I will be going back for a second day to be able to finish exploring trails. So far Ive seen good trails for bicycles, hiking, and horseback riding. Multiple playgrounds for the children and bathrooms close to both. Visitor center and gift store. No bicycles allowed on the trail to fossil beach

I can’t say it was the prettiest state park I’ve been to, but was the quietest. The one trail we went on was great for hiking but not for nature loving photographers. We only went so far before turning back as fear of falling became greater. If I had been younger and wanted a good hike, I would have been loving the place. The views of the river were pretty. We had a nice picnic lunch, though it would be nice to have had some picnic tables close to the water. Warning before going in the nature/welcome building. It’s very dated, dimly lit with a lot of real stuffed animals. The first time we went in, there was no one behind the desk to ask questions to. The second time we tried the gentleman was reciting the rosary. Being Catholic ourselves we weren’t about to disturb him. It’s worthy of a try!

Beautiful views of York River. Enjoy a short trail or put several together for a longer hike. Very quiet. The picnic benches have grills so stay for a while and have lunch at the park. Not my favorite hike in Hampton Roads but no complaints either. Parking is $5.

A good place to walk/hike/bike, sit & relax or read. Nice views of the York River.

It was a nice walk to Fossil Beach. Beautiful views along the way. $5 parking fee to get into the park. Nice, clean bathroom facilities.

Just as good as it ever was.. Great mountain bike trails well maintained by the Eastern Virginia Mountain Bike Association!

York River State Park is close to Williamsburg, VA but just outside the tourist area with a feeling of being totally far out and alone. This park is a day use park only; so there is no camping or rv facilities. However that does not mean this park is lackluster by any means! The equestrian trails are wonderful as well as the hiking and biking trails. There are fishing opportunities that are both fresh and saltwater. And please do not forget to bring your picnic baskets. The picnic shelters have some of the most amazing views. My favorite is shelter number 1. It is on a cliff overlooking the York River and the Taskinas Creek that flows into the River. Shelter 1 and shelter 2 are both a short jaunt from the parking lot. There is a playground beside these shelters but of course they are closed due the pandemic. Binoculars are a must as well. You will see eagles, ospreys, cardinals, egrets, and a host of other birds.The trails are well kept and from the small portion we walked, they also seem mostly shaded. Oh, I almost forgot .... you can rent canoes here! Or of course bring your own. There is a welcome center, gift shop, amphitheater, overlooks, fresh water lake. I was there for four hours and soo did not want to leave. Which is the reason I will be reserving shelter number 1 to stay and play all day!There is an RV park near this park and places to stay and eat are a short drive away. I saw signs for a couple of wineries as well. This is another one of those spots that the locals know about and keep secret.

What a beautiful park with a cute little river beach! You walk past a lake with piers that you can fish from and then cross the bridge that overlooks a beautiful marsh. The York River is absolutely stunning.The beach itself is not very wide but its still amazing to stick your toes in the water (signs say not to swim). This was a detour that I took because I didnt want to fight Virginia Beach traffic.Went mid-afternoon on a Sunday and there was plenty of parking and hardly any people around, which made it so peaceful! Cant wait to go back!

We attended a guided nature walk on one of the trails. John our nature guide was great. The scenery is gorgeous.

Great place to explore with the kids.Social distancing practiced, the front gate used a net to collect $5 for parking and sanitized after use.

Beautiful area and can easily find sea fossils millions of years old. We love coming here and consider getting an annual Virginia State Parks pass. It pays for itself if you go often enough. Always go into parks with a leave it better than you found it attitude!

Wonderful park. Beautiful views, and so cool to find rocks with shells and fish bones in them.Payment portal on the website seems to be down right now, though?

The mountain bike trails are the best I’ve ever ridden. This park really is a gem and I’m fortunate to live close enough to visit often. Kudos to the staff for keeping it nice and to the Eastern Virginia Mountain Bike Associative for the fantastic trails.

Very nice park, lots of trails from easy on up. Dog friendly!!

Beautiful park. Lots a variable scenery. The trails are well maintained, but this park offers some challenging trails. The fossil beach is very cool to see.

Great park. Great trails. Clean and well kept. Nature center was nice but it has so much more.potential considering the history of the York. good displays tho. Everyone should go

Great walking trails. Clean restroom and amazing view of the York River. Great place to spend time with your family.

Great Mtn bike trails. Well defined singletrack through the woods. Wouldnt think it possible, but can get lost so bring GPS if you have one. Fee to use trails, so be aware of that ($5 a day?). Wide selection of trails of all abilities. Well maintained and marked. Deer all over the place! Restrooms at parking lot. Great time!!

First time to the park. Most amenities closed due to pandemic, but plenty of places to walk. Bathrooms open and clean. Nice trails. Only ventured on short ones for my first visit. Plenty of families out and about. Plan a return visit with better shoes

Great place to mountain bike for all experience levels.

Nice park with unusual river Beach that has a fossil find portion that visitors can walk and search for fossils. Mostly shells but also the occasional shark tooth or, at least once, a Magalodon tooth. But most likely small shells and barnacle fossils.

Another great state park. There are trails, picnic areas, play equipment for the kids. Warning: During June (more or less) biting Deer Flies will make a visit unpleasant. There are horse and bike trails. For hiking, the Taskinias Creek trail takes you along the edge of a salt marsh, then through hilly woods past mountain Laurel. Reptiles are common, but we have never seen a venomous snake. There is a fossil beach with shells and other fossils from the Yorktown Formation. You may keep one per person.

Nice park with some good walking trails for dogs and great views of the river. Two small beaches, a big pond, estuary, and several other historical and scientific features make it a fun experience.

Very nice park! Beautiful trail and beach area, with 2 playgrounds for the littles.

Nice clean park with many trails. My kids enjoyed the playground and walking along the river. Was in the park midday on a Friday and basically had the park to ourselves. Park rangers are friendly.

Excellent scenery, wide paths and ample parking. Fossil beach can get pretty packed on the weekend so Id avoid it if youre trying to social distance and go to one of the other water access points.

Great place to walk and plenty to do

Great little park for hiking good views not overcrowded

My daughter and I had so much fun here. We had a picnic then we hiked the trail. Plenty of space for social distancing.

Beautiful place! Had a great time on the trails and fossil hunting on the beach. It was raining when we arrived so we will have to plan another trip on a sunny day

Beautiful. Fossils are around. Best to go at low tide. A little over a mile hike from parking to beach. Did it with a jogging stroller

Very cool scenery but Ive never had to pay to park at a park. Difficult to pay online.

Great place for some mountain biking. $5 entrance per car as of 1 Nov 2020.

Great place for walking, riding, fishing and all kinds of stuff. Plenty of space. Do t forget the $5 for the parking.

Great trails, amazing landscapes, from Fossil Beach all the way through it is a beautiful place to visit. Wonderful park rangers and staff, very knowledgeable and friendly. Highly recommend a visit, and going back very soon!

Nice visitor center/gift shop, good trails for all uses.

Absolutely majestic. Simply stunning and nothing else needs to be said about this place. Check it out for yourself.

Great park, although the $5.00 parking cost could be less.

Fantastic park located halfway between Hampton Roads and Richmond VA. Miles of hiking and mountain biking trails. Even several miles of equestrian approved trails great bathrooms and interpretive center. Very family friendly park

Great hike this morning on Taskias Trail.

A great place to get away. Very clean, great for people who love archeological history. Beautiful trails for beginners to experts!

Beautiful! Just loved it! Bathrooms, playgrounds, trails with maps, picnic areas with grills as well as places to fish and swim. Great place to enjoy family time or even quite time with a book.

Beautiful and serene as always. I can think of no better place to go to de-stress . Love it there.

Beautiful place!!! You can also rent canoes, kayaks, and paddle boats. The paddle boats can only be used at the pond side not the river side. But other than that this place is amazing.

Great park for hiking and biking.

This state park is fantastic! Great place to take the dogs for a quiet walk. Wonderful views of the river. The paths were well-kept and clearly marked. Just a short hike takes you to a small, but beautiful beach, covered with driftwood and shells, which great for taking pictures. This place was truly a hidden gem! We will definitely be back!

Got in some nice hiking with my wife and dog. Nice clear trails, not too much traffic

This was a nice outdoors adventure. The restrooms were clean and the park ranger was friendly and knowledgeable. This is the perfect place to go during COVID times

Just what our family was looking for. Large park overlooking the York River. Bathrooms were open. Not crowded at all, maybe 25 cars in the lot(unlike Yorktown Beach that was scary crowded with no parking). We took a trail half mile to fossil beach, formed by eroding hill to provide a narrow sand area. We had a picnic, but theres no swimming due to strong currents. Dogs allowed.

Good place for an easy hike. Playgrounds are reopened. Picnic tables also available.

A nice place to take pets on a trail or take pictures at. A restroom is always open. Closes park near my area worth going to.

This place is absolutely stunning! Im not usually one for hiking, but I loved it here! I am certainly going back soon.

Extremely nice staff. We just stopped to walk around and check things out. They offer a very large variety of walking/hiking trails, kayak rentals, covered picnic areas, and playgrounds. The fishing Pier and boat launch are very peaceful.

Beautiful place to stroll around with family

Fun park right off the highway and near williamsburg

Fossil Beach is a cool place. Its a comfortable hike from the visitor center to the beach.

Nice place to walk around. Nature and get away from home.

Even though the name makes you think you can park in the river, youre not aloud to. I did see a crab though, that was rad. 5 stars for nature!

Outstanding. The mountain bike park is the best on the peninsula. Beautiful setting. Highly recommended.

I have a new favorite state park, and its York River State Park. We only saw one small part of the parks hundreds and hundreds of acres, but what we got to see was stunning.I took my kids down to Fossil Beach and what a gem that is! They had the time of their lives digging for history in the sandy cliffs overlooking the beach (and finding a few fossils, too). We also had a picnic lunch on the beach with the wind gusting about us after an easy but not boring hike down to the shore.One note that isnt documented anywhere that I could find -- the path to the otherwise kid-friendly Fossil Beach is NOT stroller-friendly. I didnt know if it would be or not, so I took our stroller and regretted it quickly. Its fine for walking, not bad at all, but a strollers wheels are guaranteed to get stuck on the roots on the path, to say nothing about the wooden stairs. Its quite scenic, though, and we managed alright once I picked up the stroller rather than push it.There are two playgrounds near the parking lot by the visitor center. One is meant for older kids and one for younger kids, but both have swings and all but the youngest kids should be able to play on either one. They are not near each other, though, which is a curious choice, but theyre within sight of each other, so its not terrible if you have to split up.The visitor center is nice, if a bit dated. They have a small exhibit mixing live and artificial animals to educate about the various flora and fauna to be found in the park. The bathrooms were clean, and the mens room even had a baby changing station! As a father with young kids, that made me very happy.It almost seems like stealing to be able to go and see and do everything for just the price of parking. There are extra fees for boating and renting equipment, of course, but our entire day of hiking and fossil hunting and a picnic lunch only cost $5.If youre anywhere near the peninsula or the Williamsburg area specifically, you should absolutely check out what has to be one of Virginias most beautiful parks.

Beautiful nice calm and quiet

Natural beauty, nice wooded paths on the bluffs along the river. Some hills and steps. We saw a heron in the rushes, walked down on fossil beach where you can see the layers of scallop & oyster shells in the bluffs.The park includes a small nature museum we didnt visit and restrooms. (There are also bike trails we didnt use.)Theres a $4 parking fee (which surprised us on a Sunday in February.)

Lovely view, lots of places to just sit and relax

Beautiful, narrow beach. Can dig for fossilized clam and snail shells.

Weve been hiking here every weekend for a month and really enjoying the trails. They are very well marked and maintained and The views are beautiful. They have separate trails for horseback riding and mountain biking, so you dont have to worry about getting run over.They also have paddleboat and kayak/canoe rentals that we are looking forward to enjoying in the spring

Great park with nice trails.

Lovely place, quiet, and some fossils, coral, etc

Rode the John Blair trail. Good mileage, great workout. I think there is an opportunity to have more jumps and berms built into the trail. Would do it again.

We spent a couple hours fossil hunting on the beach here. Informative displays inside the welcome center. Clean bathrooms & friendly ranger.

Nice hiking trails with great views. Fossil beach is interesting.Dog friendly. Bathrooms were very clean.

Osprey mates on a nest. Crane by the waters edge. A delightful trail. More to explore. I will be back.

Beautiful trails, goes right up to the marshes without disturbing them.

FABULOUS park! Small museum is so fun and packed with tons of interactive exhibits. Gift shop has cold drinks, and hiking trails are awesome! We particularly enjoyed the river beach trail.

Beautiful trails and riverside scenery made for a pleasant family outing. This place is popular for dog walkers. Pets must be on a leash not more than 6 feet in length.

Beautiful park with nice hiking, mountain biking and horse trails.

Peaceful, open and well posted signs/markers of where you are on the trail.

$4 entrance fee. Very scenic and nice. Would recommend going when they first open or on weekdays because a bunch of people with kids come after 10-11. We enjoyed hiking and will definitely come back to kayak. I took this scenic pic for yall but this lady kept getting in my way.

Nature Park, beautiful views, hiking trails, ospreys, fishing, picnic tables and areas. Visitor center and small aquarium.

Really nice trails, whether your just wanting to take a nice leisurely walk with the family or want to go for a distance hike. Lots of sights for all, and only 5 dollars to get in.

Great place to hike, canoe and fossil hunting

Great detour for a long car ride! The flies were biting down on the beach, dont forget the bug spray, Terrashield!

Lovely park with wildlife. Snakes, birds, fish, etc. Many beautiful trails for hiking and biking.

A nice park to walk around in they charge $5 a car to get in though

One of the best state parks in eastern Virginia. Good hiking mountain biking and walking along the York river shore. Beautiful views.

Great place to go very enjoyable!

Nice, beautiful hikes. Deer flies will eat you alive though!! Take bug spray!!

Fantastic state park with excellent activities. We really enjoy the hiking trails and the river outlooks but Id love to get out there with our bikes and take advantage of the awesome bike trails.

Great hiking.

Beautiful state park!

There are magnificent views of the York River here. There is a nice visitor center and great trails for hiking, biking and horse back riding.

Great stretch of scenic nature views and 5 star waterfront. A absolutely a must see and visit for trails, fishing, and nature.

Beautiful park with really nice views!

It is a great place for families. Lots of open space,playgrounds,sheltered pavilions, an informative museum and most importantly a bathroom.

Great day hiking, plenty of eastern Virginia scenery

Bugs are starting to come out so bring repellent. They arent bad but can be annoying. Definitely visit this beautiful park.

York State Park is a must see destination point when youre visiting the Williamsburg area. Its very scenic and wonderfully maintained and overall just an outstanding place to visit.

Nice & serene. Beautiful Views.

I visit a lot of Virginia state parks because you get a lot for your money, open to everyone, teach a lot about the area, and I always have fun. My friend Floyd and I went to the May 5th Burn the Socks event at York River State Park. After a brief water safety class with guides John and Dave, about 15 attendees shoved off in kayaks up the the York River and into theTascanis Creek. If you do this trip be sure to have bug spray for the no see ums,a type of nat the will bite you. I would also advise you to rent a kayak at the park instead of bringing your own. Floyd and I brought our own and had to carry them down steep steps to the beach to put in. The parks kayaks were already on the beach. Moreover, the parks dock was on shore because storm damage made it unusable. ( see picture) Repairs to be made soon according to staff. The park also has a very nice and larger boat ramp and fishing pier up river at Croker Landing. See picks.

Nice trails!! Clean!!

Amazing variety of scenery in a small area. Trails, York River, beaches, etc.