Appomattox River Regional Park
It might be hidden behind a jail, but its a great place be free for a while. The Appomattox River Regional Park was built with approximately $500,000 in donations through a partnership of the Friends of the Lower Appomattox, Prince George county and the Riverside Regional Jail. Friends of the Lower Appomattox River is a non-profit citizen organization formed as a result of the Appomattox River Corridor Plan, sponsored by the Crater Planning District Commission in June 1999. “This park is destined to be one of the very best in the area and one of the best regional parks,“ said Wayne Walton, a member of FOLAR and a new member of the Hopewell city council. “FOLAR has been a very good partner,“ said Keith Rotzoll of the Prince George County Parks and Recreation Department. “They were able to do a lot of the labor ... they have taken the lead with several things, like the pier and the trails.“ The park offers more than 50 acres of wooded trails with an observation pier on the Appomattox River and is the first park on the river for Prince George County. “We mostly have open parks with ballfields, but we really didn’t have something out in the woods that is passive, educational,“ said Rotzoll. The park started in 2003 at 20 acres with about a mile of trails and has grown to about 50 acres. An observation pier was added in 2007 to allow visitors a place to relax at the river or to fish. The tidal waters of the Appomattox are good for fishing and there is plenty of historical significance to the area, according to Walton. “Working together in partnership has worked really well with FOLAR and the surrounding localities,“ said Walton, adding that the park is just one of several projects FOLAR is involved with to create a series of greenways and walking trails along the Appomattox river, referred to as the Appomattox Trail System. There are plans to extend the park to the west, which would increase the total size more than 80 acres. A regional education center with a classroom and restrooms are planned for later 2008. The park will also have a connection under I-295 to Hopewell’s Cameron’s Landing community. The developers donated 23 of their 107 acres to the park. “We hope we can use the river access and when we get the pavilions in, we can expand the park’s uses,“ said Rotzoll. The Appomattox River Regional Park is located between I-295 and the Riverside Regional Jail on River Road, just west of Hopewell. Originally published July 2008 in "Discover Richmond."
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