Prince William Forest Park’s Lake One
Length: .9 mile, one way
Difficulty: very strenuous
Lake One Road is one of the many gravel fire roads within Prince William Forest Park that is open to both hikers and bikers. It runs from Scenic Drive at Parking Lot E down to Lake One. I biked the road and this review focuses on the ride experience.
Lake One Road in Prince William Forest Park
The start of Lake One Road is just a hundred yards or so south of the parking lot. The road starts off level and then gradually climbs to a small crest before heading down one of the steepest hills that I have ever come across. How steep is it? It’s so steep that I had the breaks on the entire time and pretty much slid in the gravel all the way down. When returning and attempting to pedal uphill, I stood up to get more “umph” into it, and the back tire simply spun in the loose gravel. I had to get off and push my bike to the top.
Lake One Road in Prince William Forest Park
Once at the bottom you will find that Lake One, which was created by damming Quantico Creek, is not really much of a lake, or even a pond for that matter. When I visited, it was being enjoyed by a couple of geese. I also found a frog that had nestled itself between two grey posts. The frog was either grey to begin with or was able to change its color.
Dam at Lake One in Prince William Forest Park
Prince William Forest Park’s Lake One
Frog hiding near Lake One in Prince William Forest Park
Fishing is allowed from the road-side bank at Lake One. The other side is only accessible from Cabin Camp 1, and only guests of the cabins are allowed to fish from that side. Farther down Quantico Creek is Lake Four, a much nicer pond. However, only those staying at Cabin Camp 4 are allowed to fish in it. Swimming is not allowed in any of the lakes at Prince William Forest Park except by guests of the cabin camps, and then only if the group hires a certified lifeguard to attend its event. Nobody would want to swim in Lake One anyway, even if swimming were allowed.
It took me ten minutes to bike to the lake, but twenty minutes to get back to the parking lot. Other than to go fishing or to get exercise, I can’t think of a reason to hike or bike Lake One Road. The trip back up really takes the fun out of the journey.
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Last updated on April 11, 2024
