Elizabeth River Trail

Great place to get cardio done! Or just enjoy a cup of coffee from a local coffee shop in the area like Cure. They have benches near the water to relax. I believe it is 10.5 mile urban trail on the water! Great way to explore the beauty that Norfolk has to offer! Bike, run or walk and enjoy being a local tourist!

Surviving a pandemic requires creative thinking and getting outside for some glorious vitamin D.After a long week of virtual school, working from home, and just feeling extremely cooped up we decided to check out the Elizabeth River Trail. We have been walking quite a bit, but our usual path was getting boring and mundane. Time for a change. I am so glad we got out to experience this trail, it is beautiful, well marked, and well kept (and goes by a coffee shop soooo win-win for those who require caffeination). We parked at the train station by Harbor Park and walked for close to 4 miles before turning around. We took the Sentara loop on the way back and it was also well marked and easy to follow. The trail is super family friendly, my 11 and 13 year old had a blast, but their were also families with younger children out enjoying themselves. The trail goes through the Chelsea district so if hunger should strike, a quick lunch stop is also an option (note to self for next time). I highly recommend this to anyone who just needs to get out.

This trail is flat and the scenery is perfect for a nice casual family ride. The only bad side is if you are not from the area navigating through the trail can be challenging. We rode our bikes for the entire 10 miles with two kids and they didn't complain. The good part is there are no hills. There are times when you are riding on the road on a bike lane with traffic but most of the vehicles we encountered seemed used to pedestrians and cyclist. The new obstacle course along the trail (near Plum Point Park) was a nice break from bike riding to rest and enjoy a little competition. My only compliant is that they have better signs informing you of where to get back on the trail because the GPS just confuses you. I would recommend this trail for casual riding.

Really cool urban walking/biking trail. I've walked to end to end, as well as small segments from time to time. It's about 12 miles long, and has quite a bit of variation. It starts on the riverfront near Harbor Park, stays along the river up to Nauticus, then forks. You take it through Ghent, or the Fort Norfolk area (I recommend option 2), then re-converges in Chelsea. It then winds through grassy areas and neighborhoods before coming out at Hampton Blvd to guide you through ODU via Powatan. It then goes through Larchmont, and into the North Shore area, past the Hermitage before ending near Terminal Blvd on Hampton. It is a cool walk. Being new, the signage is not the greatest. I've found it toughest to follow past Nauticus, on the divergence, and then again at ODU. I'm sure this will improve over time. There are some really cool natural sights as well as cool restaurants and breweries along the way. This is one of Norfolk's hidden gems!

This trail stretches along the Elizabeth River with great views of the river and surrounding area along the way. I love to walk my dogs on this trail. There's plenty of runners, bicyclists, and fellow dog walkers on this trail every day. There's even people that use this trail to walk to work. The trail has a few separate mini-trails along the way. There's many places you can walk a different route than the trail and hop back on a few blocks down. The trail has a lot of variety, and that's why I like it.My favorite place to take this trail is to the Chelsea area in Norfolk. My wife and I will often walk the trail and end up at The Bakehouse at Chelsea (pizza) or Smartmouth Brewery for a few drinks!Mornings, right around 12pm, and 4-5pm on weekdays can be pretty hectic around the Chelsea area on the trail since the shipyard workers get out and take the trail back to their cars. Those are the only times I'd avoid the trail if you care about it being slightly crowded. Other than that it's a great walk!

I enjoyed walking this trail and learning about Norfolk's history. It is free and self guided unless you can convince someone in your party to be a guide. There are signs along the paths, which a clean and not crowded. Part of trail takes you in front of the river and then along the battleship Wisconsin.

This was a beautiful trail to hike with my two dogs. It was peaceful and the perfect way to spend a day away from the city life!