Beaverdam Park offers the only public freshwater fishing on the Middle Peninsula. Jon boats & canoes can be rented or bring your boat with electric motor to one of the boat ramps. The 635 acres of water offers great fishing & paddling. Virginia fishing licenses available at the Ranger Station. Take a walk on the beautiful nature trail or enjoy miles of multi-use trail (for hikers, bikers & horseback riders). If you are looking for a new workout stop by the exercise trail. The park has two shelters, a lodge & amphitheater to fill your reunion, party or meeting needs. Programs on owls, snakes, night canoeing and more for youth, adults & families are scheduled throughout the year. Fishing tournaments are held on the 3rd Saturday of May, June & September with an invitational tournament in October.

Features

635 Acre Freshwater Lake
Boat Ramps
Boat Rentals
Fishing
Playgrounds
Picnic Area
Facilities/Rentals
Restrooms
Hiking Trails
Horseback Trails
Mountain Bike Trails
Geocaching
VA Hunting & Fishing Licenses
Parking

Download Trail Map

Park Hours

January, 7:30 am to 5:30 pm
February, 7:30 am to 6 pm
March 1-13, 6:30 am to 7:30 pm
March 14-31, 7 am to 7:30 pm
April, 6:30 am to 8 pm
May-Labor Day, 6 am to 8:30 pm
September, 7 am to 7:30 pm
October, 7 am to 6:45 pm
November, 7 am to 5:30 pm
December, 7:30 am to 5 pm
Beaverdam Park is open 7 days a week
year-round and only closes on Christmas Day.

More info here

James City County Parks and Recreation hosted a community meeting to share renovation and design plans for a new playground structure to replace the existing Kidsburg playground at Mid County Park, 3793 Ironbound Road.

Why: The current 24,000-square-foot playground was constructed in 1994 and does not meet current ADA guidelines nor does it fully meet today’s standards for public-use playgrounds.

Who’s paying: Project funding was appropriated by the James City County Board of Supervisors as part of the Parks and Recreation Capital Improvement Projects (CIP) budget. Safety: The project will be fully ADA compliant, universal and barrier free. The new proposed 30,000 square-foot playground will meet current accessibility and safety guidelines and standards. Playground Amenities: Kidsburg playground amenities will include a general play area, a ship replica (21-feet wide x 36-feet long) and a swing area. In addition, there will be a separate gated area for children aged 2 to 5. Dependent on funding, a spray pad element is still being considered. A water park was never a consideration for Kidsburg.

Your input: Please take a few moments to review the designs on the following pages. To share your comments and concerns, please complete a comment card available online here or you can email your comments to  parks.rec@jamescitycountyva.gov.  Please forward your comments and concerns no later than August 3.

Next Steps: Construction of the new playground is scheduled for October 2012 with a spring 2013 completion date.

Questions: Contact Nancy Ellis at Nancy.Ellis@jamescitycountyva.gov or call 757-259-5412.

 Fence Pickets: If you purchased a fence picket at Kidsburg, and would like it back, please call 757-592-0495 and leave your name, the name on the picket, your phone number and a message. You can also request your picket online here

The pickets will be available for pick up in fall 2012 when playground renovations are scheduled to begin. A plaque will also be installed at the park to honor its history and those individuals and businesses who supported the park through fence picket purchases and as volunteers

Proposed Highlights for Kidsburg Playground—Age 2-5 Area ●(4) custom enclosed seat swings with log themed uprights ●custom canoe ●4-foot hollow log crawl ●wagon double slide ●log wall slide ●ground level cannon ●firewood climber ●log steppers ●Blacksmith climbing wall ●barrel crawl with anvil climber ●lookout bubble ●telescope ●interactive cannon ●upper and lower bell ●maps ●(2) shade structures ●custom fence w/wood themed posts and safety gate

Proposed Highlights for Kidsburg Playground—Age 5-12 Area ●13,000+ square-feet of play surface using engineered wood fiber and poured in place surfacing ●giant wave climber ●custom made ship 21-feet wide x 36-feet, 8-inches long with interactive bell and cannon sounds ●(4) shade structures ●100-foot zip line with launch platforms ●custom 8-foot high rock climber with slide ●(2) ADA accessible Zero-G chairs ●(5) custom built nature climbers: 3-foot boulder climber, 4-foot stump climber, (2) 5-foot log climbers, 6-foot tree root climber ●(8) belt seat swings ●(2) tire swings ●rope bridge ●single and double vine climbers ●6-foot learning wall climber ●(7) multi-level ADA accessible platform stations with activity boards and slides with transfer platforms on each play structure

The Grand Opening of Woodville Park in Gloucester is to be held this Saturday, June 30th from 10 a.m. to 3p.m.  Activities for the entire family!  Come celebrate the opening of Gloucester’s newest public park.

EVERYONE IS INVITED TO THE GRAND OPENING OF WOODVILLE PARK.  A Parade of Athletes from Baystars, Parks, Recreation & Tourism and Gloucester Youth Football will march into the park!   This colorful show will  kick-off the momentous celebration.  The opening ceremonies will feature a message from the Lanciano family about their mothers dream of this park.

Festivities include: Cake Walks, free Moon Walk and Giant Slide, guided nature walks, gardening talks, football throwing, hitting off the tee and corn hole competitions, music and more.  Freebies!  Feast on hot dog, chips and drink for just $1.

Come enjoy a day a YOUR newest park.  Hope to see you there!

Call the Gloucester VA Parks, Recreation and Tourism Department at 693-2355 for info.

This park will be the site of soccer and football games, gardens, hikes, events and activity.

WOODVILLE PARK GRAND OPENING WEBPAGE

Location – Bray’s Point Road off of Rt 17 (Seawell’s Ordinary Light)

Woodville park is approximately 100 acres in size – that’s 20 times the size of Gloucester Point Beach Park! It is located in Ordinary off of Bray’s Point Road. The park was once part of a plantation or farm called “Woodville.”

This new nature park contains both wetlands and woodlands where athletic facilities, walking trails, gardens and possibly an amphitheater are all planned for the future..

The park land was a gift to Gloucester County by the Lanciano Family.

An athletic field and sand soccer court have now been completed at the park.  A nearly $500,000 entrance and service road for the park was constructed with grant and donated funds. Other roads, parking lots, a second athletic field and habitat pond are under currently construction.

Directions:

From the Peninsula Cross the Coleman Bridge – (Route 17 North) travel through 8 stoplights to Bray’s Point Road Turn right onto Bray’s Point Road and travel about 7-tenths of a mile, Bray’s Point Road bears to the left. Turn left and the park is immediately to your left.

More info here

Site plan for Woodville Park

Water Country USA | Water Park in Williamsburg Virginia

Get ready for a wave of adventure.Guests are in for the slide of their lives in 2011 at Water Country USA. The mid-Atlantic’s largest water park is adding an epic new drop slide, Vanish Point℠. The 75-foot drop slide will join the 43 acres of pools, children’s play areas, lazy rivers and water rides that make up Water Country USA. The park also includes “Rock ‘n’ Roll Island,” featuring nearly 600 feet of body slides, a 700-foot lazy river and a 9,000-square-foot pool all set to a 1950s and ‘60s surf theme. For guests who want to relax, enjoy one of the park’s 1,500 free lounge chairs or rent one the park’s 16 private cabanas. Check out www.watercountryusa.com for more details or call (800) 343-7946.

Vanish Point: Guests are in for the slide of their lives at Water Country USA’s epic new drop slide, Vanish Point℠. Inspired by the point on a wave where water and gravity form a perfect partnership, this summit supplies two wicked-wet ways to drop out of sight. The crest of this 75-foot tower challenges guests with two wave paths. They can step into a skybox and take a plunge when the floor drops out beneath their feet, or they can get horizontal on a 300-foot speed slide that drops them straight down as soon as they enter. Either way, it’s pure liquid adrenaline. Fans can visit www.facebook.com/watercountryusa for the latest construction information and park updates.

Hours: Visit www.watercountryusa.com for operating days and hours.

The mature forest, ridges, bottoms, and wetlands of this 545- acre York County park are alive with a wide variety of woody and herbaceous plants that provide habitat for deer, raccoons, birds, turtles, snakes, millipedes, and more. The Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries’ Birding and Wildlife Trail program has recognized New Quarter Park as one of coastal Virginia’s best sites for wildlife-watching and hiking.

History
Archaeologists have discovered prehistoric sites that reveal this land was home to Woodland Indians. After 1607, explorers from Jamestown crossed through the area to visit Chief Powhatan at Werowocomoco (Gloucester). The land along Queens Creek and the York River was granted to English settlers beginning in the 1630s.

In the early 1700s, Robert “King” Carter named this tract New Quarter, one of many quarters or farms that made up his landholding. He gave it to his grandson, Carter Burwell, who built Carter’s Grove. Slaves lived and toiled here for about 150 years. Nathaniel Burwell, Carter Burwell’s son, and many of his slaves moved west after the American Revolution.

During the Civil War, Union Troops at Fort Monroe launched a campaign to take Richmond, the Confederate Capital. Earthworks were built to slow the advance; Redoubts 12 and 13 are within the Park. After the Civil War, the forest grew while the land was lightly used by tenant farmers. York County acquired the property at no cost through the federal surplus land act program in 1976 on the condition that it be used for recreational purposes. Today the park is enjoyed by thousands of outdoor and recreational enthusiasts.

FACILITIES

• Available first come, first served: Hiking & mountain biking trails, playgrounds, picnic shelters, disc golf course, canoe & kayak launch, floating dock/ fishing pier, basketball & volleyball courts, soft ball field, horseshoe pits. • Picnic shelters may be reserved (see fees). • Public restrooms.

Trail  Map

Jamestown 4-H Educational Center, is a non-profit organization dedicated to the development of youth and adult volunteers through innovative 4-H camping, environmental education, and leadership training.

Founded in 1928, Jamestown 4-H Center became the first fully dedicated 4-H Camp built in the Commonwealth of Virginia.

Jamestown 4-H Educational Center annually hosts nine full weeks of summer camp, weekend specialty camps, environmental education programs, school field trips, family reunions, church retreats, and conferences. Jamestown 4-H Educational Center is a proudly accredited American Camping Association camp, and is in collaboration with Virginia Cooperative Extension and Character Counts. The 4-H Center is also a proud member of Network Williamsburg and Greater Williamsburg Chamber and Tourism Alliance. The 4-H Center is located in Williamsburg, along the James River. We are within walking distance to both Historic Jamestown and the Capital Trail, less than one mile from the Colonial Parkway, less than 5 miles from Colonial Williamsburg, and 20 minutes from Yorktown.

Our campus has 4 cabins  and 2 lodges . Each cabin has 2 large rooms with 14 bunk style beds, a smaller room with 2 single cots, and a bathroom with showers. Each lodge has 6 rooms with 8 bunk style beds, a large common room with 2 single cots, and 2 bathrooms with showers. Private dormitory style rooms are also available, with 2 single cots and a private bathroom, perfect for your special guest or bus driver! The campus also has a large dining hall, which seats up to 200. We also have a large recreation hall, which is perfect for talent shows, services, and large group break out sessions.

History

From 1928 to 1947

In 1928 Jamestown 4-H Educational Center was the first, fully-dedicated 4-H Camp built in the Commonwealth. The first six-acre camping site stood on the shores of the James River one mile north of Jamestown Island. The site, with its rustic wooden structures, was deeded to the 4-H organization by the C&O Railroad for the benefit of 4-H clubs and kindred organizations of the counties of the Commonwealth teaching better farming methods and domestic science. 4-H summer camps took place every summer between 1928 and 1946, with the exception being the World War II years of 1943 and 1944.

The original Jamestown 4-H camp property was later acquired by the National Park Service for its National Monumental Highway (Colonial National Historical Park) that connects Historic Jamestown Island NPS to Yorktown National Battlefield Park NPS. In 1942, the Jamestown 4-H Camp organization purchased a 16-acre parcel of land 1/2 mile up-river from the original site on land previously-owned by the C&O Railroad.

A New Home

Between 1948 and 1950 structures were built of wood frame and concrete blocks. Over the year many other buildings were built and renovated to meet the needs of modern campers..

In 1976, Jamestown 4-H Camp incorporated as Jamestown 4-H Educational Center with a governing body called the Corporate Membership. In 1982, the Corporate Membership made the decision to renovate and expand the existing facility.

The improvements and expansions of the 1980s gave the Center extensive recreational, meeting, and lodging facilities.

Today

From it’s early, agricultural roots, the Center not only continues over an 80-year tradition of fostering 4-H Campers into productive citizens with passions for environmentally-sensitive living practices, but also to help develop skills and interests in all science disciplines. In addition to the 4-H Campers who come to the Jamestown 4-H Educational Center, the Center also caters to private groups and organizations for their particular needs. The Center is fully-dedicated to serving those Extension Agents and 4-Hers from the Northeastern District of Virginia. All programming designed and administered by and accepted practices performed by the Center staff remain consistent with the core values of 4-H. The Center invites you to become apart of this extensive family and connect with our combined American heritage here at Jamestown.

Where we are

Jamestown 4-H Educational Center is located within walking distance to both Historic Jamestown and the Capital Trail, less than one mile from the Colonial Parkway, and less than 5 miles from Colonial Williamsburg, 20 minutes from Yorktown.

We are an exclusive, safe location that hosts educational, developmental team building and corporate events and 9 weeks of summer camp to 22 units in the state.

The 4-H property offers an unobstructed view of the James River, 2 Lodges that each sleep 50, 4 cabins that sleep 30, a Low Ropes Course, swimming pool, newly renovated amphitheater, fishing pier, living shoreline with a beach, dining and rec halls that can be used simultaneously by groups, multiple outdoor activities in a large recreational field typical of summer camps, acres of wooded property shielding us from development and a level of charm one can only experience first hand.