With over 500 miles of trails, Virginia State Parks offer endless opportunities for exploration and adventure. While hiking is often a favorite outdoor pastime, multi-use trails give us more ways to enjoy our favorite parks and maybe try something new.

The Multi-use trails at Sky Meadows State Park have long been a favorite riding spot for equestrian visitors.

Bring Your Own Horse (BYOH)

At Sky Meadows State Park, we have over 22 miles of trails to choose from. While many of these trails can be accessed on foot, 10.5 miles can be used as equestrian trails and 9 miles are bicycle accessible. It’s important to note that the park does not rent horses or bicycles. This means that folks wishing to use the trails for these purposes should plan to BYOB (Bring Your Own Bicycle) or BYOH (Bring Your Own Horse). The park has horse trailer parking at the Lost Mountain Entrance. Parking fees apply and there are annual pass options for equestrians.

Enjoy exploring the park by bicycle.

Benefits of Biking

Fun, fitness and being friendly to the environment are just some of the benefits of biking you can enjoy at a Virginia State Park. Bicyclists should know that the bike trails are not paved, so mountain bikes will be best for traversing the terrain. Virginia State Parks even allow the use of some e-bikes on bicycle trails. As a bonus, if you are riding your bike to the park, you won’t have to pay a car parking fee. For a longer trip, Sky Meadows State Park has a backcountry campground accessible by bicycle and can be used by touring cyclists as part of a “bike-packing” journey.

Plan Ahead and Prepare

We always ask visitors to “know before you go” and take a look at the park trail guide ahead of time to plan your adventure. You can even download the Avenza App for a geo-referenced park map using your smartphone’s GPS to pinpoint your location in the park.

Trail junction posts remind us of trail etiquette on multi-use trails.

Another way to “know before you go” is to review trail etiquette for multi-use trails. The Seven Principles of Leave No Trace is a handy resource for trail-users and reminds us to be considerate of other visitors by yielding where appropriate. This is not just for courtesy, but for our own safety too. On multi-use trails, there will be the expectation that we all share the trail with the other users. Hikers should yield to equestrians, and bikers should yield to both hikers and equestrians. You should alert others to your presence when passing, and always practice pet safety by keeping your pets on a leash at all times while recreating at a Virginia State Park.

Trail racing is one way to take your trail adventure to the next level.

Multiple uses and opportunities for fun

When you are ready to take your trail adventure to the next level, there are plenty of park programs and events, such as guided hikes and trail race events. Sky Meadows State Park has a designated 5K cross-country course, which encompasses several multi-use trails in the park. If racing is your thing, you might also be interested in the Virginia State Parks Adventure Series which offers a multitude of ways to compete on multi-use trails across the park system. There is no shortage of trail adventures or new ways to enjoy the trails, at a Virginia State Park.