Located along the Rappahannock River, Belle Isle State Park offers an impressive 7-miles of shoreline, canoe-in camping, hiking, biking, and horseback riding trails, boat launch, fishing pier and a historic mansion and guest house. 

We happily picked up our co-blogger and favorite 4-legged friend Mr. Rigby, and our best human and puppy pals Kelsey and Lavender for a fun-filled adventure on the trails. 

A couple of puppy pals enjoying lunch at the picnic tables by the park office

September 25, 2016 Belle Isle State Park

There are 12-trails to choose from at this park, all classified as “easy”. We picked a loop which we felt would encompass a good diversity of habitats and weren’t steered wrong! Starting out at the Park Office, we traveled down the 0.61 mi Watch House Trail, diverting briefly onto the 0.38 mi Porpoise Creek Trail to check out an enclosed bird blind and lookout post along a secluded bay. 

View from the Porpoise Creek Trail

Our plan was to take the Mud Creek Trail (1.9 mi), but our pooches were so excited to be on an adventure, that we walked right past it and found ourselves at the Neck Field Trial which leads to the *Canoe-In campground. Whoops! We had to turn around and retrace our steps. Fortunately, the misstep lead us past some breathtaking wetlands and a unique section of the park we otherwise would have missed.

A portion of the Watch House Trail leading to the wetlands

The Mud Creek Trail courses through a beautiful riverside forest winding through trees and along the water, it’s definitely a trail to hit. It continues onto the Mulberry Creek Boardwalk with a fishing area giving you the perfect view of the waters of Mulberry Creek, a tributary to the Rappahannock.

You can also drive to this fishing area and take advantage of the kayak launch for easy access to the water. We stayed on the Mud Creek Trail and continued through along a soybean field before reaching the 0.9 mi Bluebird Trail.

Portions of the Mud Creek Trail and Bluebird Trail cut along the soybean fields

This easy walking path separates the forest from farm field farm while winding along the line of trees before reconnecting with the main road of the park and back to the Park Office. 

The beautiful woodlands of the Mud Creek Trail

Overall Belle Isle State Park was a beautiful park, tucked along the waters of the Rappahannock and provided a wonderful Sunday getaway for us and the pups.

Mr. Rigby is a born naturalist, enjoying key finds along the way

A great day on the trail for both people and pups

If you would like to go on your own adventure to Belle Isle State Park and would like more information about this park, click here.

Guest Bloggers Peter Radlowski and Sarah Sumoski plan to tackle all 37 Virginia State Parks in 2016 and they invite you to come along on the adventure with them.

Editor's Note: *Brewer’s Point Hike-in or Boat-in Primitive Campground: this campground offers year-round primitive hike-in or boat-in tent camping. Vehicle access to these sites is not permitted for any reason. Campers must arrive by boat or hike in (1.5 miles from the closest parking area). More about camping at Belle Isle State Park here, or call 800-933-PARK.