Water, not the land, defines Virginia’s eastern region. It washes up onto Atlantic barrier islands and rolls into the Chesapeake Bay, forming and shaping the coastline. It runs along a vast network of upland streams, molding river bluffs and carving small inlets and bays. It pours forth from western regions of the state, bursting into the estuarine lower reaches of the James, York, Rappahannock, and Potomac Rivers, giving shape to three large peninsulas that jut out into the Chesapeake Bay.
Water also redefines the landscape, as dramatically evidenced by Hurricane Isabelle in September 2003. One of the state’s worst all-time storms in terms of damage inflicted, Isabelle hit state and city parks particularly hard, none more so than York River State Park. There an 8-foot storm surge destroyed footpaths and boardwalks and forced the closure of trails. Elsewhere, in Newport News Park and on the Eastern Shore’s Chincoteague Wildlife Refuge, trails remained closed 6 months after the storm.
Over the long reach of geologic time, the influx and regress of water—sometimes gradual, sometimes dramatic—has been eastern Virginia’s legacy. The Chesapeake Bay itself is the drowned mouth of the Susquehanna River. In glacial times, when the ocean levels dropped some 400 feet, what we know today as the Chesapeake Bay was a wide river valley. The coastline stood 60 miles out into the present-day ocean. The sand beaches and brackish lagoons of today were, millions of years ago, forests and freshwater ponds.
Images of colonial Virginia ring out in accounts written by early explorers. The English, seeking permanent settlement of North America, came ashore in Virginia Beach, present-day Cape Henry. After months at sea, they were awestruck by an abundance of trees, plants, and animals. They saw dense swamps with sheets of Spanish moss dangling from trees standing in knee-deep black water. Discarded oyster shells littered the beaches. Fish were abundant. Inland, the Algonquin Indians had cleared only a fraction of the forest for their crops. Trees were tall and thickly trunked, and sheltered an abundance of wildlife.
Eastern Virginia today harbors bits and pieces of this once-resplendent nature. Rare migratory birds winter over in the Dismal Swamp. Endangered turtles live in the swamps of First Landing State Park. In the harsh beach and dune environments, piping plovers struggle against predators large and small. Behind barrier islands, marshes perform the critical job of filtering land runoff while supporting a nursery of fish and shellfish. In hidden, secluded spots, rare orchids bloom and old-growth trees spread their branches, inviting you to rest in their shade. Bald eagles nest and roost on stretches of the James River between Richmond and Isle of Wight County.
Wherever you choose to explore, bring a pair of waterproof boots. Because no matter where you hike in eastern Virginia, you’re bound to hit water.
THE HIKES
1. Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge
2. False Cape State Park/Back Bay Wildlife Refuge
3. First Landing State Park
4. York River State Park
5. Belle Isle State Park
6. Newport News Park
HONORABLE MENTIONS
A. Great Dismal Swamp National Wildlife Refuge
B. Sandy Bottom Nature Preserve
C. Beaverdam Park
D. Hickory Hollow Natural Area Preserve
E. Caledon State Park