Hidden Public Parks: Lake Chesdin Dam

If you look around, sometimes you'll be surprised at the places you find, nice and open to the public. This is along Highway 36 (River Road) south of Richmond on the Chesterfield County line.

Does the sign mention a park? No, not at all. And driving past manicured drinking water ponds surrounded by barbed wire fences, you definitely get the feeling, "I don't think I'm supposed to be in here!" No hint of the park at the very end of the road. The first Sunday of May, 2008, sunny and warm — and there were three cars in the parking lot, including mine. I fished for a while and caught three sunfish.