Mayo River State Park (Virginia)

State park in Virginia, United States

See also: Mayo River State Park (North Carolina)

Mayo River State Park

IUCN category V (protected landscape/seascape)

Mayo River

Location of Mayo River State Park

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Mayo River State Park (Virginia) (the United States)

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Location| Henry County, Virginia, US
Nearest city| Spencer
Coordinates| 36°33′18″N 79°59′59″W﻿ / ﻿36.5549°N 79.9998°W﻿ / 36.5549; -79.9998
Area| 637 acres (258 ha)[1]
Established| August 2009 (2009-8)[2]
Governing body| Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation
Mayo River State Park

Mayo River State Park is a state park of Virginia located in Henry County, along the North and South Forks of the Mayo River. The entrance to the park is located in Spencer. The park is located along the Virginia-North Carolina state line, and it is adjacent to a similarly named park in North Carolina.

## History

[edit]

In May 2003, the North Carolina General Assembly authorized a state park along the Mayo River, from the Virginia-North Carolina state line, to the river's confluence with the Dan River.[3]

In 2007 the Virginia General Assembly commissioned a feasibility study for the creation of a state park from its Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR). The study concluded that a park was feasible and proposed the North and South Mayo Rivers as candidates for inclusion in the state's scenic river system.[3]

The North Mayo River, from Route 695 to the North Carolina line, and the South Mayo River, from the Patrick County line to the North Carolina line, were added to the Virginia Scenic Rivers Program in 2008.[4]

In August 2009, DCR acquired a 332-acre (134 ha) tract, as its first land purchase for the park.[2]

In 2013, North Carolina sold to Virginia portions of property it had acquired for its state park, which crossed the state line.

In 2019, Virginia acquired 214 acres with the assistance of the Piedmont Land Conservancy.[5]

Ground was broken for park facilities in October, 2021, with a planned opening in 2022.[6]

On Earth Day, April 22, 2022, Virginia State Parks formally opened a trailhead off Pratt Road to the public, which provides access to three hiking and cycling trails.[1]

## Recreation

[edit]

The park's initial public facilities are limited to a trailhead and a 3.9-mile (6.3 km) multi-use trail system.[1]

The 1.9-mile (3.1 km)[1] Mayo River Trail is the back bone of the trail system. It follows the park's main service road, which roughly runs along the ridge between the North and South Forks of the Mayo River, to their confluence in North Carolina.

The 0.5-mile (0.80 km)[1] Byrd's Loop Trail creates a loop at the end of the Mayo River Trail, which runs alongside the North Mayo River. The loop passes Byrd's Ledge, a rock formation in the river at the North Carolina-Virginia state line. It is named after William Byrd II, who camped near it during the surveying of the line and wrote about the area.

The 1.3-mile (2.1 km) Redbud Trail forms a loop in the northwest corner of the park.[1]

## See also

[edit]

* List of Virginia state parks

## References

[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Mayo River State Park (Virginia).

1. ^ a b c d e f "New trail system opens at site of future state park in Henry County". Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation. April 22, 2022. Archived from the original on April 22, 2022. Retrieved June 3, 2022.
2. ^ a b "Land Conservation Five-Year Funding Considerations" (PDF). Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation. April 2019. p. 6\. Archived (PDF) from the original on January 4, 2022. Retrieved January 18, 2022.
3. ^ a b "Feasibility Study for a State Park On the Mayo Rivers in Henry County and Mayo Scenic Rivers Study" (PDF). Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation. 2007. Archived (PDF) from the original on December 27, 2021. Retrieved January 18, 2022.
4. ^ "Virginia Scenic Rivers Program" (PDF). Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation. July 2021. Archived (PDF) from the original on December 9, 2021. Retrieved January 18, 2022.
5. ^ "DCR Protects More Than 1,000 Acres in Six Months". Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation. July 18, 2019. Retrieved December 3, 2020.
6. ^ Wyatt, Bill (October 27, 2021). "WATCH NOW: Ground has broken on a new state park in Henry County". Martinsville Bulletin. Archived from the original on January 7, 2022. Retrieved January 18, 2022.

## External links

[edit]

* Official website

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Protected areas of Virginia

Federal|

| National Parks|

* Shenandoah

|

National Historical Parks,
Historic Sites & Monuments|

* Appomattox Court House NHP
* Arlington House
* Booker T. Washington NM
* Cedar Creek and Belle Grove NHP
* Claude Moore Colonial Farm
* Colonial NHP
* Cumberland Gap NHP
* Fort Monroe NM
* George Washington Birthplace NM
* Harpers Ferry NHP
* Maggie L. Walker NHS

National Military Parks,
Battlefields & Battlefield Parks|

* Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania NMP
* Manassas NBP
* Petersburg NB
* Richmond NBP

National Cemeteries|

* Alexandria
* Arlington
* Balls Bluff
* City Point
* Cold Harbor
* Culpeper
* Danville
* Fort Harrison
* Fredericksburg
* Glendale
* Hampton
* Hampton VAMC
* Poplar Grove
* Quantico
* Richmond
* Seven Pines
* Staunton
* Winchester
* Yorktown

National Parkways|

* Blue Ridge Parkway
* (Blue Ridge Music Center
* Mabry Mill
* Peaks of Otter
* Rocky Knob Recreation Area)
* George Washington Memorial Parkway

National Trails|

* Appalachian Trail
* Captain John Smith Chesapeake NHT
* Overmountain Victory NHT
* Potomac Heritage Trail
* Star-Spangled Banner NHT

National
Wildlife Refuges|

* Back Bay
* Chincoteague
* Eastern Shore of Virginia
* Mason Neck
* Featherstone
* Fisherman Island
* Glenn Martin
* Great Dismal Swamp
* James River
* Nansemond
* Occoquan Bay
* Plum Tree Island
* Presquile
* Rappahannock River Valley
* Wallops Island

National Forests|

* George Washington and Jefferson

USFS National Recreation Areas|

* Mount Rogers National Recreation Area

Other NPS Areas|

* Assateague Island National Seashore
* Chesapeake Bay Gateways Network
* Prince William Forest Park
* Wolf Trap NP for the Performing Arts

Wilderness Areas|

* Barbours Creek
* James River Face
* Mountain Lake
* Priest
* Ramsey's Draft
* Rich Hole
* Rough Mountain
* Saint Mary's
* Three Ridges

National Estuarine
Research Reserves|

* Chesapeake Bay

State|

| State parks|

* Bear Creek Lake
* Belle Isle
* Breaks Interstate
* Caledon
* Chippokes
* Claytor Lake
* Clinch River
* Culpeper Battlefields
* Douthat
* Fairy Stone
* False Cape
* First Landing
* Grayson Highlands
* High Bridge Trail
* Holliday Lake
* Hungry Mother
* James River
* Kiptopeke
* Lake Anna
* Leesylvania
* Machicomoco
* Mason Neck
* Mayo River
* Middle Peninsula
* Natural Bridge
* Natural Tunnel
* New River Trail
* Occoneechee
* Pocahontas
* Powhatan
* Sailor's Creek Battlefield
* Seven Bends
* Shot Tower
* Shenandoah River
* Sky Meadows
* Smith Mountain Lake
* Southwest Virginia Museum
* Staunton River
* Staunton River Battlefield
* Sweet Run
* Tabb Monument
* Twin Lakes
* Westmoreland
* Widewater
* Wilderness Road
* York River

|

State forests|

* Appomattox-Buckingham
* Big Woods
* Bourassa
* Browne
* Channels
* Charlotte
* Chesterfield
* Chilton Woods
* Conway Robinson
* Crawfords
* Cumberland
* Devil's Backbone
* Dragon Run
* First Mountain
* Hawks
* Lesesne
* Matthews
* Moore's Creek
* Niday Place
* Old Flat
* Paul
* Prince Edward-Gallion
* Sandy Point
* South Quay
* Whitney
* Zoar

Natural Area
Preserves|

* Antioch Pines
* Bald Knob
* Bethel Beach
* Big Spring Bog
* Blackwater
* Buffalo Mountain
* Bull Run Mountains
* Bush Mill Stream
* Camp Branch Wetlands
* Cape Charles Coastal Habitat
* Cave Hill
* The Cedars
* The Channels
* Cherry Orchard Bog
* Chestnut Creek Wetlands
* Chestnut Ridge
* Chotank Creek
* Chub Sandhill
* Cleveland Barrens
* Clover Hollow
* Cowbane Prairie
* Crawford's Knob
* Crow's Nest
* Cumberland Marsh
* Dameron Marsh
* Deep Run Ponds
* Dendron Swamp
* Difficult Creek
* Elklick Woodlands
* False Cape
* Folly Mills Creek Fen
* Goshen Pass
* Grafton Ponds
* Grassy Hill
* Grayson Glades
* Hickory Hollow
* Hughlett Point
* Johnsons Creek
* Lyndhurst Ponds
* Magothy Bay
* Mark's and Jack's Island
* Mount Joy Pond
* Mutton Hunk Fen
* Naked Mountain
* New Point Comfort
* North Landing River
* Northwest River
* Ogdens Cave
* Parkers Marsh
* Parramore Island
* Pedlar Hills Glades
* Piney Grove Flatwoods
* Pinnacle
* Poor Mountain
* Redrock Mountain
* Savage Neck Dunes
* Unthanks Cave
* William B. Trower Bayshore
* Wreck Island

Wildlife
Management Areas|

* Amelia
* Big Survey
* Big Woods
* Briery Creek
* Chester F. Phelps
* Cavalier
* Chickahominy
* Clinch Mountain
* Crooked Creek
* Dick Cross
* Doe Creek
* Fairystone Farms
* Featherfin
* G. Richard Thompson
* Game Farm Marsh
* Goshen and Little North Mountain
* Hardware River
* Havens
* Hidden Valley
* Highland
* Hog Island
* Horsepen Lake
* James River
* Land's End
* Mattaponi
* Mattaponi Bluffs
* Merrimac Farm
* Mockhorn Island
* Oakley Forest
* Pettigrew
* Powhatan
* Princess Anne
* Ragged Island
* Rapidan
* Robert W. Duncan
* Saxis
* Short Hills
* Smith Mountain Cooperative
* Stewarts Creek
* T. M. Gathright
* Turkeycock
* Ware Creek
* Weston
* White Oak Mountain

Other|

| Registered Historic
Places in Virginia|

* Virginia Landmarks Register
* National Register of Historic Places listings in Virginia
* Bridges
* National Historic Landmarks

|

* Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation
* Virginia Department of Forestry
* Virginia Department of Historic Resources
* Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources

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