First Landing State Park: Bald Cypress Trail (Blog Hike #129)

Trail: Bald Cypress Trail

Hike Location: First Landing State Park
Geographic Location: north side of Virginia Beach, VA (36.91648, -76.04098)

Length: 1.6 miles

Difficulty: 1/10 (Easy)

Dates Hiked: April 2003, March 2016

Overview: An easy interpretive walk through a magnificent bald cypress forest.

Park Information: http://www.dcr.virginia.gov/state-parks/first-landing.shtml#general_information
Hike Route Map: https://www.mappedometer.com/?maproute=940892
Photo Highlight:

Directions to the trailhead: From downtown Virginia Beach, go west on US 60 first on Atlantic Ave, then continue west on US 60 as it turns left and becomes Shore Drive.  The entrance to First Landing State Park is 3 miles past the left turn on the left.  Enter the park, pay the nominal entrance fee, and follow the park road straight.  The park road dead-ends at the Visitor Center parking lot, where this hike begins.

The hike: Perhaps the best-known attraction in southeast Virginia is the “historic triangle” comprised of Colonial Williamsburg, Jamestown, and Yorktown.  This hike easily fits into a history-themed trip, as the ground contained in this park is the first the Jamestown settlers would have stepped on in the New World.  To recognize this, the Virginia Department of Natural Resources recently renamed Seashore State Park as First Landing State Park.  The state park is located about 40 miles southeast of the historic triangle mentioned above.

Likewise, equally popular attractions in southeast Virginia are the beaches of Virginia Beach.  The waters are a bit cool until mid-April, but a walk along the beach is pleasant any time of year.  The state park is located only five minutes from the beach, so this hike fits into a beach trip as well.  In fact, although the park does not border the ocean, the state park trails give visitors a great opportunity to see the ocean dunes of southeast Virginia in their natural state.

In addition to cabins and a campground, there are over 19 miles of well-marked and maintained hiking trails in the park, so visitors have a lot of options.  Bikers will want to explore the Cape Henry Trail, a 6-mile gravel bike path that begins at the Visitor Center and ends only steps from the Atlantic Ocean.  Long hiking loops can be made by combining the bike path with either the White Hill Lake Trail for a 6 mile loop or the Long Creek Trail for a 10-mile loop.  For the visitor with less time, some excellent scenery can be found by hiking the Bald Cypress Trail, which forms a 1.6 mile loop just southeast of the visitor center.

Trailhead near Visitor Center

            From the front of the visitor center, look to the right for a sign board that reads “Bald Cypress Trail.”  This trail is marked with red blazes.  Numbered posts along the trail conform with those in a trail brochure available in the Visitor Center for a small fee.  Pass through a wooden turnstile and soon come to the first of several marshy areas on the right.  Bald cypress trees, identifiable by the knobs that stick up from the ground surrounding the trunk, dominate the marshy areas, while maples take over on the higher dune terrain.  The ponds throughout this hike create ideal nesting grounds for mosquitoes, so make sure to wear several layers of bug repellent in the warmer months.

Boardwalk through bald cypress swamp

            In 0.3 miles, come to two junctions in quick succession with the Osmanthus Trail, which is marked with blue blazes and goes left both times.  This trail extends the hike by 3.1 miles and takes visitors to some more marshy areas.  Our hike stays to the right on the Bald Cypress Trail at both of these intersections.  The trail now climbs some 50 feet to a slightly higher dune area, then descend to another pond.  This pond featured a large turtle on my visit, and turtles, snakes, and frogs are very common sites throughout this hike.

0.75 miles from the start, the Bald Cypress Trail crosses the wide graveled Cape Henry Biking Trail.  The yellow-blazed High Dune Trail continues straight ahead across the bike path, but this hike angles left and remains on the red-blazed Bald Cypress Trail.  Just past this confusing intersection, the trail comes to an extremely wet spot that may be difficult to cross after a rain.  Hikers have made a faint shortcut that goes off to the right just before the puddle, but don’t use that unless the official trail is impassible.  The shortcut intersects the official trail on the other side of the wet area.

Hiking beside a pond

            The trail passes over a dune and intersects the other end of the High Dune Trail, which goes steeply uphill to the right.  0.1 miles past this junction, a side trail leads left to join the Fox Run Trail.  Stay to the right as the Bald Cypress Trail heads east parallel to the park road.  0.25 miles later, the trail ends at the Cape Henry Trail adjacent to the Visitor Center.  A left turn will return you to your car and complete the hike.