Joseph Bryan Park

Love that I live close and can walk this park daily. It’s quiet, peaceful and it is such a joy to be outside!!! This park is a treasure!

Little bit for everybody during every season. If it’s winter, go sleigh riding down one of the many hills. Spring, go look at all the azaleas in bloom on the backside of the park. Summer, fish one of the many lakes or streams or just go rock hopping and sunbathe. Fall drive thru the winding little roads and check out the fall colors of the trees. Great little park with gazebos for getting together with the family.

I absolutely LOVE going to this park. My
husband and I walk our dog down the beautiful paths, even saw a red tailed fox run by one day.
Try to go every chance I get. People you
see there are very friendly, walking dogs, couples walking, running, biking, disc golf,
soccer fields. A gem in Richmond for all to enjoy!

Awesome park for biking riding. There’s a combo of paved and off road trails. Lots of soccer games and disc golf set-​ups. I felt safe riding around on my own, there was a good balance of individuals and families. It’s pretty hilly so if you wanted to run through the park that’s probably helpful to know. I feel fortunate to live so close to this gem!

Nice clean park. They also have disc golf.

Living near the West End (and Richmond in general), there aren’t too many open green places to visit and run around in. Given that this weekend was amazingly nice out, despite it still being winter, we decided to check out Joseph Bryan Park.
And it was glorious! There are all sorts of fun things here from tennis courts, soccer fields (seriously, they have a whole soccer complex with like 6 full size fields), walking trails, biking trails, foresty areas, picnic areas, frisbee golf courses, fishing, an azalea garden, and more. According to their website, there is a 260 acre area to explore and enjoy.
We basically walked around the entire perimeter of the place and looked at all the park has to offer. Being that it is still winter, the azalea gardens and landscaping wasn’t in bloom (more or less still semi-​dead and green-​brown), but it’s immediately apparent that it’d be a really beautiful place in the Spring. Heck, even in the winter it was still pretty enough.
The people visiting the place really breath life into it as well. From children to dogs to families grilling out to groups of dudes playing frisbee golf, the place is really brought alive with people having a good time. That said, there are also nice places to just sit down and relax or read a book.
The reason I’m not giving it 5 stars, and maybe I’ll update this come the spring and summer months, is that it’s a little unclear exactly where you can and can’t go. Sure you physically can go anywhere, but we ended up walking down a path at the beginning that ended with us against a stream with no way to cross it (other than a sketchy 20 foot log or a super long jump). Granted, we just turned around and continued our stroll and ultimately were just out to walk, but I know forced backtracking isn’t normally an ideal feature.
Oh, and certain parts of the park are pretty close to the highway or other driving /​parking areas. It’s fenced in by the highway and admittedly that part is primarily hiking, so it’s not really a danger to kids or dogs.
We’re definitely going to be returning here and can’t wait to return in the spring and see the azalea gardens and the general greenness that should come along with it! The addition of sporting things like tennis courts, soccer fields, and frisbee golf also make it a great place you could plan to visit with some friends too. While it’s not the greatest park I’ve ever been to and not as grand as Maymont for example, it is a great thing to have within a 15 minute drive and definitely worth checking out.

One of my favorite places on the Northside! I feel a bit spoiled that I can now walk to this gem… but I’ll totally take it! From Azalea Gardens to bike paths to gorgeous greenery and perfect picnic areas, this place is a sanctuary for the nature lover.
And frisbee golf? Yep, this park really has it all. I haven’t taken advantage of the frisbee gold myself yet, but it’s definitely on my to-​do list this summer. Every time I visit and see people playing, they always look like they’re having a blast.
Pack a picnic, take a leisurely stroll, or explore the grounds via bike. Any way you cut it, beautiful Bryan Park has a lot to offer!

For several years, there seems to be an ongoing relaxation of the leash requirement for dogs at Bryan Park. When we try to walk our dogs, the loose dogs often charge at ours (sometimes in aggression, sometimes because they want to play), making it very difficult to control our dogs. The dog owners often act as if their unrestrained pets are a completely normal situation, and we’re the ones causing a problem. The situation has gotten so bad that we’ve stopped going and no longer volunteer at the park.

I guess because of its less-​desirable location north of the city, I’ve never spent much time in this park besides running the half-​marathon through it.

If you play ultimate frisbee you’ll love this park. There are those goal thingies everywhere. I don’t even know how the game is played so I can’t help you there. Sports fields, ponds, cement paths and little dirt paths that go through the woods, this is a nicely maintained path. Woods and hills mostly, but some flat grassy areas as well. The far corner of the park runs right along one of the interstates but there’s a fence so Fido or Little Timmy won’t run out into traffic. A critically fumbled football might make it over that way though… were you to be throwing a football on a walking/​running/​biking path… so perhaps practice your unicycle juggling routine on the other side of the park.
Anyway. Dogs are allowed on leashes and there can be quite a few owners walking their little buddies around on weekends. If your dog is extremely aggressive I wouldn’t go here, but if he’s just a little dog sensitive there’s room enough on the paved paths (but not the wooded trails) to stay out of the way of other dogs. Make sure to bring your own poop bags. There aren’t any poop bags there, but there are trash cans at most of the intersections of paths so you don’t have to carry the poop home with you.

First, the bad news — they had just fertilized the fields, so it smelled like barnyard. Luckily, I spent many a wonderful childhood summer «back on the farm» so it added to the temporary charm!
The good news is that I went to watch some soccer games and even though it was rainy, I still enjoyed the visit. As a previous reviewer said it’s not as manicured as Maymont, but that only adds to the charm of Joseph Bryan Park. While I didn’t explore the grounds fully, the parts I drove through and viewed around the soccer fields made me want to come back some more.

Bryan Park is another one of those hidden jewels that many Richmonders are probably not familiar with. Located in North Richmond and adjacent to the Lakeside neighborhood, this park is a great place to bring a picnic, cook out in the built in grills, or to gather in one of the old stone picnic huts scattered about.
There are ponds, streams, and the azalea gardens are legendary. Many local teams use the sports fields for soccer and a multitude of other sports. There is Frisbee golf as well.
This park is larger then most would expect at about 260 acres and is most unusual in that it was designed to have a large forested area. The park offers Audubon Bird Walks on first Sundays of each month at sunrise and the Azalea garden is open to cars from April 1 to May 15^th.

Frisbee golf anyone? Bryan Park is not only home to soccer fields for the local kids, but boasts a full Frisbee golf course, shelters/​tables/​bbqs for picnics, a small pond, and it’s even home to a Tuesday afternoon farmers market, run by Market Umbrella.
AND, as if that weren’t enough, in April and May you can check out the azalea gardens, which is a separate part of the park devoted exclusively to azaleas.
Locals like to walk their dogs here, and the only complaint I have is that too many of them unleash their dogs, which is a major hassle for responsible dog owners like myself who really do not want your unleashed canine companion starting a tussle with my leashed pooch. It’s an unfair fight when one is leashed and the other is not! So to give you the run down on the amenities…
My brother in law is an avid Frisbee Golfer and tells me the Bryan Park course is great– challenging yet fun. There are teams that show up there on the weekends, if you are an enthusiast you probably want to make friends with these folks.
The shelters are tucked away but most of them are accessible by car, so if you have a family reunion or graduation party, you can rent them out for cheap– check out the park site for details–
The BBQ areas are not all car-​accessible, but they are lovely and definitely walk-​able. They are mostly in the non-​wooded area, which keeps debris to a minimum. They are close to one of the little streams that cuts through the lower end of the park… Be sure to clean up after your party when you are done– since there aren’t a ton of trees, trash really sticks out…
The sports fields and farmers market area are definitely car-​accessible, and the fields are usually filled with local kids sports teams (not sure if they are school or county-​run) on afternoons and weekends– looks like soccer and baseball/​softball mostly. Signs will point you in the right direction, and there are plenty of trash cans… looks like you’ll have to bring your own chair though if you want to watch the games– I didn’t see any bleachers.
The farmers market itself has about 20 vendors, a good mix of fresh produce, plants, meats and various other local crafts. I particularly enjoy the water ice– it’s from New Jersey, and us northerners need a taste of home every once in a while.\
Bryan Park is a local treasure of sorts– it’s a great community park, and well worth a trip whether you are into sports, flora, or food!

I love this park. I discovered it last week and I’ve already been back three times on nice days. Where Maymont Park is perfectly manicured green hills and gardens Joseph Bryan Park is wooded expanses of bike and walking trails. I absolutely love it.