Hike: Prince William Forest Park, Attempt #2 – Success!

Before noon on Saturday, we set out to hike the trails of Prince William Forest Park in Prince William County, VA. We could not have asked for a more perfect hiking day. The temperature was in the low 40s; however, as we hiked along with the bright sun, clear sky and lack of any significant wind, it felt more like an early spring day. We even had to stop and shed some layers.

Mike had mapped out a wide loop around the southeast section of the park. With 37 miles of hiking trails in the, we set out to hike approximately 7 to 8 miles of them.

After checking out the Visitor Center and paying the $5 park fee (good for one week), we started the Garmins and head out on the west branch of the Laurel Trail Loop. This trail is a short little loop off of the picnic area next to the Visitor Center. A little less than half way around the loop, we came to a wooden suspension bridge that connected to the South Valley Trail, which we took heading north and west, following the South Fork Quantico Creek.

The trails through out the park are mostly dirt and occasional rocks and roots. This time of year it was covered in long-dead leaves, which made for some fun trails as we were able to crunch and kick through the small piles. There was also the occasional uphill and/or downhill but the hike was mostly flat.

The South Valley Trail can be followed all the way to the other end of the park; however, we jumped off relatively soon on to the Turkey Run Ridge Trail which slices up the middle of the park toward one of the larger campgrounds, Turkey Run Ridge Group Campground. From the campground we took the Mary Bird Branch trail toward the Quantico Falls Trails.

After only a few minutes on both these trails, we came to Quantico Creek and the Cascades. This is where the Fall Line is located, or where the Creek is no longer navigable by boat. The water throughout the park was low; however, it was easy to see how high the water could get and despite the low water, the cascades were interesting to see and hear (there was a constant burbling on the trails as you descend to the creek). Also, there was some evidence of beaver activity near the cascades…although, we couldn’t help but wonder if the beaver evidence wasn’t possibly man-made.

After taking a short break at the cascades, we headed south along the North Valley Trail, briefly cutting across Quantico Creek to the very edge of Prince William Forest Park. Here the forest, through which the trail cuts became a bit thicker for a while and we came across the ruins of the Cabin Branch Pyrite Mine. Abandoned nearly a century ago only a few foundations are left of the mine and the mine shaft had been covered over. We couldn’t help but be amazed at how quickly nature takes back its domain once people stop maintaining it.

Before long we were back on the other side of the Quantico Creek and quickly heading toward the end of our hike. We came up the remains of a suspension bridge similar to the one seen before as we began out hike crossing over to the South Valley Trail. One side of the bridge was still standing, the rusted cable and large bolts were scattered around and metal still stuck in cement was along the banks of the creek. We following the North Valley Trail until we came to the suspension bridge that we had crossed at the beginning of our hike back to the Laurel Trail Loop.
Back on the Laurel Trail Loops we decided to follow the east branch of the trail to get back to the car and knowing we were close to finishing our hike, I quickened the pace. I could feel my legs beginning to tire; I was really feeling the morning’s run after hiking more than 7 miles and I was eager to be done. As we crested a small hill, a giant green water tower seemed sprang up. I had hardly noticed it behind the Visitor Center as we were heading out and now here it was looming large, signaling the end of our hike. “How could I have missed that,” I wondered.

And then the hike was over, 7.5 miles, 2 hours and 50 minutes after we had started, we looped through the southern portion of the park and we were back at the car. Prince William Forest Park is a great place for a long, winding hike in the woods. Although the trails are not wide and have the occasional obstacle, they are well marked and provide just enough to keep me on my toes. With so many trails that interconnect, it would be possible to go again and again without taking the same route twice. I look forward to going back in order to check out the north section of the park which is supposed to have a more backcountry feel.