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Region: Chesapeake

The largest estuary in the U.S., you can?t find a better place to spend time on the water than Chesapeake Bay. After a day of roaming the countryside or charter fishing, enjoy the smell of the sea while looking down at a table of freshly-caught blue crabs and a glass of locally produced wine. If out-of-the-ordinary is your goal, you've come to the right place.

Learn more about the amazing outdoor destinations in the Chesapeake region of Virginia by clicking the links below:

• Belle Isle State Park
  

  Located in the rural Northern Neck of Virginia, Belle Isle is the first state park to be purchased with funds from the $95 million 1992 Parks and Recreational Facilities Bond Referendum. The 733-acre site is a window to the beautiful lower Rappahannock River in Lancaster County. The park has seven miles of frontage on the north shore of the Rappahannock, and it borders Deep and Mulberry creeks. It features diverse tidal and nontidal wetlands, lowland marshes, tidal coves and upland forests. Overnight accommodations are available at the Bel Air mansion and guest house, and in the campground. The park also offers fishing, a boat launch, a car-top canoe and kayak launch area, and a picnic area with playground overlooking the Rappahannock River. Ranger-led canoe and educational programs are available. Powerboat, canoe, kayak, and bicycle rentals (seasonal restrictions may apply).

  Friends of Belle Isle State Park

  Outdoor Recreation Award for: Romantic Spots

• Caledon Natural Area
  

  Caledon Natural Area is situated on 2579 acres of mature forest along the Potomac river. Originally established in 1659, this area was owned and farmed for centuries by the Alexander family. It was donated to the state of Virginia by Mrs. Ann Hopewell Hewitt Smoot in 1974 and now is an important site for conservation. In 1974 Caledon Natural Area was designated a National Natural Landmark by the Secretary of the Interior because it is one of the best examples of an old, undisturbed, oak-tulip poplar-dominated virgin upland forest in the country.This area offers one of the few areas where bald eagles, a recently endangered bird, can nest peacefully. Much of the park is closed to visitors during certain times of the year to further aid the development of young eagles. In order to better preserve the area, camping and picnicking are limited and fishing is prohibited.

  Outdoor Recreation Award for: Hiking

• Westmoreland State Park
  

  Westmoreland State Park lies within Westmoreland County, from which it takes its name. The park extends about one and a half miles along the Potomac River, and its 1,299 acres neighbor the former homes of both George Washington and Robert E. Lee. The parks Horsehead Cliffs provide visitors with a spectacular view of the Potomac River. In addition to the scenic beauty at Westmoreland, the park offers hiking, camping, cabins, fishing, boating and swimming. Visitors can enjoy the parks vacation cabins as well. The visitor center, open during summer, gives an informative historical and ecological perspective to an important natural area on the coastal plain. Westmoreland also offers the Potomac River Retreat (closed for repairs until May 2005).

  Outdoor Recreation Award for: Amazing Spots, Water Recreation

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