Length: 66.4+/- depending on the frequency of stops
Start: Great Shiplock Park (Mile marker 51.2)
Turnaround: Mile Marker 18
Parking: Back of the Jamestown Settlement Parking Lot
Attractions on the trip:
American Civil War Museum (1 mile west of trail)
Richmond Slave Trail (Across the river in richmond at Brander Street)
Highway Marker: SA41- Union Troops Enter Richmond (mile marker 50)
Highway Marker: V2- Fort Harrison (mile marker 46)
Fort Harrison National Cemetery (mile marker 44, 1.7 miles south of the trail)
New Market Heights (mile marker 40)
Highway Marker: PA164- First Battle of Deep Bottom (mile marker 37)
Richmond National Battlefield Park Visitor’s Center (mile marker 35.5, about 3 miles north of trail)
Fort Hoke, Fort Harrison, Fort Johnson, Fort Gregg, Fort Gilmer, and Fort Brady
Highway Marker: PA240- Engagement at Malvern Cliffs (mile marker 34)
Highway Marker: V4- Malvern Hill (mile marker 33)
Highway Marker: V7- Berkeley Plantation or Harrison’s Landing (mile marker 30)
Highway Marker: V13- Salam Church (mile marker 26)
Salem Cemetery (slightly east of mile marker 26, 3.6 miles north of the trail)
Highway Marker: V9 Grant’s Crossing (between mile marker 23-22)
Highway Marker: V34 Fort Pocahontas
Fort Pocahontas (slightly east of mile marker 15.5, 1.5 miles south of trail)
North Bend Plantation (slightly west of mile marker 18.5, 1 mile south of trail)
Itinerary:
This itinerary gives you the opportunity to ride and learn! You can park at Great Shiplock Park in Richmond and either head on the trail or take a few detours first. The American Civil War Museum- Historic Tredegar is 1 mile west of the trail and learn the story of the Civil War. This is the final resting place of Civil War artifacts that were once housed in the old Civil War Museum next to the White House of the Confederacy. Or go across the river to the Richmond Slave Trail located off Brander Street, for more information and a map visit this link http://www.richmondgov.com/CommissionSlaveTrail/documents/brochureRichmondCityCouncilSlaveTrailCommission.pdf. Once you are done visiting these sites head back to Great Shiplock Park and ride east on the trail. You will come across your first Highway Marker at Rocketts Landing: SA41 where union troops entered Richmond on April 3rd, 1865. At mile marker 46 you will find Highway Marker V2 Fort Harrison which was an important component of the Confederate defenses of Richmond. At mile marker 37, the First Battle of Deep Bottom took place where Maj. Gen. Winfield Hancock intended to attack Confederate troops and failed. The next Civil War landmark you’ll hit will be about 3 miles north of mile marker 35, Richmond National Battlefield Park and take the “Battlefield Tour.” This tour highlights several different battles such as Fort Hoke, Fort Harrison, Fort Johnson, Fort Gregg, Fort Gilmer, and Fort Brady. For details visit, https://www.nps.gov/rich/learn/historyculture/chaffins-farm2.htm. Once you reach mile marker 44, 1.7 miles south of the trail you’ll find Fort Harrison National Cemetery or at mile marker 26, go 3.6 miles north of the trail for Salem Cemetery. When you get back on the trail you will come across the highway marker indicating where Malvern Hill took place from mile marker 34 to 33. At mile marker 26, highway marker V13 Salam Church stands which used to be a Civil War field hospital. Between mile marker 23 and 22, you will see V9: Grant’s Crossing. Fort Pocahontas, a Civil War fortification, is just east of mile marker 16, 1.5 miles south of the trail. At mile marker 18.5, 1 mile south of the trail, North Bend Plantation sits, where nearly 30,000 federal troops camped during the Civil War. This concludes your Civil War Tour on the trail! Head west on the trail back to Great Shiplock Park!
