Hiking at Newport News Park

The weather has been getting warmer, which means we can get back into hiking, one of our favorite family pastimes. Our old go-to hiking spot ahas long been First Landing State Park, but recently our new favorite place is Newport News Park, which features 30 miles of hiking and biking trails (among many other amenities).

Our favorite kid-friendly trail at the park is definitely the Twin Forts trail, a small .7-mile loop trail that takes you over mostly flat ground by the Lee Hall Reservoir. Not only does it start with a beautiful walk down the wood bridge that takes you over the reservoir, it then leads you past some pretty amazing Civil War fortifications left over from the Battle of Yorktown.
Besides that, the trail is teeming with wildlife -- while we were there we saw swans, ducks, frogs, turtles, and what we are pretty sure was a couple of beavers splashing around in the water. And it's just a very pretty walk all around.

There are longer hikes for older kids -- and some that would be fun for parents, too -- click here for a complete map of trails.