Park offers wildness close to civilization

When I introduced the Urban Oasis series at the beginning of this year, the goal was to find patches of overlooked wilderness in the Richmond area. There are a surprising number of them - green spaces such as Williams Island, Powhite Park and Tuckahoe Creek that are often missed, even by outdoors lovers.

But as I've searched the area for these places, what's surprised me most are not the places that, through quirks of geography, are hidden away or off the beaten path. More surprising has been the number of places hidden in plain sight.

This month's entry fits that description.

Most Richmonders have heard of Dorey Park. Located near the airport in Henrico County, the park accommodates an incredible array of pursuits. There are baseball, softball, football and soccer fields, a disc golf course, horse trails and a corral, tennis courts, a lake and a playground.

When I visited Dorey for adult-league soccer games over the years, the thick woods nearby always intrigued me. Could there be more to the place than just fields and playgrounds? Each time I made a mental note to come back and explore but never got around to it.

Then recently I saw the park included in Nathan Lott's handy "60 Hikes within 60 Miles of Richmond" book. I was intrigued by his description of a strip of woods with trails in it along the park's western side. I figured I needed to make a trip to see if this might be an urban oasis hiding in plain sight.

On Wednesday, I loaded up the dogs and found my way there. It was near 1 p.m., and a few lunch-break walkers were doing circles on the paved path around the lake. A sign by the water said the lake was stocked with channel catfish and, as part of the game department's Urban Stocking Program, with trout starting in November.

I took this as a good sign. Any place worthy of trout surely harbors a wild side, I thought. Turns out I was right.

At the south end of the park I entered the forest on a gravel trail. Immediately there were signs pointing out red and white oaks. More signs popped up as the walk went on. I came across wooden markers identifying red cedars, loblolly pines, American hollies, sweetgums and more. As Lott writes, the signs render a stroll along the gravel path "an informative outing for the budding naturalist."

But I was after more than a stroll. I wanted a hike. Dorey obliged.

The first chance we got, the dogs and I hopped off the gravel path and into the deeper woods. First we followed the trail all the way to the park's southern end. On the way back north, another trail crossed ours. We followed it to a small creek.

I hadn't seen this on the map, but here it was, a beautiful unnamed brook winding its way through the forest. It wasn't wide - a few feet at most - and here and there trees were down across it.

Dorey Park is a north-south trending rectangle, and its woods run along the entire western edge. When you look at a map or an aerial photo online, civilization seems to extend to the borders, but it doesn't feel that way when you're in there.

It was quiet, apart from the light rain falling on the uppermost branches of the hardwoods. There was little elevation change on the walk, but what there was allowed for a variety of views of the forest.

We hiked north until we reached a parking lot near the soccer field. In two hours of hiking, we didn't lay eyes on another human. Sure, it was a weekday, but there were plenty of people walking along the lake. Why walk on pavement when you can have the woods to yourself?