Bells Mill Park

This park is located in the city hall area of Chesapeake. The entryway is nestled in the rear of the zone of buildings. There is ample parking with a small outdoor work out space. There is a paved trail that turns gravel the walks past a small pond.The trail winds in an open space that includes moderate elevation with smooth trails that is accessible by foot and bike. This may not be suited for someone in a wheelchair unless with high terrain wheels. There is not a lot to look at except the wooded areas and a small marsh area nearby. The only other setback is that route walking behind a city jail and if you don't mind inmates yelling and hollering then you'll be fine. Otherwise, a nice simple trail best suited on a cool day to hike.

Bells Mill Park is a decent simple park located off of Albemarle Drive near the Chesapeake Municipal Center. It's a basic park without a lot of amenities. Restroom facilities are limited to a couple of porta-potties by the asphalt parking lot. The lot is of adequate size and provides enough room for a bus to turn around. It is well maintained and always free of debris. There are a few picnic tables and a small outdoor fitness area. There are footpaths through wetlands and meadows in open natural areas as well as a lake and 5K running course. According to the park's website, bikes and motorized vehicles are not permitted but I have observed people riding mountain bikes. This site was formerly a landfill so it's nice to see the area reclaimed by nature. The park is very near my job so the location is convenient for me to stop in after a tough day at work and just spend a few minutes communing with nature and relaxing my mind before heading home.

I would not recommend going here there is no playground for the kids and there is Porter potty's instead of rest rooms and when I went on the trail it wasn't as relaxing as I thought there is no food or water! The park isn't as fun as others in the area bells mill Park is not worth going to!!!

This is recreation park for running, biking and picnicking. General: The park is flat and bordered by water on two sides with swampy wetlands in the middle. My wife and I went there to enjoy a 2 mile jog in the park rather than drive to the oceanfront. Considering how few walking, running, hiking trails there are in Hampton Roads (especially Chesapeake) that are readily available we thought we'd give this new one (to us) a try. Thankfully it was a perfect day for running with 70 degrees and clear skies otherwise it could have been hot, humid and miserable in the summer or cold, wet and miserable in winter. Thank goodness for spring, no complaints there.Location: The park is located behind Chesapeake City Hall and is a little hard to find if you're not actively looking for the entrance. The parking lot, like most parks in Hampton Roads (again especially Chesapeake) is small but in this case we didn't have a hard time finding a spot because except for a couple of other joggers no one was there. Trails: The walking/running trails switch from dirt to grass, well it's actually more like low cut weeds, but with it being low enough it turned out just fine. The main trail is just under a 5K run but it has a few options to break off of it as it winds its way back toward the start so if you feel like doing 1 - 1.5mi or 2 - 2.5miles, either at the start or change your mind while you're running, you're good.Rating: If you want a place to run with wide lanes and not an automobile to be heard, let alone seen,...and you're OK with direct sun hitting on you as you move through the trails then Bells Mill Park is a good choice. However, if you want some trees around to provide intermittent shade as you run or you have a dog that gets wet every time it sees the water, this is not your stop. You'll just find yourself sunburnt and your pet will stink to high hell. Overall I give the trails a 3 for being well kept and easy to divert from larger to smaller and vise versa. Picnicking I give it a 2. There are picnic tables but the sun bleached/weathered and full of splinters. Access I give it a 3 but the parking lot brings us back to a 2. Normally I would give this place a rating of 2 but since it is one of the few places in Chesapeake I'll give it 3 Stars and hope the city doesn't replace it with and fattening fast food joint.

This is a very rustic park. The trail is nothing more then a wide swarth cut through a field. If you aren't covered with insect repellent prepared to be attacked.