Pocahontas State Park

Pocahontas State Park, near Chesterfield, Virginia, is one of the largest parks in the Virginia system, developed largely by Civilian Conservation Corps labor during the 1930s and 1940s. Under segregation, a portion of the park operated separately as one of the few state park areas open to African American Virginians, a distinction that reflects the broader, difficult history of segregated public recreation in the state before the Civil Rights era. Swift Creek Lake, at the park's center, offers swimming, boating, and fishing. Its size and proximity to Richmond make it one of the most visited parks in the Virginia system today.