City of Richmond, Virginia Parks

City of Richmond, Virginia
Parks, Recreation & Community Facilities
900 East Broad Street
Richmond, Virginia 23219

Phone: (804) 646-5733

Enjoy Richmond City Parks

Richmond is the capital of the Commonwealth of Virginia, in the United States. Like all Virginia municipalities incorporated as cities, it is an independent city and not part of any county. Richmond is the center of the Richmond Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) and the Greater Richmond area. 

Surrounded by Henrico and Chesterfield counties, the city is located at the intersections of Interstate 95 and Interstate 64, and surrounded by Interstate 295 and Route 288 in central Virginia. The population was 200,123 in 2007, with an estimated population of 1,212,977 for the Richmond Metropolitan Area — making it the third largest in Virginia.

The site of Richmond, at the fall line of the James River in the Piedmont region of Virginia, was briefly settled by English settlers from Jamestown in 1609, and in 1610-11, near the site of a significant native settlement.

 The present city of Richmond was founded in 1737. It became the capital of the Colony and Dominion of Virginia in 1780. During the Revolutionary War period, several notable events occurred in the city, including Patrick Henry's "Give me liberty or give me death" speech in 1775 at St. John's Church, and the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom in 1779--the latter of which was written by Thomas Jefferson in the city. 

During the American Civil War, Richmond served as the capital of the Confederate States of America, and many important American Civil War landmarks remain in the city today, including the Virginia State Capitol and the White House of the Confederacy, among others.

Richmond's economy is primarily driven by law, finance, and government with several notable legal and banking firms, as well as federal, state, and local governmental agencies, located in the downtown area. 

Richmond is one of twelve cities in the United States to be home to a Federal Reserve Bank. There are also nine Fortune 500, and thirteen Fortune 1000 companies in the city. Tourism is also important, as many historic sights are in or nearby the city.

Find a Place to Picnic

• James River Park

North

1. Battery Park - Located at Hawthorne Avenue and Overbrook Road. Some of the park features include the following: tennis courts, a playground, community center, and swimming pool. The park earned its name because it was the site where gun batteries were located during the Civil War.
2. Highland Park Plaza - Also known as Anne Hardy Plaza - Located at Carolina Avenue and Pollock Street. This park features a community center, tennis courts and a tot lot.
3. Joseph Bryan Park - The main entrance is located near the I-95 interchange in the 4300 block of Hermitage Rd. Enjoy three picnic shelters, world famous Azalea Gardens, tennis courts, tot lot, soccer fields, wooded areas, lake for fishing and open space.
4. Little John Park - Located at Little John Street and Chatham Road. This park is undeveloped open space.
5. Pollard Park - Located at Chamberlayne Avenue and Brookland Park Blvd. This park has benches and shrub beds.
6. Pine Camp Park - Located at 4901 Old Brook Road.

East

1. Cannonball Triangle - Located at Ash & Pear Streets.
2. Chimborazo Park - Located at East Broad Street near 32^nd Street. This park includes a great
3. view of the Southern part of the City. The park has a nice parkhouse, which was renovated in 2001. The parkhouse is available for community use. Chimborazo is Headquarters of the National Park Services Battlefield Park System. For more information about Richmond's National Battlefield Park System, call 804-226-1981.
4. Ethel Bailey Furman Park - Located at 29^th and "M" Streets
5. Gillies Creek Park - Located at Stoney Run Drive and Williamsburg Road. This park features Disc golf and a BMX course for bikes.
6. Great Shiplock Park - Located at Canal and Pear Streets. It is the lowest of historic Kanawha Canal locks with interpretive display. It also offers great fishing off Chapel Island.
7. Jefferson Park - Located at 21^st and East Marshall Streets. This park features a bandstand with comfort facility, tot lot and a beautiful view of the western part of the City. It is also the site of a buried steam train, which occurrred on October 2, 1925. A plaque commemorating this tragic accident is located at the tunnel's sealed entrance off 18th Street.
8. Libby Hill Park - Located at 28^th and E. Franklin Streets. One of the three original parks in our urban park system, it was originally called Marshall Square. The park has a small park house. It also has a monument erected in 1894 for Confederate soldiers and sailors. Visit this park for a great view of the southside of the City.
9. Patrick Henry Park - Located at 25^th and East Broad Streets. This park has benches and includes a landscaped area across from historic St. John's Church, where Patrick Henry gave his famous "Give Me Liberty, or Give Me Death!" speech. This park includes a landscaped area with benches.
10. Powhatan's Hill Park - Located at Williamsburg Road and Northampton Streets. This park includes open space with tennis courts, playground, comfort station and is near the Powhatan Community Center.
11. Taylor's Hill Park - Located at 21^st & East Franklin Streets

West

1. Byrd Park - Located just south of Boulevard and Idlewood Avenue. This park features: three lakes, 2 picnic shelters, ballfields, tennis courts, the Carillon (World War I Memorial, used for art displays) and Dogwood Dell, where the Department's Festival of Arts is held during the Summer.
2. Federal Park (mini park) - Located at 2100 W. Main Street.
3. Maymont House & Park - Located at 1700 Hampton Street. This 100-acre Victorian estate, once home of Major James H. Dooley, features a children's farm, nature center and gardens and the restored mansion. Don't miss the tram and carriage rides.
4. Monroe Park - Bounded by Franklin, Main, Laurel and Belvidere Streets. This city park, established in 1851, has been the site of agricultural exhibitions and was a major training and camp ground for Confederate troops during the Civil War. Virginia Military Institute cadets under "Stonewall" Jackson drilled recruits in this park early in the war.
5. Oregon Hill Park - Located at Belvidere between Idlewood & Holly Streets.
6. Paradise Park (mini park) - Located at the 1700 Block of Grove Avenue.
7. Petronious Jones Park - Located at the 1400 Block of Idlewood Avenue. This park features a playground, basketball and tennis courts plus a walking trail.
8. Pumphouse Park - Located at Pumphouse Drive. This park is a largely undeveloped area along Kanawha Canal, however, it is being developed for historic displays and exhibits.
9. Randolph Park - Located at 1501 Grayland Avenue
10. Riverside Park - Located at Pine and Holly Streets. The park has a gazebo and benches.
11. Scuffletown Park (mini park) - Located at 2300 Block between Stuart and Park Avenues. This park is a block-core park with at tot-lot

South

1. Canoe Run Park - Located at 22nd and Semmes Avenue. Open space with exercise trail.
2. Forest Hill Park - Located at 41st and Forest Hill Avenue. This park is the former site of the Forest Hill Amusement Park. It features a lake, walkways, 2 picnic shelters, a tot lot, tennis courts, and a meetinghouse.
3. Fonticello Park - Located at 28th and Bainbridge Streets. In addition to providing spring water, this park includes tennis courts, a playground and a ballfield. This park is also known as the Carter Jones Park.
4. Washington Square Park (mini park) - Located at Hull and 9th Streets.
5. Wayside Spring Park - This natural park located at New Kent Road and Prince George Road provides great spring water for residents.

Midlothian Huguenot

1. Broad Rock Sports Complex - Located at 2401 Broad Rock Blvd. It features ballfields, an athletic field, tennis and basketball courts and a concession stand during the summer months.
2. Lewis G. Larus Park - Located at Huguenot & Stoney Roads.
3. Pocosham Park - Located at Chippenham Parkway and Hey Road. This park is a largely undeveloped open space with one area devoted to parking, tot lot, basketball courts and a nature trail.
4. Powhite Park - Located at Jahnke Road and Chippenham Parkway. Natural park area.

Downtown

1. Abner Clay Park - Located at Brook Road & West Clay Street. This park is equipped with a tot lot, tennis courts, basketball court and also includes an open shelter.
2. Bojangles Triangle - Located at Leigh Street and Chamberlayne Parkway. This park is triangular shaped and features a statue of Bill "Bojangles" Robinson, the famed dancer. It also includes flowerbeds and a cutstone watering fountain for horses.
3. Brown's Island Park Located at the end of South 7th Street. A great place to learn more about Richmond's history. This landscaped park, along the river, with benches and interpretive signage is a site of spring and summer festivals.
4. Festival Park Located between the Coliseum and 6th Street Marketplace. It's a good place to enjoy music performances and other special events during the summer months.
5. Kanawha Plaza Located at Cary and Eighth Streets. Midtown open space, highly landscaped, fountain with pool, excellent downtown lunching spot, site of evening activities during the warmer months.
6. RMA Park Located near the Downtown Expressway at Byrd Street between 9th and 10th Streets.

Nature Preserve Parks

Listed below are parcels of undeveloped property recently added to the inventory for Parks and Recreation. They exhibit the serenity of all natural, undeveloped greenspaces, wetlands, art forms and color in nature.

1. Bandy Field Park features open rolling meadows and a small wooded area in the center of the park. It is on 17.86 acres of land and is located off Hanover Avenue and Three Chopt Road or one block east of Patterson and Three Chopt Road (main entrance is three blocks east).
2. Crooked Branch Ravine Park - This park features 19.5 acres of natural wooded land. It is located at on the southside of the city in the 4200 block of Crutchfield Street.
3. Lewis G. Larus Park - This park contains foot trails. It is an undeveloped open space/nature preserve with mature forest and rocky streams located on the southside of the City near the intersection of Stony Point Road and Huguenot Road.

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