Horse camping and trails
Virginia State Parks are literally great places to horse around. Six parks offer horse camping, and 20 have riding trails.
Horse campsites
Six Virginia State Parks rent horse campsites. Some sites have electricity and water and a nearby full bathhouse; others have electricity and water and a pit toilet. Because sites vary, carefully read about each park's horse camping amenities. Also, sign up for the Customer Loyalty Program to earn points that may be applied to future overnight stays.
Parks with horse trails
Twenty-one of our state parks have horse trails, and trailer parking is available. The equestrian trails vary from 2 to 57 miles long. See below for details or click here for a detailed list of all parks' horse offerings.
- Bear Creek Lake (BC): None in the park but 16 miles in Cumberland Multi-Use Trail
- Belle Isle (BI): 3.9 miles
- Chippokes (CP): 10 miles
- Douthat (DO): 6 miles, connects to Alleghany Highlands Multi-use Trail
- Fairy Stone (FS): 10 miles
- Grayson Highlands (GH): 2 miles, connects to Jefferson National Forest
- High Bridge Trail (HB): 31 miles
- James River (JR): 15 miles
- Lake Anna (LA): 12 miles
- New River Trail (NR): 57 miles
- Occoneechee (OC): None in the park but 7.5 miles trailhead for Panhandle Trail
- Pocahontas (PO): 13 miles
- Powhatan (PW): 9 miles
- Shenandoah River (SH): 7 miles
- Sky Meadows (SK): 7 miles
- Staunton River (SR): 18 miles
- Sweet Run (SN): 9 miles
- Twin Lakes (TL): None in the park but 8 miles in Prince Edward-Gallion Forest
- Wilderness Road (WR): 8 miles
- York River (YR): 14.3 miles
Horse complexes
Several parks are known for well-developed horse complexes. Pocahontas State Park's day-use Bright Hope Complex comes complete with ample parking, restroom and exercise rings. One is 20 by 60 feet, and the other is 50 by 100 feet. Call 800-933-7275 for rental information. The complex is near the Bright Hope Multi-use Trail.
At 16.5 acres, the New River Trail's Mark E. Hufeisen Horse Complex is the system's most prominent horse offering. It has a 170 by 250 foot arena, accommodations for calf-roping, seating for up to 600 and plenty of parking. The well-lit complex has a concession building, which has a refrigerator and a microwave oven, an announcer's booth and rodeo equipment. Visitors may bring a horse and ride in the arena for $5 a day, and the complex can be rented in total for special events for a full or half day. Call 800-933-7275 for details. Download a diagram of the arena.