Walnut Creek Park

"A great place to go hiking. There are a lot of trail options with varying difficulties. Some of the harder trails have slippery footing so make sure to watch your step."

"Very pretty park with nice trails and lake view (it is a creek but looks more like a lake). I parked at the parking lot near the boat ramp. Unlike other reviewers, I didn't see any signs or guard collecting entry fee. I was pleasantly surprised by how well the park is maintained. Took a hike (more like a walk) along the lake, the trail was very pretty with vibrant fall colors. I am glad I took a detour here on my way to Charlottesville, because this park is way prettier and nicer than the Saunders-Monticello Trail that I went next."

"I am not sure why I haven't discovered this place before. Absolutely amazing place. Clean bathrooms and beautiful trails"

"We were surprised when we pulled into the entrance that there was a gate house with an actual guard in it. We hadn’t read anything regarding a fee but there is one. We have apparently reached the magic age where we were allowed in for free. Score one for us! There are two parking areas. The first parking area accesses most of the trails for hiking/biking. The last parking area is for the beach area, disc golf, the Blue Wheel trail, and the Bike and Tri trail. Both areas have (not so nice) one seater bathrooms. The beach was very busy, and a bus loaded with kids pulled in right after we did. Once we realized we were in the wrong parking lot to access the trails, we moved. There were only a couple of cars in the first parking area on a Thursday in June around 1:30. There was also a truck with a trailer full of canoes which I assume are for rent but we never saw a person. There are very nice maps available at a kiosk. The trails are fairly well marked with colored blazes on trees. It was a bit confusing in certain spots, and that’s where the map came in handy. It can be narrow in spots with encroaching branches. Luckily, we didn’t run into any bicyclists at those times because they took no prisoners when we encountered them. The trails are dirt with some roots and lots of small rocks. The small rocks caused us to “roller-skate” quite a bit which was jarring. I imagine after rain, it is very muddy. We wandered around on several trails and ended up on the north end of Wilkins Way. There were two stream crossings on Wilkins Way with plenty of rocks to step on. We had hiking poles too which helped. We criss-crossed the power lines a couple of times. The bugs weren’t horrible but there were gnats that wanted to annoy your face. We also had on bug spray so that may have helped. We have mixed feelings about this park. It was pretty quiet when we were there, and it was nice to commune with nature. There are no views and the trails could use some fixing up."

"Great trails. Surprisingly more hiking trails than you'd think for a county park as we spent a good 90 minutes hiking only through a small portion of the area. The trails are not terribly well marked so pay attention, especially when hiking during the fall with a bed of leaves covering all the trails. I got lost on a chilly, rainy day near dusk on one trip and took a little while to make it to the park border so I could find my way around to the entrance street. If you do get lost on the maze that is the Red Trail try to get out to the border and make your way around until finding the entrance or the lake. From there you can get to the parking lots easily. Beautiful county park."