Hike Location: Lake Anna State Park
Geographic Location: southwest of Spotsylvania, VA (38.11274, -77.83152)
Length: 1.8 miles
Difficulty: 2/10 (Easy)
Date Hiked: May 2018
Overview: A double loop featuring Lake Anna views and an
apparent old railroad grade.
Park Information: http://www.dcr.virginia.gov/state-parks/lake-anna
Directions to the trailhead: Between Richmond and
Fredericksburg, take I-95 to SR 606 (exit 118).
Exit and go west on SR 606. Drive
SR 606 west 6 miles to SR 208 and turn left on SR 208. Drive SR 208 west 10 miles to Lawyers Road
and turn right on Lawyers Rd. Signs for
Lake Anna State Park mark all of these turns.
Drive Lawyers Rd. north 3 miles to the park entrance on the left. Turn left to enter the park, pay the park
entrance fee, and follow signs for the Visitor Center. Park in the large gravel lot near the Visitor
Center.
The hike: Lake
Anna owes its existence to the North Anna Dam on its namesake river, which was
built in 1972 by Dominion Energy to provide nuclear-generated electric power
for Richmond and northern Virginia. The
resulting lake is 17 miles long but only a maximum of 80 feet deep. The lake’s eponymous state park opened in
1983, and it consists of 3127 acres on the east shore of Lake Anna.
Before the
lake or the park existed, this area was known as Gold Hill because it was the
center of Virginia’s gold mining activity.
The Goodwin Gold Mine operated on this site; it was the third largest
gold mine in the United States from 1830 until 1849. Although gold mining in Virginia peaked in
the mid 1800’s, small-scale gold production continued on this site until World
War II, when it was halted due to labor shortages. The park still offers guided tours of the
mine about once per month, and park rangers lead gold panning activities on
occasion.
Due to its
swimming beach, boat ramp, and lakeside picnic areas, aquatic activities take
center stage at Lake Anna State Park.
Thus, the park becomes very congested on warm-weather weekends, but it
was nearly deserted when I came here on a Friday morning with a light
rain. The park also offers 10 cabins, a
46-site campground, and 15 miles of trails.
Although all of the trails are open to hikers, most of them are shared
with mountain bikers and horses. The
park’s longest and best hiker-only trail is the Railroad Ford Trail, and combining
the Railroad Ford Trail with the short asphalt Old Pond Trail forms the double
loop hike described here.
 |
| Trailhead: northeast side of Visitor Center |
From the
northeast corner of the Visitor Center, pick up the asphalt Old Pond Trail as
it heads northeast with the pond to your right and Lake Anna behind you. The tranquil pond is an old farm pond built by a
former land owner. This trail features
some fitness stations, and large amounts of ferns and ground cedar grow in the
understory. A large number of dying red
cedar trees also live in this forest, and some of them are falling down and
creating hazards overhead.
 |
| Old farm pond |
At 0.2
miles, you reach the southeast corner of the pond and a trail intersection. Turn left to head for the campground, then
quickly turn right to leave the asphalt and start the signed red-blazed Railroad
Ford Trail. The wide dirt trail stays
very close to the lakeshore, thus yielding excellent lake views. Some boulders have been placed here to
stabilize the shore bank, and several benches beckon you to stop and enjoy the
lake view.
 |
| Lake Anna view |
 |
| Trail along Lake Anna |
As the
trail veers away from the lakeshore, some small signs help you identify common
trees. Some old numbered posts
correspond to an interpretive guide available at the Visitor Center and the
park office, but many of the numbers have worn off. At 0.9 miles, you reach the trail’s
southernmost point where it curves sharply left to head up one of the lake’s
many small inlets.
 |
| Apparent old railroad grade |
The next
0.6 miles appear to follow an old railroad grade as evidenced by an obviously
flattened treadway bordered by trenches and borrow pits, but I could not find a
source to confirm my observation. The
trail climbs almost imperceptibly through a nice forest consisting of oak,
tulip poplar, hornbeam, and a few sweet gum trees. At 1.5 miles, you reach the asphalt trail
that links the campground with the Visitor Center. Turn left and descend moderately past the
campground amphitheater to close the Railroad Ford Trail’s loop. Continue straight to walk between the old
pond on the right and Lake Anna on the left to return to the Visitor Center and
complete the hike.
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