the van, and
it'll drive you down to the siteand put you in with all the
equipment you need. And, yeah,it's an hour or two paddle to a
marsh. So you'll, you know,lovely. You know, often see
muskrats there, all the ducks,of course, and herons, and
(26:17):
there's always eagles flyingover top of you. And then you
come out of night and see, youknow, there's a full moon
paddles as well. So there's lotsof different paddling events we
hold, you know, as well as youknow, OWL prowls and all the
other events that every StatePark is able to do
Jessica Bowser (26:31):
as well. And I just cannot overstate how
gorgeous the sunsets are. When Idid and I did a podcast episode
about wandering waters paddlequest and Ranger Sammy was the
guest, and he used to work atCaledon State Park, and he
talked about how those sunsetsare absolutely epic. I think he
actually said it was one of hisfavorite places to
Unknown (26:51):
paddle. I think I remember hearing that and just
being like, yeah, we rememberSammy from from back in the day
too.
He's what got us hooked onto thefriends group, originally, back
in the days, it doesn't surpriseme, he's a great asset to the
county, to the state parksystem. You.
Jenna and Warren, welcome to Virginia
(00:02):
outdoor adventures. Thank you somuch. We're so excited to be
Unknown (00:05):
here. Yeah, can't wait to talk about King George with
Jessica Bowser (00:08):
you. What do you love about King George?
Unknown (00:10):
It's a little jewel of a rural county surrounded by the
big cities of DC and Richmondand two rivers, but it still has
some high tech Navy base. Sothere's plenty to do for
outdoors and also for work andlife. And in an hour or so, get
to a city, or an hour and a halfget to a mountain up in
Shenandoah. So has a lot tooffer. I think,
(00:31):
hands down, I was gonna saynatural beauty. It's so gorgeous
here. It's coastal, as Warrensaid, It's nestled in between
two rivers, the Potomac and theRappahannock, and just all the
wildlife and flowers andeverything.
Jessica Bowser (00:47):
Could you two describe King George a little
more for people who arecompletely unfamiliar with it,
sure
Unknown (00:52):
it's uh, east of 95 and Fredericksburg, that's our exit.
There's really only three waysto get into the county. Is route
three from Fredericksburg, the301 nice bridge from Maryland,
or the 301 bridge in Port Royalfrom down south. So unless
you're boating in, those are thethree roads to get into the
county. Yeah, it's an old, oldfarming and fishing county that,
(01:16):
because of the Navy base atDahlgren, developed into a high
tech hub, and a very noisy oneat that, because of all the gun
testing and that they do on thebase. So if you come here,
expect to hear the sound offreedom. But because of that,
there's a lot of good jobs andlacks. Think we have the highest
ratio of PhDs in the statebecause of that, because of all
(01:38):
the scientists and engineersworking here at the base. So
it's an interesting mix offarmers and and physicists in
Jessica Bowser (01:46):
here. Tell us about your involvement with the
Friends of the Dahlgren railroadHeritage Trail and the friends
of Caledon State Park.
Unknown (01:54):
Sure, the third time we moved here, we came we're just
above Caledon, and we joinedthat to have our kids have a
place to learn about nature andwhatnot, and then we're actually
looking as the kids got older,it's like, Alright, where do we
teach them how to ride a bike?
Because all the roads are dirt.
So just turned out that a friendthat we started a little biking
(02:15):
group with got contacted to helpopen, privately, an old rail
trail that goes through thecounty a rail to make it into a
rail trail. So we startedvolunteering back in 2006 and
for the last 19 years, been outmaintaining the trail and taught
the kids how to ride a bike,taught the kids how to hike. Now
They've all moved on, and we'restill out here volunteering at
(02:39):
Caledon and the friends of thedog and
trail. In some ways, I feel likewe identified really early on,
when we moved here, howimportant Caledon State Park was
and how beautiful it was, and sowe really it was important to
both of us to be volunteersthere. Warren kind of dipped his
toe in first becoming theFriends of Caledon getting on
(03:03):
the board. And then, as he said,When the dog run railroad
Heritage Trail friends groupstarted forming, he decided that
he needed to volunteer there.
And so I took over his position.
With our kids being a little bitolder, I took over the position
his position at the Friends ofboard, I assisted in the
(03:26):
beginning with some of their artand wine festivals, and now I
continue mainly as a volunteerMaster Naturalist, helping out
with some of their programming.
So we're still, we're stillpretty involved, and then I
think we will get in a littlemore deeply later on, about a
poetry installation on the dogand railroad Heritage Trail. So
little teaser,
Jessica Bowser (03:47):
yes, I'm excited to dive into both the Rail Trail
and the State Park, because Ifeel like both of those are gems
in King George County. And infact, I am super excited to have
both of you as guests. Do youremember when we met each other
a couple of years back at anoutdoor adventure Expo, and you
two came up to me, and you weretelling me about poetry on the
(04:08):
trail and about Caledon, and wehit it off right away, because
I'm a member of the Friends ofMesa next state park. You're a
member of your friends groups,and I think we had that
volunteerism and stewardshipconnection right away, and so
we, I think we were fastfriends. So when you two were
identified as potential guestsfor this episode, I thought that
(04:29):
was absolutely perfect. Becauseof your involvement in the
community, your involvement inthe trails and the parks, I
think it's you were the perfectchoice for this episode. So I'm
super excited to talk about theDahlgren Trail and the state
park, and, of course, also theriver access, because that's
what makes King George County. Imean, there's two major rivers
(04:52):
to the north and south of thecounty, and I think there's
like, 131 miles of shoreline,and that's just amazing. That's
that's a. Think it makes KingGeorge really special. It does
indeed. Okay, so let's kick itoff by talking about the
Dahlgren railroad HeritageTrail. Can you give us some
information about the trail?
Unknown (05:10):
I'll try to keep it short. Let's see. So in 4142 is
when the Navy decided theyneeded to have a railroad to the
Navy base, because back then,the river would freeze over
quite often, several months ayear, and they needed to test
fire every gun, every largecaliber gun that was gonna go
out to the fleet before they putit out on the fleet. So couldn't
(05:32):
have it, you know, shut down fora couple months out of the year.
So they built this railroad fromFredericksburg all the way to
King George, to the base, andused it until about 62 actually
has a commuter rail in additionto, you know, carrying the
ammunition and whatnot, switchit over to Norfolk Southern, I
guess, and our RFP, Richmond,Fredericksburg and Potomac
railroad, I guess, CSXeventually took over the whole
(05:56):
thing, and they stopped reallyusing our section of it, I think
an 8682 86 timeframe. So theyput it up for sale. None of the
local Jason property ownerswanted to buy it. So a Joe
Williams, who was on theplanning commission here in the
county, saw sitting around onbought for years, and he thought
it would be a perfectopportunity to buy and and give
(06:18):
it to the county as a countypark. So he did that the county
said they did. Weren'tinterested. They actually were a
little unhappy in the years pastwhen Caledon State Park became a
park in 76 that they were losingtheir real estate taxes for the
land when it becomes a statepark. So they weren't interested
in taking it. So he bought it,and then David Brickley, who was
(06:39):
was the head of DCR departmentConservation Recreation,
actually came out and visited.
It said, Oh, this would make agreat part. So he attempted to
do that during his stay inoffice down there, but couldn't
get it through. So he decided,alright, we're going to open it
up and let the public use it.
And so we've been doing for thelast 19 years. It's been a
private property, a free permitthat you sign up and agree not
(07:02):
to be a bad neighbor to any ofthe 100 and some properties that
touch the trail. And we haveapproaching 10,000 free permits
of people to come out, to use,use the trail. We hold several
races over the year. I think wejust literally yesterday, had
our 17th annual 50k and, Ithink, 16th annual half
(07:24):
marathon, just yesterday, onSaturday, and the first week in
August, 1 weekend in August. Andthen we also do a race in
February. Another local residenthas started his own race called
sheets to sheets. It's now inApril, which sells out within
like an hour, 350 spots. Then wedo other, you know, bike events
and whatnot on the trail, builta couple campgrounds, picnic
(07:46):
tables, have a lot of EagleScout projects to help help us
maintain the trail. We weredonated a 1917 wooden and iron
Caboose and freight car, whichwe're working on maintaining or
trying to rehab, becauseobviously, wood doesn't last so
well when it gets rained on for100 years. So that's our big
(08:07):
focus right now, besidesimproving the surface of the
trail to hopefully, in the nextcouple years, with a a bill from
down in Richmond to add it toCaledon State Park. That's what
that's our mission of thefriends group is to make it a
part of the state parks, sothat's what we have been
pushing. And let Jen and I'lltalk about one of the things
that she came up with to helphave help people
(08:29):
interact. As you can tell, we'revery involved with with the dog
and railroad Heritage Trail andlots of scheduled activities,
races, bike events. And when yougo out on the trail, you will
see people walking their dogs orrunning for leisure. And I
earlier mentioned how I'm justsuch a nature lover. And I
(08:51):
really love watching the birds,the wildlife, and the trail is
so varied. You have farmland,you have forest, you have marshy
areas, wetlands, really, reallygorgeous opportunities to see
wildlife. And I thought, wow, wehave these really neat benches
(09:11):
along the trail, but I never seeanybody just kind of hanging
out. And, you know, watchingbirds, watching for wildlife. I
say birds because I think of thegreen Heron and the Great Blue
Heron that we often see, alongwith all the turtles and
sometimes Beaver and muskratseven so cool. So I thought,
Well, I'm a I'm a poet and apoetry lover, and poetry in
(09:36):
public spaces is not a new idea.
Wouldn't it be super cool tosomehow get poetry on this
trail, and I thought, I know QRcodes. So along those benches,
we have a series of seven. Iinstalled a QR code on each of
those seven benches with reallykind of unique vistas. And if
(09:56):
you use your. Phone to pull upthe QR code, you can get a poem,
a nature poem, written by a poetliving in Virginia. You can hear
it read to you in their voice.
And then I worked with my localMaster Naturalist group to
actually put in some, I callthem nature notes, about what's
(10:20):
so unique about that particularspot that you're standing in,
you know, are there Paw Pawsbehind you? Or may apples along
the along your feet? Are youlooking at a beaver made
wetlands? It's called poetry onthe trail. My hope in creating
it was that a the users who arealready familiar with the dog
run railroad Heritage Trailwould be invited to kind of sit
(10:44):
with the trail a little moreintimately. And the other hope
was people who had never heardof the dog and railroad Heritage
Trail might think, oh, that'skind of cool. Let me go visit
that. Let me go check that out.
And then would become traillovers, just like us.
Jessica Bowser (11:02):
It is really cool. When we were together on
the trail, we went to all sevenbenches, and you scanned every
QR code, and I thought it wasreally beautifully presented the
way there was a photo and thenthe poem is printed on your
screen. But also, like you said,you could hear the author
reading it in their own voice,and then to have some actual
(11:24):
facts about that area. I thinkit gives people an opportunity
to really interact with a trailand with nature in a way that
probably they wouldn'totherwise. I mean, to be able to
learn about like you said,beaver created marshland. I
mean, maybe people will notice abeaver or a beaver hut when
they're going by, but also maybethey wouldn't otherwise, just a
(11:47):
really great opportunity tointeract and learn something.
And some of these poets are sotalented. I mean, I was moved
almost to tears a couple oftimes just how beautiful the
writing is, and they're allshort. You know, nothing is very
long, but just a little shortsnippet that really gets you
thinking about the beauty thatyou're surrounded by, and how
(12:09):
lucky we are to have it.
Unknown (12:11):
And we have such wonderful it's such a wonderful
showcase for all the poets thatwe have in Virginia. We change
over the poems every season,we're just getting ready to have
our this is our third season onthe Dahlgren railroad Heritage
Trail. So we're just gettingready to change over. By the
time the podcast airs, we'llhave a new new crop of poems on
(12:33):
so we're constantly having areason to invite people to come
back. Come hear these poems.
Jessica Bowser (12:40):
It's very unique. And doesn't the Dahlgren
trail also have a sister trailsomewhere else in Virginia that
does something similar.
Unknown (12:48):
It does. It does. I'm so excited. Last year we
partnered with the ElizabethRiver Trail with one of my
favorite people ever, Kendra,and we have poetry on the trail
now on the Elizabeth RiverTrail. Yeah, that
Jessica Bowser (13:06):
is so cool. And I bring that up because not only
is it something that peoplewould be interested in, but
Kendra McDonald Green has been aguest on this podcast in the
past. She's the ExecutiveDirector of the Elizabeth River
Trail. I should probably put alink to that episode in the show
notes for anybody who would liketo learn about the Elizabeth
River Trail down in Norfolk. ButI think it's so cool that the
(13:28):
two of you get together and youput a call out for entries, and
anybody who wants to submit canright. And then the two of you
go through all those poems andselect the ones that are going
to be chosen for the next periodof time. So I mean kudos to both
of you for for doing that sothat the rest of us can enjoy
(13:48):
it.
Unknown (13:48):
Thank you. Thank you.
It's so much fun.
Jessica Bowser (13:53):
I want to talk a little bit more about the trail,
just as far as like, what thesurface of it is, like, how long
it is, where the access pointsare, so that anybody who wants
to come ride the Dahlgren trailis prepared and knows where to
go. So Warren, could you talk alittle bit about those details?
Sure, the trail
Unknown (14:10):
itself is, I think, 15.7 miles, the last half mile
to get to the eastern end at 301right at gate B of the Dahlgren
base is privately held, but itstill exists, and I'm sure it
will be kept and hopefullyeventually donated, along with
the other 15.7 as we cleared it,we had some limited funding from
(14:31):
Jay Gerald, a local developerfrom spot See, whose son was
also an Eagle Scout with some ofour friends. And that's he loved
it and donated a lot of money,and that's what allowed us to
pull up all the railroad ties.
But we just left, you know, thegravel underneath it was cut and
fill. So the to build it veryquickly, they cut the hills and
used whatever materials on thathill to push into the valley
when the Navy created it. Butbecause of that, it's a lot of
(14:54):
loose round gravel. Over theyears, they've added, you know,
some. Blue Stone from up in theShenandoah occasionally, and
then we had enough money tocover about four miles with
stone dust. So it's almost likehard, like a sidewalk from the
western end where the caboose isat, route 605 in the county. It
was about a mile and a half sideby side with the railroad,
(15:17):
because there actually were aline of two tracks there, and we
pulled up one track and left theother one there. So we actually
can use it for pumper cars andstuff for about a half a mile.
But so that that first mile orso with stone dust and nice and
smooth, and then it goes to thewhatever the material was in the
hillside next to you until mileeight. And then again, we had
stone dust for about a mile anda half past the where the poetry
(15:40):
on the trail is and campsite. Soyou could actually even use a
wheelchair in those sections.
But the rest of the trail youreally want, like, you know, a
mountain bike to or running, andit's going to have roots and
occasional railroad tie that wedidn't pull up, you know, if it
was stuck on roots or something.
So it is very much more of atrail with, you know, gravel and
(16:00):
whatnot in between for 14 of the12 of the miles. Yeah, you're
going to kind of see all kindsof different surfaces there.
And, you know, as we get grants,we're looking hopefully to do
another half mile of stone dust,and we've gotten grants to help
pave into the parking lot so youdon't spend your tires when
you're pulling up onto theexisting state roads. But I
(16:22):
think we have five real statecrossings, you know, regular
state roads, six to five, as Imentioned, common road is a good
parking lot, Indian town road610 is another good parking lot,
right in the center of thetrail. And then you really need
to go all the way to the far tothe eastern end, where you can
park at the Walmart parking lotor the sheets and walk onto the
trail from there, and that'swhere we have the run. Just this
(16:46):
past weekend, we had 260 runnersdown the trail from one end to
the other and back. So it's wellused, but it does vary. So
that's one of the things we'retrying to do as friends, is
improve the surfaces as we getour funding. That's, you know,
besides the caboose, that's ourmajor thing that we all the
funds that we get goes to 100%of all donations go to that to
(17:09):
improve the trail.
Jessica Bowser (17:12):
That's fantastic. And I would also note
that there is a website that hasa map and all the access
locations. And I'll link that inthe show notes, so that people
don't have to try to figure outwhere these access points are.
There are addresses that you canplug into your GPS to get you
there. But I think for planningpurposes, the type of surface I
(17:33):
think is most important to note,because, like you said, in at
Mile Zero, it's prettyaccessible. So if you've got
young kids with you, or you'rewalking in. You have strollers
or wheelchairs or whatever itmay be, the beginning of the
trail is pretty friendly forthat. But then, like, once you
start getting farther down thetrail, then it's more like a
hiking trail. And like you said,rocks, roots, you know, who
(17:55):
knows what. So if you don't havea type of bike that they can
accommodate that, then you'reprobably going to want to stick
to the beginning of the trail,yeah. But we had,
Unknown (18:04):
like, one of the Eagle Scout projects was for a
handicap accessible pick a tableat the Mile Zero. So, you know,
we've got a few little gems hereand there, but, yeah, the rest
of it's very much still rough.
So yeah, you have to, if youlook at the link, I think we
have little descriptions on ourdog and trail.org website that
kind of gives you the hint, youknow, between this section of
this section, you're going tohave, you know, large stones or,
(18:24):
nope, this is good stone dust,you know, you can, you know,
take a baby stroller out if youwant,
Jessica Bowser (18:30):
right? And can you talk a little bit about
permits, and then also, like,group events or overnight stays,
because that's a possibility aswell. So,
Unknown (18:38):
as I mentioned, it's, it's privately owned. David
Brickley, the owner has a realsimple, you know, we set paper
permits to, you know, freepermit to use the trail.
Obviously, everybody wantseverything digital now, so we've
gotten to the point where wehave QR codes that you simply
put in your name and address andclick, I agree not to wander off
the trail, leave trash, youknow, the usual, and leave no
(18:58):
trace, and then you're good togo and allows you and up, I
think it's up to 10 friends tocome along with you. We do have
another Eagle Scout project,where we built a campground
around mile eight and a half,which about a half a mile off of
the parking lot area where wehold our, you know, annual New
Year's day now, because we'regetting old, instead of New
Year's Eve parties. But there's,I think, four picking tables
(19:21):
there. We just bought some newones, large fire ring with a
wire screen that I built overtop so you can use have a fire
year round. That screen helpsyou cover the open fire law,
but, yeah, it's you just have tocontact us betrayal, to say,
Hey, I would like to use thecampsite. It's free. Just want
to make sure you're using it andnobody else crashes your your
(19:44):
tent. So we just try to it'sstrictly for scheduling and de
conflicting, just letting usknow we're going to use it.
Jessica Bowser (19:50):
Yeah, I was really surprised to see that,
that there was a large picnicarea with room to set up tents
and and whatnot. I thought thatwas really unique. You don't
often see that. And. Trail. Sothat was kind of nice. And for
it all to be available for free,you just need to go to the
website and put your informationin. I think that's fantastic.
And then, Jenna, do you want tosay exactly on the trail where
(20:12):
the poetry spots are?
Unknown (20:14):
Yes, thank you. The poetry on the trail is actually
located right in the middle ofthe 16 roughly 16 miles. So it
begins around mile eight. Theentire trail is one mile long
out, and then you have to comeback, and it's accessible from
(20:34):
the route 610, parking lot, andthere's a little lot there with
room for several cars, and thatis the same place where you
would go to access the thatcampground area. So we have had
events there, which has been anice little bonus to have all
those picnic tables,
Jessica Bowser (20:54):
aside from the Dahlgren railroad Heritage
Trail, King George is surroundedby two major rivers in Virginia,
which I think is what makes itso unique. We've got the Potomac
and the Rappahannock. So forpeople who love water sports and
are drawn to water activities,could you go over some of the
access points and what peopleneed to know
Unknown (21:16):
Sure, on the Rappahannock side, we have hop
yard landing, which is a new NWRspot that was put in with, I
think it's parking for like, 12Tre, you know, boats and
trailers. So it's, it's gotplenty of room. It does fill up
with fishermen on the weekends,but it's actually quite large
and and new. And then down riverfrom that, just below the 301
Port Royal section of the countyis Wilmont landing, which is
(21:39):
much smaller, you know, gravel,but still has good access. And
that's much quieter part of theriver on the Rappahannock and
then on the Potomac side,Caledon actually has a, you
know, a mile and a half or moreof of riverfront, but there's no
driving down to it. You have tohike down about two and a half
miles. They have a to thecampground. I think we have six
(22:01):
spots and a kayak rack orwhatnot, so you can put in
there, and I assume it's free. Idon't think anybody's ever
portages boarded their kayakdown that far the 301 bridge. We
have a little small county parkcalled wayside, which you can
park 50 yards away from theSandy River, and you can drag
(22:21):
your boat over and put in there.
And then we have two privatelyowned boat launches, machody
Creek Marina and Dahlgren, whichalso rents kayaks and whatnot.
You can put in there, and has anice cafe. And then over on
upriver is Fairview beach. Wehave Fairview Fairview beach
Marina right now doesn't have arestaurant attached to it, but
has a full, full service Marinafor gas and and for launching,
(22:44):
and then Tim's too, I believe,will let you launch right at the
base of the pier restaurant andpark there. So those are the
current accesses we have to theriver. Let's in the military.
Obviously you can put in at themaybe base as well.
Jessica Bowser (22:58):
There's lots of water access in King George. But
I think this is great foranybody who's interested in
fishing, for wildlife viewing,for camping, and, of course, for
paddling and boating and any ofthose water activities. There's
there's great access points.
What I thought was reallyenjoyable was how much wildlife
there is. I mean, we saw so manydifferent things in just two
(23:21):
short days, everything frombirds, we saw bald eagles, we
saw Ospreys, herons, all kindsof other wildlife. And it was so
cool to see those things upclose. I think there's great
opportunities for wildlifewatching that probably not that
you couldn't see them in otherplaces, but there's really an
abundance of wildlife there.
Unknown (23:43):
Yeah, we're still very rural county, like there's
28,000 residents in the wholecounty, so there's a lot of
green space, a lot of connectedgreen space, so all the animals
can still get around. You know,they're not isolated in little
islands from development. Sothere's, it's still a very
vibrant wildlife area to be ableto see everything. And you know,
(24:03):
we're a major stop, I guess, forbald eagles and a lot of you
know, other ducks and thingsflying north and south twice a
year. So we have all thempopping in, so things just every
month or two. The view iscompletely different with new
animals moving through.
Occasionally, we'll have a bearor two that'll wander down from
the mountains, exciting thewhole county, and everybody's
(24:23):
watching their bird feeders. Butyeah, we have being in the
middle of the Atlantic flyway, Iguess is, I guess you would
describe us. There's so much
Jessica Bowser (24:32):
to see. And then as just as far as access, I
wanted to make sure we pointedout if you have your own boat or
kayak or canoe, it's best tobring it, but if you do not, I'm
glad you mentioned majoda CreekMarina, because you can rent
them there. And so that's oneplace to rent them. And then the
other really great option isCaledon State Park, because they
(24:55):
have guided kayak programs. I'mpretty sure they do a morning
program. And then. The EveningProgram is really popular, like,
if you if you want to go on asunset paddle, you better get on
their website and call up thepark to make your reservation,
because otherwise you might beout of luck. They fill up pretty
quickly. I understand
Unknown (25:15):
it is one of my favorite volunteer activities to
help out with their paddlingprograms. And yeah, you're
absolutely right. The sunsets onthe Potomac are just amazing,
Jessica Bowser (25:26):
absolutely stunning. And for anybody who is
doing wandering waters paddlequest, which is paddling at all
of the state parks that offerpaddling opportunities, you're
going to want to do one of thoseguided paddles. Because unlike
other parks where you can bringyour own Kayak or your own canoe
and just put in, like you said,it's a very long walk down to
(25:48):
the water, several miles, andmost people are not going to
want to carry kayaks that far,so you're going to want to sign
up for a guided paddle programwith the park. I think
Unknown (25:57):
we had a donation for I think there's 12 kayaks and the
large trailer, and they loadeverybody up in the van, and
it'll drive you down to the siteand put you in with all the
equipment you need. And, yeah,it's an hour or two paddle to a
marsh. So you'll, you know,lovely. You know, often see
muskrats there, all the ducks,of course, and herons, and
(26:17):
there's always eagles flyingover top of you. And then you
come out of night and see, youknow, there's a full moon
paddles as well. So there's lotsof different paddling events we
hold, you know, as well as youknow, OWL prowls and all the
other events that every StatePark is able to do
Jessica Bowser (26:31):
as well. And I just cannot overstate how
gorgeous the sunsets are. When Idid and I did a podcast episode
about wandering waters paddlequest and Ranger Sammy was the
guest, and he used to work atCaledon State Park, and he
talked about how those sunsetsare absolutely epic. I think he
actually said it was one of hisfavorite places to
Unknown (26:51):
paddle. I think I remember hearing that and just
being like, yeah, we rememberSammy from from back in the day
too.
He's what got us hooked onto thefriends group, originally, back
in the days, it doesn't surpriseme, he's a great asset to the
county, to the state parksystem. You.
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