This Saturday we went to check out the Occoquan park and historic Occoquan town. It is a nice and short 20 minute ride from our home. Occoquan Regional Park is a place of entry to several key hiking trails, including the Fairfax Cross-County Trail and Potomac Heritage National Scenic Trail.
The boat launch and marina provide easy access to a day exploring or fishing the Occoquan River. The park offers various recreational activities such as batting cages, soccer fields, kayaking and numerous barbeque areas including gazebos. The river banks looked beautiful.
Some river lovers enjoying a boat ride.
Kayaks rentals were readily available for rent. People getting ready for a kayak ride on the calm Occoquan river.
We didn’t explore long trails, but some shorter ones were very nice.
We saw an eagle or hawk nest (hard to tell from so far away). It was built on the pole in a middle of the river.
There were some beautiful blooming trees in the park.
We noticed an unusual building and decided to check it out. It was the Turning Point Suffragist Memorial. Turning Point Plaza honors the women who were imprisoned at the Occoquan Workhouse located across from the current Occoquan Regional Park.
In 1917, women suffragists were the first political group to protest in front of the White House. As a result, hundreds of women seeking the right to vote were imprisoned at both the D.C. Jail and the Occoquan Workhouse, part of the Lorton Prison complex.
From the park we drove to the town of Occoquan for lunch. Occoquan is a historic town along the Occoquan River in Northern Virginia, just 22 miles south of Washington DC. Occoquan is derived from an Indian word, meaning “at the end of the water”.
Today the historic downtown is about three blocks by three blocks. The highlights are the old mill, Rockledge mansion, and numerous small shops on Mill Street along the water. The town boasts numerous buildings from the 1700s and 1800s, many included on Occoquan’s ghost tours. Here are new condos on the Occoquan River.
Of course, there’s always plenty of shopping to do. Historic Occoquan is home to a variety of shops, including art galleries, antique shops, clothing boutiques, jewelry stores and more. Here are some cute boutiques near the waterfront.
We stopped at the Madigan’s Waterfront seafood restaurant for lunch. This is the largest restaurant in town; it has a prime location on the river with outdoor seating.
We were so glad that we found this restaurant. Besides the very pleasant atmosphere and the river view, the menu had many of our favorite choices. The crab cakes were absolutely delicious there.
The Occoquan Waterfront has a small dock area that runs behind Mill Street in the historic town of Occoquan. We saw some geese from the dock near the restaurant. On our way home, we stopped at the Mom’s Apple Pie Bakery for some homemade dessert. We will be back! 🙂
