This area recently opened. It has a gravel parking area (handicapped spot is paved), with concrete…read moresteps leading down to the Ararat river. Two wooden beams down the middle of the steps for boat access.

Fred Clifton park is right next to Lovers Leap and actually has a superior view. It has a good…read moreparking lot, picnic tables (with grills, I think), paths through the woods and wooden overlooks. There are signs to beware of bear. There are black bear in this area. Hikers should be aware that there is also a trailhead for a hiking path over by the Lovers Leap parking. Look for a big boulder covered with grafitti.

The Textile Heritage Trail is a beautiful and short trail in Fieldale adjacent to the city park and…read moreacross the street from the trailhead for the Fieldale Walking Trail. It is also part of the Smith River Trails system and it kept up very well. There is good parking at this trailhead (parking also serves for the Fieldale Walking Trail). There is a mix of trail surface from natural to rock to boardwalk. Placards along the path tell the history of the rise and decline of the textile industry in the area. Short and informative, they tend to spur good conversation so this is a fun trail to show guests. The trail is a loop through a small wooded area but it winds and the vegetation is dense enough that there's a good chance that you won't notice more trail than the part that you are on at the moment. Take a camera because it is quite beautiful and there is a lot of light through the canopy though the trees still provide ample shade.

This was a simplistic nature preserve (misty fallen trees), but well maintained ADA trails. A nice,…read moreclean pavilion and bathroom. The time of year that we went (May 2018) was on the tail end of winter season, there wasn't much to look at, but chipmunks were happy and plentiful.

The hiking trails at the Gravely Nature Preserve seem to be lesser known. The preserve itself is…read moredown a quiet little road in Ridgeway and we did not see any other hikers when we were there. Unlike other trails in the area, there is a lot more fallen dead along this trail so it looks rougher. The trail was easy to follow and there are several things to see along the way. Start on the end with the tobacco barn because the other end (the intended exit) is a fairly steep gradient. This is a rough trail and my mother could do it pretty easily with a cane but that hill at the end did concern me. There are several separate trails here. One, called the Rhododendron Trail, says that it goes through a tunnel of rhododendron. They bloom somewhere around May in our area so that is on my list to go back to see when they are in bloom. There is an old graveyard about midway along the main trail and one of the spur trails will take you to the old homesite. I want to go back sometime to find Eggleston Falls on the Smith River. I'm not sure that you can see it from here but I know that it is close. Eggleston Falls is, I think, a class II rapid on the Smith River.

Went here and had a good time, it was hard to find public access but once i found it it was a good…read moreplace to walk around the lake and set up a spot to sit, swim, or fish. Look up Pine Hall Boating Ramp or Piney Bluff Access Ramp for public access spots

I'm spoiled from living in the land of 10000 lakes for so long. this is a big enough lake to…read moreenjoy a boat ride or fish or kayak in! swimming was worrisome to me as i'm afraid of alligators and snakes so i was being apprehensive i'm not used to swimming in nc lakes. water was hot and had a distinct smell. my skin was also itchy but that was probably a mental thing as i was also worried about pollution. there were no boat up bars that i found either.

This park was on a one-way road. It is receded from the main streets in this hilly area and feels a…read morebit private. There was a skate park, picnic area, and a few other amenities. The road was dodgy and the trash not picked up. The place seemed like it would benefit from better care. It is a free green space, which is always a good thing.

Very, very nice park that you might not notice so much from the main road (Church Street). We went…read moreon a group hike that included a leg through this park in February of 2017 and it was very pretty. There is a skate park and a disc golf course in this park as well as a large pavilion. There are (steep) steps up to the road just behind the Virginia Museum of Natural History. The actual hiking path is rather steep also. In our group, those that could not manage a steep hike used the pave roads to cover the same distance.

Only GOD forgive you faster than your DOG! #ReflectDogs Love…read more& Forgiveness This is a big almost flat open area for your dogs to run in!! They actually have a water fountain and poop bag holders with trash cans! They have benches strategically placed all around the fence line for you to sit on and they actually have three trees that are growing for your dogs to sniff. What they don't have is any type of shade structure or shelter? But it does look like they are getting ready to repave or pay for the first time the parking area over by the dog park, so we have that to look forward to.

The Bike Barn can be a little challenging to find if you are looking at a map instead of being…read moregiven directions because its on Doyle Street and one of the streets that looks like you could access it from actually goes over it. Once you've found it, though, it's straight forward. They have a small fleet of bicycles and helmets which they will loan to you for use on the Dick & Willie Passage Rail Trail. The trail is currently 4.5 miles long but a new expansion should open in the Fall of 2018. (Be aware that the Bike Barn is seasonal and will close for the winter some time in October). From the bike barn, if you turn right, the trail is almost all downhill. It's very pretty and there is access to Uptown Martinsville from the Uptown Connection Trail that connects to the DIck and WIllie along this part. Obviously, you'll have to pedal coming back to the barn from that direction but its not too bad. Take water because you will exert yourself a little but couch potatos should fear not. If you turn left out of bike barn along the trail, you go up some, then down. Again, the gradient is not all that bad coming back. This part of the trail has more industrial buildings along it but it is still pretty. This is the leg of the trail that is being lengthened and it will eventually go all the way out to the Smith River Sports Complex.