Belle Isle State Park is located across Mulberry Creek from Morattico, a five minute boat or car ride from the village. The park has bicycle rentals and trails, as well as canoe rentals. (At the moment there are no camping facilities, though this may change when General Assembly funding is made available.) It also has a main and guest house that can be rented by the day or week. The information below, provided by the Virginia Department of Recreation and Parks, provides specific details related to Belle Isle. Following this information is a link to the state's web site, which contains photographs of the park.
General Information: Located in the rural Northern Neck of Virginia,
Belle Isle is the first
state park to be purchased with funds from the $95 million 1992
Parks and Recreational
Facilities Bond Referendum. The 733-acre site is a window to
the beautiful lower
Rappahannock River in Lancaster County. Waterfront in the area
has been developed
extensively by private landowners with little public recreational
access. This fact made the lower
Rappahannock a priority for purchasing land for a new state
park. The park has seven miles of
frontage on the north shore of the Rappahannock, and it borders
Deep and Mulberry creeks. It
features diverse tidal and nontidal wetlands, lowland marshes,
tidal coves and upland forests.
Wildlife: The diverse habitats found in the park provide homes
to many predator birds, such as
blue herons, osprey, hawks and bald eagles. White-tailed deer,
turkeys, groundhogs, rabbits,
squirrels, moles, reptiles and amphibians. There are eight distinct
types of wetlands within the
park. These diverse ecosystems make Belle Isle an excellent
outdoor laboratory for
environmental education.
Location: Lancaster County on the Rappahannock River. From Warsaw,
take State Route 3
East to SR 354. Turn right and follow for three miles. Turn
right onto SR 683 near Litwalton to
the park entrance.
Overnight Facilities: Bel Air Overnight Area
The Bel Air Overnight Area is a 33 acre peninsula of land at
the mouth of Deep Creek in
Lancaster County. Views of beautiful sunsets over the Rappahannock
River make this Northern
Neck landmark an ideal place to spend a week with friends, family
or associates.
There are two houses that can be rented together or separately.
As many as 14 can spend the
night, which would allow a small retreat for businesses or accommodations
for a wedding party.
A large frame tent, picnic tables and pig cooker are available
to enhance receptions on the
waterfront lawn.
Bel Air Mansion
The Bel Air Mansion, built in 1942, was the home of Mr. and Mrs.
John Garland Pollard Jr.
This Colonial reproduction house was designed by Thomas Tilson
Waterman, an architectural
historian with the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation in its early
years. The construction of the
building included using interior materials from other notable
historic buildings in the local area.
Current furnishings in the building include solid hardwood,
Colonial reproductions and oriental
rugs that maintain the historic character of the building.
First floor
Kitchen - fully furnished, place
settings for 40, microwave, dishwasher, refrigerator with ice
machine, (Detergents provided),
pots, pans, cooking utensils, measuring cups, 55 cup coffee
maker and a 12 cup coffee maker
Laundry room - washer and dryer
(detergent not provided)
Dining room - dining room table
w/seats for eight, two side tables with seats for two each (four
total), working fireplace
Living room - three sofas, television
and VCR, working fireplace
Library - one sofa, two chairs,
books, fireplace is not operational
Deep Creek room - one full size
bed, one dresser, accessible bathroom (shower), adjacent
second bathroom w/claw foot tub
Maids room - one day bed, full
bathroom
Second floor
Pollard Room - one queen bed, full
bathroom, heated whirlpool tub (no shower), dresser,
working fireplace, television
Rappahannock Room - two twin beds,
one dresser, closet, shared full bathroom
Northwest Room - one twin bed,
one dresser, closet, shared full bathroom
- All linens are provided
- Smoking and pets are not allowed
- At this time there is a limit of 6 people regardless of the
number of beds. This is due to building
codes and is not flexible.
- Check in is 3 p.m., check out is 10am, weekly rental runs
Saturday through Saturday
Bel Air Guest House
The Bel Air Guest House sits 15 feet off of a cove on Deep Creek.
Picture and bay windows
provide beautiful views of sunsets over the Rappahannock River.
The children of John Garland
Pollard called this building their play house.
The building is furnished with standard cabin style furniture.
The great room can be set up in
many combinations for different purposes. See the arrangements
below.
The guest house can be rented weekly in conjunction with the
Bel Air Mansion, it can be rented
alone by the week or by the night (a two night minimum applies).
The Bel Air Guest House has been rented daily in the past for
picnics, meetings and reunions.
This is still available if it is not rented within 30 days of
the desired date.
Kitchen - fully furnished, place
settings for 40; microwave, portable dishwasher (detergent
provided), 55 cup coffee pot,
12 cup coffee pot, pots, pans, cooking utensils, measuring cups
Master bedroom - bunk bed (full
size on bottom, single on top, drawer in bottom), closet,
vanity top with sink and drawers
for storage; shared, full bathroom
Bedroom - bunk bed - full size
on bottom, single on top, drawer in bottom; shared, full
bathroom
Great room
Overnight: TV-VCR combination,
three love seats, operational fireplace, round dining table
Classroom style: tables and chairs
for 24
Classroom style: seating for 40
Dinner style: round tables and
chairs for 30, buffet tables
Board room style: round or rectangular
tables for up to 14 people
- All linens are provided
- Smoking and pets are not allowed
- No more than eight people are allowed overnight in this building.
Two cots are available.
- Check in is 3 p.m., check out is 10 a.m. Weekly rentals run
from Saturday through Saturday
Size: 733 acres.
Parking/Admission: $1
Park Map: None available.
Fishing/Boating:
Fishing: Saltwater bank fishing. A valid Virginia saltwater fishing license required.
Boating: The park offers guided canoe trips during the summer
season. A new ramp is available
for the motor boaters and cartop launch area for canoes, kayaks
and windsails. Boaters are
encouraged to visit by way of water.
Equipment rentals offer opportunities to explore the park’s 7.5
miles of shoreline on the
Rappahannock River, Deep and Mulberry Creeks, in addition to
the seven varieties of wetlands
and coastal agricultural fields.
Equipment:
Canoes - $4 an hour
Motor boats - $10 an hour (minimum
of two) or $50/day
Bikes - $3 an hour
Swimming: No swimming.
Concessions: A snack bar, tackle supplies, boat and bicycle rentals are available.
Laundry: No laundromat in park.
Restaurant/Groceries: No restaurant, no grocery/camp store.
Interpretive Programs: Canoe tours
Handicap Accessibility: Some facilities for those with disabilities.
Hunting: No hunting permitted in park.
Horse Rentals: None; bridle paths are planned.
Trails: New shaded hiking trails, bicycle and self-guided trails.
Picnicking: Three picnic shelters overlooking the historic Rappahannock
River are available
on first-come, first-served basis or can be reserved by calling
the park for reservations.
Environmental Education Center: None, however the diverse ecosystems
make Belle
Isle an excellent outdoor laboratory for environmental education.
Visitor Center: None.
Estimated Driving Time to Park from: Northern Virginia: two hours;
Richmond: two
hours; Tidewater/Norfolk/Virginia Beach: two hours; Roanoke:
five hours
Nearby Attractions: Mary Ball Washington Museum, Lancaster; Historic
Christ Church,
Weems; Tides Inn and Tides Lodge, Irvington; Hughlett Point
Natural Area, Bush Mill Stream
Natural Area; Lancaster County Chamber of Commerce; numerous
antique shops.
Weather Forecast: Weather - (804) 435-2111. www.weather.com (type
22503 in zip
code box when displayed).
Camping, Cabin Rates:
Combination rental of Bel Air Mansion
and Guest House: $2,500/week
Rental of Bel Air Mansion: $1,800/week,
$500/night (two night minimum)
Rental of guest house: $800/week,
$225/night (two night minimum); if the guest house is not
rented for overnight use, it may
be rented for day use within 30 days before the scheduled
event, $125/day
Events: Click here to learn about specific park events.
Special Offerings: None
Park History: The property was placed on the National Register
of Historic Places in 1971.
John Bertrand, a Huguenot, first acquired the property in 1692.
The Downman family operated
Belle Isle plantation on the site throughout the 19th century.
The Somers, Pollard, and Hamlin
families owned the properties until the recent state acquisition.
The historic Belle Isle mansion,
which is not a part of the park, is owned by the Gruis family.
For More Information, Contact:
Belle Isle State Park, Rt. 3, Box 550, Lancaster, VA 22503; phone (804) 462-5030
or
Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation, 203 Governor
Street, Suite 213,
Richmond, VA 23219.
For reservations or brochures, call 1-800-933-PARK. For general
information , call (804)
786-1712, Email pco@dcr.state.va.us.
For the state's web site on Belle
Isle, from which the information above was taken, and for additional photographs,
click
here.
