The Occoquan Water Trail follows two Chesapeake tributaries that cradle a wealth of history and miles of priceless wildlife habitat in northern Virginia. The 40-mile water trail is in two sections, separated midway by the Occoquan River Dam. Paddlers can travel the entire trail; the lower portion is also accessible to motor craft.
Regional and state parks and two national wildlife refuges along the route offer miles of hiking trails and a wide range of other land-based activities for visitors arriving by land or water.
Route of Discovery
In writing about his expedition up the Potomac River in June 1608, Captain John Smith noted his friendly reception by the “Toags” (Dogue), the native people of the Occoquan River. On the lower Occoquan River near Belmont Bay, Smith and his men are thought to have visited the Dogue’s main town, Tauxenent—a site believed to be between Occoquan Regional Park and Massey Creek.
Today, you can explore this area and the possible site of an upriver Dogue village as you enjoy the Occoquan Water Trail. Removed from the din of suburban Washington, D.C., paddle this remarkably tranquil route past northern Virginia’s fields, forests, and marshes. Much of this shoreline is preserved as park or refuge land. The upper portion of the two-part trail follows fresh-water Bull Run as it courses through the Piedmont before merging with the Occoquan River at Occoquan Reservoir. The lower portion picks up the river again below the reservoir’s dam as the Occoquan spills between Belmont and Occoquan bays and flows toward the tidal Potomac River.
Getting Around
The upper and lower portions of the trail stretch for 20 miles each. There is no portage around the Occoquan River Dam; you will need to access the trail either above or below the dam.
Five sites provide paddlers with access to the upper trail, beginning at Bull Run Regional Park and ending downstream at Lake Ridge Community Park on the Occoquan Reservoir. Canoes and/or kayaks can be rented at Lake Ridge and Fountainhead Regional Park. Anglers may use boat ramps located at the two regional parks on the reservoir—Bull Run and Fountainhead. A hiking and equestrian trail, the 17.5-mile Bull Run-Occoquan Trail, follows the shoreline along this water route.
Three sites provide paddlers with access to the lower portion of the trail—Occoquan Regional Park below Occoquan Dam, Mason Neck State Park, and Pohick Bay Regional Park on the eastern side of Mason Neck. All three parks also have ramps for motorized boats. Paddle craft can be rented at Mason Neck State Park and Pohick Bay Regional Park. If you’re considering a longer excursion, these facilities also offer access to the Potomac River Water Trail and the many historic sites, large parks, and deep-water tributaries that line its route.
What You’ll See
As it winds past the battlegrounds of the Civil War to its rendezvous with the Occoquan River, Bull Run offers kayakers and canoeists a pleasing mix of small rapids, secluded islands, and wooded shorelines. In one stretch, drips from your paddle blade may be the only sound you hear as you gaze at a stand of hemlock trees hugging the ledges above you. As Bull Run broadens into the upper end of 13-mile-long Occoquan Reservoir, notice the point of land where the Occoquan River joins the reservoir’s freshwater lake. Archeologists believe a Dogue Indian village once stood here.
Users of the lower trail who put in at Occoquan Regional Park (opposite the town of Occoquan) will encounter an entirely different river below the dam. The brackish bays into which the river quickly unfolds—Belmont to the north and Occoquan to the south—reveal broader vistas of bluffs, forest, and marshes. From Belmont Bay the trail follows the shoreline of a peninsula once farmed by Indians and colonial settlers. Today Mason Neck encompasses two parks as well as a refuge created to protect bald eagle habitat. Here paddlers can probe Kane’s Creek as it reaches into the wild marshes of Mason Neck State Park and scan the skies for eagles and the shores for great blue herons at Mason Neck National Wildlife Refuge as they travel Smith’s historic highway, the Potomac.
Experiences
- Bird Watching (especially Mason Neck State Park, Mason Neck Wildlife Refuge, Pohick Bay Regional Park)
- Camping (Bull Run and Pohick Bay regional parks)
- Canoeing/Kayaking (rentals at Fountainhead and Pohick Bay regional parks, Lake Ridge Community Park, Mason Neck State Park)
- Fishing (Occoquan Reservoir: largemouth bass, crappie, bluegill, catfish; tidal Potomac: largemouth bass, striped bass, white and yellow perch, crappie, catfish, bluegill)
- Guided Canoe/Kayak Tours (Fountainhead and Pohick Bay regional parks, Mason Neck State Park)
- Hiking
- Horseback Riding (trails at Bull Run, Fountainhead, Hemlock Overlook and Pohick Bay regional parks)
- Mountain Biking (trails at Fountainhead Regional Park and Mason Neck State Park)
- Photography
- Picnicking
Side Trips
One of several parks and refuges that surround the confluence of the Occoquan and Potomac rivers, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge preserves a landscape of grasslands, farm fields and tidal marshes that has existed here for centuries. Local Native Indians caught shad and herring in the adjacent river. As you paddle offshore, watch avian anglers such as osprey and cormorants dive for these and other fish. Miles of hiking trails and a wildlife drive provide inland access to the refuge, whose open lands provide vital habitat for more than 200 species of resident and migratory birds.
On a thumb of land overlooking the Potomac River at Occoquan Bay sits Leesylvania State Park, the ancestral home of Virginia’s famous Lee family. First known as Freestone Point, where early settlers supplied themselves with sandstone, the land became part of Leesylvania, a colonial plantation. Although the Lee mansion does not survive, park visitors can see the family gravesite, hike trails leading to sweeping river overlooks, use the fishing pier, and launch motorized or self-propelled boats to access the Captain John Smith Chesapeake National Historic Trail.