The Friends of Pocahontas State Park has been awarded a $20,000 grant from REI Richmond along with a $10,000 grant from Dominion Energy. The combined $30,000 was given with the express intent of adding more hiking-specific trails to Pocahontas State Park’s already flourishing trail system.

Grant Smith, Store Manager from Richmond REI, presented a check to Friends member Jeff Samuels and Park Manager Joshua Ellington Thursday, July 5. Samuels, who has been with the Friends group since 2007 and is currently serving as the Director of Hiking Trails, explained the funding would go toward the construction of a new trail on the north shore of Swift Creek Lake.

Ellington has been park manager at Pocahontas State Park since 2015 and is extremely grateful of the community support. Opening new trails is a labor intensive process, says Ellington, “We couldn’t do it without our volunteers, the friends group and corporate beneficiaries…Thank you for continuing to make Pocahontas State Park a better place for this whole community.”

Development for the new trail system is scheduled to begin in August. Completed sections of
new trail will open to the public as early as September 2018.