Caledon State Park
Caledon State Park is a Virginia State Park about 25 miles east of Fredericksburg. It is located on the Potomac River. The park hosts one of the largest concentration of bald eagles on the East Coast.
Caledon is ancestral home of the Alexander family. John and Philip Alexander founded the city of Alexandria, Virginia and established Caledon Plantation in 1659. In 1974, Caledon was donated to the Commonwealth of Virginia. The area was designated the as Caledon Natural Area in 1984. In 2012 with the bald eagle populations recoveirng, Caledon was reclassified from a natural area to a state park and more areas were opened for recreation.
The park's visitor center is located in the historic main house. There are over 12 miles of trails in the park, many of which pass through old growth (virgin) forest. The Boyd's Hole Trail leads to the beach on the Potomac. The Boyd's Hole area was an important port in the colonial times. The Potomac is about 2 miles wide at this point.
I hiked down to Boyd's Hole through a steady drizzle that eventually turned into a hard rain on the way back. This trail is well maintained and serves as the maintenance road, so the hike was fairly easy. The grade drop is pretty gradual as the trail descends down to the river bank. There are so many huge trees along the way. And a lot of them are covered in moss, so I'm guessing that this forest receives a lot of rain throughout the year.
As I got near to the Potomac, part of the trail was a bit flooded due to the high level of the river, but it wasn't enough to make it impassable. There was TON of driftwood all up an down the beach. It didn't see any eagles, but I did see some herons and gulls.
There wasn't anyone else in the park on this raining day, but it's a great place to visit.
