Riverside Park - Another reason to love Lynchburg

It's been a while since I have written a post about how much we love living in Lynchburg. Today I will fix that, and will at the same time explain today's blog header photo. I guess I should get the header photo out of the way first—it is David standing next to an old boundary wall that surrounded a Lynchburg country club swimming pool about a century ago.

This old country club is now a wonderful park owned by the City of Lynchburg, and that is the topic of the rest of this post. Yet another reason why we love living in Lynchburg, Virginia.

Kim and David, walking one of the park trails

Thanksgiving morning David and I decided to get out of mom's hair while she was being a cooking machine, so we decided to go to a local playground. As we were pulling out, David requested that we visit another playground called Riverside Park. It's a nice playground and and park, so I agreed and we headed about a mile past the first playground and went to this large and beautiful city-owned park.

The park is an old country club from the early 20th century and is absolutely beautiful. The playground is quite large and has some great equipment on it that kept David happy for quite some time. As David played, the mother of a couple other boys playing there gave me the history of the park.

Kim and David enjoying
the view from an overlook garden

So today we went back to the park and took Mom with us. On the advice of the mother we met yesterday, we walked to the far side of the park, which ends on a high mountainside above the James River. From multiple lookouts built along the edge of this park, you can enjoy a gorgeous view of the mountains that surround Lynchburg and you can watch the trains passing by underneath or crossing the high and expansive railroad bridge that traverses the James River.

There is an old abandoned railroad steam engine in the park, an old swimming pool (no longer containing water) that looks like it may have been built in the late 19th century, a huge stone gazebo containing two picnic tables, and the remains of the boat that carried General Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson from the place of his death (Manassas, Virginia) to Lynchburg for a horse-drawn carriage funeral procession.

David standing at a wall that surrounds the remains
of the old country club swimming pool

We were amazed at the wonderful trails, gardens, and overlooks that were built in the 1930s and earlier at this park. Lynchburg just continues to amaze us with its love of beauty and its respect for God's creation and for Lynchburg's citizens.