Optional Breakfast at McLeans at 7:00 a.m. (3500 West Broad, Richmond VA).

We’ll meet at the Westmoreland State Park visitor’s center at 9:30 a.m. and park.  We’ll walk toward campground B and pick up the Rock Spring Pond Trail which is a short one-way trail that ends at Rock Spring Pond.  We’ll then pick up the Laurel Point Trail and at the end walk south towards Campground C where we’ll pick up the Conservation Corps Fitness Trail for a short hike up to Turkey Neck Trail which will bring us to Beaver Dam Trail before resuming back on the Turkey Neck Trail.  Finally, we’ll pick up Big Meadow Trail towards Fossil Beach and try our hand on finding some fossils. 

Total hike will be 3.5 to 4 miles and about 4 hours.  Bring at least a liter of water, snacks, a hat, sunscreen, bug spray and sweat rag.

About the park:  On the Potomac River's Northern Neck, this park offers many opportunities for family fun. It's listed on the National Register of Historic Places and has an Olympic-sized swimming pool and an adjacent bathhouse, meeting area, snack bar, camp store and power-boat ramp. You'll also find a visitor center, campgrounds, camping cabins, cabins, a playground, a fishing pier, boat rentals and 6 miles of trails. Fossil collectors enjoy hunting for ancient shark teeth along the Potomac. Offshore breakwaters are great for fishing. Birding enthusiasts find the park an excellent site for spotting American bald eagles, ospreys, kingfishers, great blue herons, common terns, green herons and gulls, as well as wintering waterfowl.

Breakfast is at McLeans at 7:00 a.m. (3500 West Broad, Richmond VA).

Use your GPS and head to 145 Cliff Road, Montross, VA 22520.  We'll meet at the visitor’s parking lot 9:30 a.m.