Shared by Johanna Petrosky, Visitors Services Specialist, as Guest Blogger.

On July 14th, 2012 Caledon Natural Area, in King George county, will no longer be existent. Matter of fact, we're celebrating! But don't get me wrong - the park is actually becoming a STATE PARK...our newest Virginia State Park!

With that being said, there are some changes taking place and we want you to come visit so we can show you around...plus we want to show off our new trails!

Caledon was donated to the state by the Smoot family in 1974 to serve as a state park.

We're opening over 6.5 miles of hiking and biking trails, just for you. The park has so much potential for trails winding through the wooded mature trees, towards the Potomac River, far from the hustle and bustle of city life...ahhhh...we had to take advantage of ourselves. For the nature lovers out there, don't be overly concerned. Park rangers have been studying our sensitive natural areas for years, there are only certain areas that we're offering very limited interaction. Hey, no one cares more about our eagles than we do! So rest assure, we'll protect them just like we always have.

The Bald Eagle was removed from the endangered species list five years ago, thanks to many of our parks like Caledon who protect them.

Now, for the weekend warriors out there, we blazed these rock dust trails leading out to a few of our favorite overlooks of the river. Boyd's Hole Trail is a favorite, before it was for hikers only, now bikers are allowed too. Then there's Jones Pond Loop, Hampstead Road Trail and the Potomac Overlook to name a few. Before we became a state park, we didn't allow access to certain areas of the park and certainly didn't allow biking. Now we're excited to lift our old restrictions and offer all kinds recreational things to do! Not only can you bike and hike, but you can run along these trails too.

Boyd's Hole Trail is 2.06 miles long and takes you to Boyd's Hole, an area with picnic tables and a pier overlooking the Potomac River.

On July 14th we'll be having our official ribbon cutting ceremony starting at 9 a.m. where we'll explain more and our Rangers can answer any questions you may have.

Park Manager, Nina Cox, has been at Caledon for 22 years and knows more about the trees than the eagles, so nothing gets by her! “I’m just so excited to be here for this significant change. I’m pleased to see the eagle population recover to healthy levels, and I’m especially pleased to know that so many more people will now have the opportunity to enjoy the park in new ways.”

Besides the new trails, we'll be holding activities through the day, including kayak trips, hayrides, star gazing through telescopes and a bunch of other fun stuff! We also added these two awesome scenic overlooks of the river just off the trail, and we're workin' on one more. Eventually, we'll add another picnic area near Boyd's Hole, and MAYBE, just maybe, hike-in campsites and a canoe/kayak landings with campsites! Cool, huh? Can you imagine kayaking your way down the Potomac River and stopping to setup camp at Caledon? 

THIS could be you!

Speaking of the kayaking...make sure you stick around till the sunset kayaking trip. Sunset means 6:30 p.m. and we supply the kayaks. All we ask is you contact us to let us know you want to come because it's so awesome you might not get a spot. That's right, we're awesome, and space is limited. The cost is $19 for a solo and $25 for a tandem.

Call Caledon State Park at (540) 663-3861 to reserve your kayak for the awesome sunset kayak tour. Reservations can be made up til Saturday. Click here to learn more about this park, and here for a Google map with directions.