I know why the blue left, and the red told me why it was leaving, but why did the Greenleaf?…read more This lovely park in the north of Charlottesville also contains one of my favorite YMCA locations in the country - so it's a great park for more than one reason. Definitely one of the best recreational areas of a lovely town.

Greenleaf is an intimate, little park tucked away in a neighborhood and is surrounded by beautiful…read moretrees. It's easy to forget that a major roadway runs along the length of the park because it's almost hidden behind a tree line. The park has one of two splash pads in the city, a playground for bigs and tinies and a basketball half court. Finally, I love that the park has plenty of seating (including a pavilion) so either hosting a birthday party or simply monitoring rambunctious children is easy to do. The ONLY drawback to this little diamond of a park is the parking. The lot is uber tiny with only a few spaces and very little space to navigate even if you score a parking spot. Nutshell: It's a great place to come but you may want to come early or come on foot.

Our Charlottesville son has come here with his two young sons (5 and nearly 4 years of age) …read more Trails, marked by colors (eg, Red Trail, Blue Trail, etc.) are easy enough for the little guys & certainly easy enough for us as well. They are well maintained, go uphill in some areas, flat in others, skirt a small creek, a large pond with turtles, fish, ducks & geese, lots of marked trees & meadows, all good distractions for big & little hikers.

I was heretofore unfamiliar with this tract of land despite having spent plenty of time in the…read morearea. It seems I missed out, as a splendid variety of experiences were available for free. Traversing an overlook over the river, I went down into a valley, spotting majestic birds of prey, a large fish, energetic baby turtles, singing frogs, and a snake, all spotted in less than an hour. As wildlife preserves go, this one had a lot of wildlife. Conditions vary of course, but there were a couple more hours worth of trails I didn't get to. Near the entrance were some buildings, including a water station and primitive bathrooms. People seemed to come for a variety of reasons.

Perfect place to come and relax! Our dogs love it here and enjoy a good run and a jump in the…read morewater. Our go-to place for doggie play tine!

This is a review of the park located here, aka Chris Greene Lake Park; it is over 250 acres large…read morewith a beach, picnic area, playgrounds, picnic shelters, trails, dog park &, of course, the lake & dock. Nice, wooded sections, fairly close to Charlottesville proper, very close to the airport & residential areas.

I've lived in Charlottesville my whole life and had never rafted down the Rivanna river until…read moretoday. In the beginning it was truly peaceful floating down but near the end got extremely rocky. Our floats got stuck multiple times due several underwater rocks, and one of us had to get out to get us moving again. I feel like kayaking would be a lot more fun on this river as it's easier avoid obstacles. Once you reach the end it is brutal getting out, there are several sharp and slippery rocks that caused two of us to fall and get hurt. But you cannot change nature, it does what it wants. If you want to go I'd probably wait until it rains so the water is deeper and you can have less problems with rocks in the water, otherwise go kayaking instead.

I wanted to go kayaking and explore what Cville had to offer on the riverfront. I launched from…read moreDarden Park and went down the river all the way to I64. The water level was low (as I expected. We are on a drought warning). Made the rocky river a little more interesting. Got down to the bend just north of Riverview park and I was thinking...no problem getting back up the river on my kayak, I am gonna keep going. Then I turned the corner and went down the biggest section of rocky water drop and got wedged in between to rocks. My fault. Got loose and continued on thinking well I can carry my kayak around that coming back. Well the water runs a little harder in the south direction after that. (of not: my kayak is an inflatable). Some beautiful views along the river and some old smokestacks made for an interesting trip down to I64. This is where things got tricky and scarey for me: I should have embanked at Riverview park and walked back from there. Instead I kept going and had no where to get out and having no knowledge of what lied further on and the sun beginning to set I went and wedged myself next to a down tree and an area that would have normally been under water and then climbed up the embankment-it was a comical endeavor with me trying to get my dog and kayak up, as well as, me in flip flops. Walking the Rivanna Trail and then the Old west trail back to my car was very nice! Would be a great trail for some mountain biking and trail runs. Marked with mile markers and well kept.

This park is a seasonal swimming hole. The beach was already closed when I visited, despite the…read moreweather still being warm. There is also a frisbee golf course and some trails. At least in the off season, there wasn't a charge to enter.

Great park that's dog friendly. A group of friends and I came here with our dogs on a Monday and it…read morewasn't packed at all. We did one of the Blue Wheel loops which was pretty short (just over 1mi). There's plenty of opportunities for dogs to get water along the path and an open area for them to swim in which was great. We also had some young kids and they were able to do the trail just fine as well. Very clear and neat! We came in the off season (end of April) so there was no one at the park entrance gate.

It's a great park, lots of fun for the kids even teenagers. Only problem we had was it's a public…read morearea and the pavilion is free to the public and the other people that were there were mean to my 1 year old daughter. No one wanted to share the swings, they hogged literally almost everything there. So she had to just enjoy herself running around the park in the grassy area. I wish it didn't have such nasty people because it's amazing to be free. I gave it two stars only because of the people that were being mean to my daughter.

This is a nice splash pad/park combo. Both areas are clean…read moreand well maintained. The splash pad has several fun features for kids and my 10 month old enjoyed it as well. There is a pavilion with picnic benches under it beside the park as well as a large grassy area offering ample sitting room. There are 2 separate playgrounds, one for 5 and under and one for the older kids. Just be careful when kids go back and forth from splash pad to playground because I have heard a couple stories of children slipping on the metal playground structures when wet, which could obviously be dangerous. One thing I do like about the playground is that the ground is the soft rubbery stuff and not pebbles or mulch, so my little one can crawl around as well. One thing that would make the playground better is if it was covered. Unless it's overcast or evening, the structures probably get too hot to use during the summer. Overall a very nice and fun place for the kids to burn some energy!

Just a few blocks from our apartment, The Park is a simple, yet great place. For students, they…read morehave recreational sports here, such as flag football and softball. I've watch many a law school softball games at the fields here. For the nonstudent like myself, the park is open for walking, walking or playing a sport. I spend most of my time here walking the half-mile loop that is paved around the softball and turf fields. In addition, I've played Frisbee at the end of the park in the grass. No matter the time of day, you'll see people of all ages coming and going from the area. I walk from my apartment to get here, but in the evening you could park in the parking lot. It's well lit at all hours. Along with the sports areas, it has picnic tables and water fountains throughout the park. Like I said, it's simple, but serves lots of needs.

Very big, clean park! My husband and I were in town with our dogs to go hiking and stopped in here…read moreone morning after grabbing coffee to walk the nature trail.

Great park with a variety of activities-picnic, playgrounds, baseball fields, tennis courts,…read moretrails, etc. This park holds a special place in my heart as it is where I proposed to my wife. And there's a reason we chose to do it here. It's very well kept for an outdoors area, and there are trails for both hardcore walkers and those who are just looking to get out. Come out to Pen Park and see for yourself!

This is a sweet and relaxing little park near to Monticello. It is 89 acres and comes complete with…read morea nice hiking trail complex, a pond, some great paved and wooden walkways, an arboretum, a woodland theater, and even a "secluded farm." Walk off all the fried chicken at Michie's Tavern by coming here. It will totally make your visit to Charlottesville greener, healthier, and more refreshing. Also, you will meet lots of locals, their kids, and their dogs. This place has a lot to offer those who just need to stretch their legs, fill up the memory cards on their cameras, or really pound out the miles on the trails. Highly recommended to tourists and longer-term residents alike!

Park here and walk multiple trails up the mountain for lookouts or over a boardwalk to Monticello…read more(you can reach the new visitors center / gift shop and restrooms without an admission ticket). Beautiful area. Nice for running, although it was absolutely freezing the day we went. Monticello stop was a nice warm up before heading back to Kemper.

I had been to Monticello a few years ago but had no idea this trail even existed and better yet…read moreit's free and you don't have to pay Monticello admission to check it out. I believe it's about 4 miles there and back and much of it is on boardwalks but parts could get muddy if it rained. Luckily, it was sunny when we checked it out. It's not too strenuous and very well marked as long as you stay on the main trail. Parking was tough but we found a spot at the overflow lot just down the road from the trail lot and this way you get a little bit of bonus hiking to get your step count up. The trail itself wasn't too crowded and I assume 99% of Monticello tourists don't even know about it. It's worth checking out though if you're in the area.

Not really a hiking trail. More like a path for a leisurely urbanish stroll surrounded by beautiful…read moretrees. Certainly worth checking out if you are in the Cville area, but I would not go out of your way to check this out.