Occoneechee State Park Total distance (circuit): 2.4 miles Hiking time: 1 hour Vertical rise: 190 feet Maps: USGS 7.5'' Clarksville North ; park map History For more than four centuries, the Occoneechee Indians lived on lands that are now under the waters of Kerr Reservoir. Making camps on small islands in the Roanoke River, they prospered by trading with other Native Americans who used the waterway as a natural travel route, but their existence as a cohesive tribe began to unravel in the early part of the 17th century. Arriving in May 1607 upon the Susan Constant , Godspeed , and Discovery , a band of 104 men and boys from Great Britain set about establishing a colony on the James River. Ill-equipped for the task at hand, they were held together in large part by the determination of Captain John Smith. Yet the London Company, which had sponsored the venture, continued to send more settlers. During the winter of 1609-10 (known as the starving time), the colony of 500 was reduced to no more than 60.
Life remained a struggle for many years. In addition, continuing Indian raids and a growing disillusionment with the British governor''s failure to deal with them brought about a rebellion in 1676. Seeking revenge, a band of colonial settlers led by Nathaniel Bacon murdered scores of Native Americans, which nearly wiped out the entire tribe; the few that survived fled into what is now North Carolina. Occoneechee State Park is on the site of where much of this took place. Situated along the northern shore of Kerr Reservoir, the park''s 2,698 acres are leased by the commonwealth from the US Army Corps of Engineers. (The Corps constructed the reservoir and has management responsibility for its shoreline acreage; see Hike 11.) Within the park are hiking trails, picnic areas and shelters, a playground, and a campground with flush toilets, hot showers, and a dump station. Two boat ramps give motorboaters, jet skiers, water-skiers, and sailboaters access to the lake.
Interpretive programs, including Native American crafts, nature and cultural programs, campfire presentations, and night hikes, are offered many weekends during the main tourist season. Although the traverse of the park''s network of trails is rather short when compared to many other outings in this guidebook, it is an easy and pleasant stroll that the whole family should be able to enjoy. Most visitors to the park are here to engage in some kind of activity on the reservoir, so it is a very real possibility you may be the only one on the trails. Being on these pathways is a great way to start your day or to escape the hustle and bustle of the campground in the evening. Remember, as in all of Virginia''s state parks, pets must be kept on a leash. Directions Occoneechee State Park may be reached by taking I-85 Exit 12 in South Hill and following US 58 west for about 17.0 miles to the US 58/VA 92 intersection near Boydton. Approximately 8.
0 miles beyond the junction, turn left off US 58 into the park on VA 364. (If coming from the west, this would be a right turn about 1.5 miles east of downtown Clarksville.) Pass through the contact station in just a few hundred feet and turn left toward the campgrounds. Bear right onto the road to Campground B 0.7 mile later and leave your car at the Terrace Gardens parking area on the right in an additional 0.1 mile. Trail Description Start the hike by following the rock-lined pathway into the woods, arriving within a few feet at the remains of the five terraced gardens of the Occoneechee Plantation.
Although that term was applied to any large farm in the 1800s, Occoneechee would certainly qualify as a Gone with the Wind -type plantation. Encompassing 3,105 acres, it ran as a self-sufficient operation, complete with icehouse, mill, smokehouse, slaves'' quarters, a pottery, and a carpentry workshop. The main house, a 20-room mansion built by William Townes in 1839, overlooked the gardens. The plantation''s demise began in 1898, when the mansion burned to the ground in a fire started by Christmas tree candles. Come to a Y intersection less than 300 feet after leaving your car and bear to the left, passing by the site of an old 30-foot water well and the deep pit that is all that remains of the icehouse. Walking along the edge of the woods, it is easy to discern each garden terrace as you drop down onto the different levels. The boxwood trees on the terraces were planted as part of the landscaping scheme to provide a pleasant view from the mansion. Take the short trail to the right at 0.
1 mile and walk the few feet to the Crudup gravesite, surrounded--and grown over--by periwinkle. Try to memorize this trailing plant with its purplish blue flowers. It was often cultivated as an ornamental border plant around gardens or yards, and you will often find patches of it growing in the most unlikely places throughout woodlands in Virginia--an almost-sure sign that a homestead once existed on that spot. Return to the main route, turn right, and look to the left for the sign marking the Plantation Trail, which you should follow into the woods. Cross a dirt road at 0.2 mile, reentering a wood with sweet gum trees growing above you and crow''s foot spreading over the forest floor. The Campground B Trail comes in from the left at 0.3 mile; keep right and begin to walk parallel to a gully; it was created because past unsound farming practices accelerated the erosive power of rainwater.
Through the vegetation to the left, you may be able to make out the sunlight playing upon the water of the lake. The Warrior''s Path goes left to a boat launch at 0.4 mile; stay to the right. The long, narrow mound to the left of the trail at 0.5 mile was built to dam the creek and create a small pond that was just a few feet deep. When it froze over in winter, the ice was cut out and brought to the icehouse, where it was covered with straw and sawdust, creating a cool place in which to store food during the summer. Rise gradually along the stream, where lobelia, with its purple flowers, grows among several different species of ferns. Switchback to the right at 0.
6 mile, then to the left, and come to an old brick chimney, the only evidence that a house once stood here. Turn onto and descend along the Mossy Creek Trail, crossing the stream on a footbridge at 0.7 mile. Swing left and descend along the creek, noticing the varied pinks, oranges, and purples of the fungi pushing their way through the disturbed soil of the footpath. Swing to the right at 0.8 mile, heading up a different watercourse. Large beech trees--with the inevitable initials and love messages carved into their smooth bark--line the pathway. An abundance of large pine cones, dropped onto the ground from the high branches of the Virginia pines, are scattered between the evergreen leaves of rattlesnake plantain and the thin blades of yellow star grass.
Just as its common name suggests, the flowers of the latter are tiny, yellow, star-shaped blossoms growing from grasslike leaves. Depending on a particular year''s weather conditions, you could possibly find the plant blooming all the way from March through September. Soon you will rise from the creek and turn to the right along the grassy shoulder of the main park road at 1.2 miles. Bypass the private roads and the Campground B road, make a right turn into the woods on the Big Oak Trail at 1.5 miles, and descend into a small stream valley. Pass under a utility line at 1.8 miles and ascend.
Turn left onto the Campground B road at 2.0 miles and bear right almost immediately at the Y intersection. Be alert less than 500 feet later as you need to turn right into the woods on the path marked as leading to the Plantation Trail and Warriors Path. Once again, periwinkle becomes a part of this hike. Using a footbridge to cross a small creek at 2.1 miles, turn right onto the Plantation Trail and retrace your steps through the mansion site with its terraced gardens. The hike ends when you return to your car at 2.4 miles.
For additional walks within the Kerr Reservoir area, Staunton River State Park (see Hike 13) is less than a 45-minute drive to the west, while a ramble (see Hike 11) that winds around isolated coves of the reservoir is only a 20-minute car trip to the east. The Hike at a Glance 0.2 Cross dirt road on Plantation Trail 0.6 Switchbacks, then left onto Mossy Creek Trail 1.2 Right along main park road 1.5 Right onto Big Oak Trail 2.0 Right onto Campground B Road; then onto trail marked as leading to Plantation Trail and Warrior''s Path 2.1 Right onto Plantation Trail 2.
4 End.