Biking the Virginia Capital Trail from Williamsburg to Richmond

• Date Biked:  September 20 , 2021 (with some photos from a ride in 2019)
• Posted Mileage : 51.7 miles
• Total miles Tracked: 53.19 miles
• Type of Trail: Greenway, paved
• Conveniences:  Picnic tables, plenty of parking at some trailheads
• Best Features:   A high quality trail with a great length through multiple historic settings
• Worst Features: Seldom far from traffic, very few public restrooms or water fountains
• Wildlife spotted:  Deer
• Vegetation: Hardwoods, pine, wildflowers
• Associated Website:  https://www.virginiacapitaltrail.org/
• Primary Author: James

If you enjoy reading plaques, have we got a trail for you!

Winding over 50 miles from Williamsburg to Richmond, the Virginia Capital Trail is a great destination trip for any biker. For experienced bikers, it's long enough to really test your endurance without dealing with too much traffic. The list of paved trails where you can do a century ride as an out and back and still have some miles to spare is a pretty short list! 

Mile 0.0

Not that we've tackled this as a century ride! There's no shuttle, but we had a friend of a friend ferry us down to Williamsburg after we left our vehicle at Shiplock Park in Richmond. We were dropped off in the parking lot of the Jamestown settlement. We were there before the visitor center opened, but have popped in before and it's a nice place to take a break, especially on a hot summer day. 

Since jets of water are shooting up among the sails, I assume this is some sort of monument to sinking ships. I probably should have read the plaque.

The ride out of Jamestown is very flat. There are a lot of historical markers, and the scenery is a mix of agricultural fields, wetlands, and residential areas. The first few miles have quite a few road crossings. Of note in this segment is Spoke & Art, a bike friendly coffee and treats place with exterior restrooms that are open even when the business is closed. 

Swamps are best viewed in the morning, before the mosquitos have their coffee. 

A few miles beyond this is the Chickahominy Riverfront Park and a semi-steep hill to climb on the arched bridge over the river, but the view at the top is worth the extra sweat. Once you're over the bridge, you pass through a lot of pine forest until you reach Charles City, which is around the 20 mile mark. Here you find another bike friendly restaurant, Cul's Courthouse Grill. They keep a thermos on the front porch for refilling water bottles, and after twenty miles of biking, you can eat a plate of fries mostly guilt free. 

There's an East Coast Greenway sign in the window, so you're technically haven't left the trail if you go inside Cul's for a beer. 

An important note: The trail kind of disappears in Charles City. It's not a huge problem if you are looking at the trail map on your phone, but could benefit from an extra sign or two to let you know you're on the right path while you're following the road through town. 

Right about here, they need a sign saying, "Keep going! You aren't lost!"

Though, seriously, they have great signs all along the trail with distances to upcoming destinations. More trails should make use of these!

Past Charles City is a lot of open farmlands. It's nice scenery, but during hot days there are stretches of several miles without even a hint of shade. Our ride in September was comfortable, but we rode this during July in 2019 and riding these shadeless miles was brutal. There's also pretty much nothing in the way of a water fountain or bathroom for twenty miles once you leave Charles City until you reach the outer edges of Richmond. Finally, after the flat, flat, flat of the Jamestown to Charles City segment, the rest of the trail is kind of hilly. Not mountainous by any means, but more of a workout. The trade-off is that the hilliest sections are also the shadiest sections,  

The VCT imitating Kansas.

You know Richmond is near when you reach the Four Mile Creek trailhead. Tons of parking, but no bathrooms or water. There's a convenience store across the highway, but if you press further along the trail toward Richmond you'll find stores on the trail side of the road. There's also signs pointing to a park with restrooms and water, but we've never detoured to check it out. After veering to avoid an interstate loop, the trail comes back to Hwy 5. Traffic is heavy here, so watch for cars as you come to intersections and parking lots. Eventually, the trail crosses the road. Once you make the crossing, the rest of the ride goes by quickly. The Richmond skyline appears on the horizon and keeps growing. Before you know it, you're riding next to the James River past condos and bars. 

You can tell it's a safe trail since this bike doesn't have a lock and no one has stolen it.

Then, boom, suddenly there's a city.

Shiplock Park is the site of an old canal lock, and the whole area feels steeped in Richmond's industrial past. Railroads pass overhead, there's enormous brick smokestacks, and if you press on to the end of the trail the confluence of interstate, elevated railroad, and massive floodwalls surrounding you feels like an enormous sculpture. 

Railroad, interstate, canal, bike trail. If an airplane is flying over, you've got yourself a transportation museum.

Once you're downtown Richmond, your options for dining or grabbing a drink are too numerous to list. We wound up in a bar in an old fire station that served fried moon pies, to be sure we negated any health benefits we might have gained by biking 50+ miles. 

Jamestown, Charles City, and Richmond combine to make this a very user-friendly trail. Whichever end you bike toward, there's a place to grab a bite to eat and a frosty beverage within walking distance of the final milepost. 

There are more trails beyond this sign as you enter the canal walkways, but that may be a future post. 

The few downsides to the trail would be that it's seldom far from Hwy 5, so expect some road noise and the occasional truck exhaust. While careful planning is important no matter where or when you ride, the exposed nature of sections of this trail means you shouldn't skimp on bringing water. Finally, unlike a lot of long trails, this isn't a rail trail. While much of the terrain is flat, the trail follows the natural contours of the land, so you do hit a few relatively steep hills. 

All in all, this is a great destination, either to tackle all in one hard push, or to explore in multiple segments, or add in as an activity while vacationing in the area. Get it on your travel schedule!