The Elizabeth River Trail is expanding in Norfolk with new path, gathering space and more

NORFOLK — Work is expected to begin this summer on a new starting point for the 10-mile-long Elizabeth River Trail.

Almost 4 acres of land around the Larchmont Library will be improved for the new trailhead which will include a kiosk, a kayak launch to the Lafayette River, improved signage and outdoor recreational space. Plans also call for a pollinator garden, an outdoor gathering space and a new path, as well as improvements to the existing path.

“The Larchmont Library Trailhead is in a wetlands area that was previously restored by the Elizabeth River Project,” said Morgan Willett, assistant director of the Elizabeth River Trail Foundation, in an email. “Our project is a perfect match as it creates outdoor recreation, community building, and an open space preservation opportunity.”

The project received a $405,000 grant through the Virginia Outdoors Foundation, a state agency, last year to accomplish the effort. The grant fund is called the Open-Space Lands Preservation Trust with a purpose to preserve open space for a variety of uses from farming to recreation, according to the Virginia Outdoors Foundation.

Willett said the ERT foundation is hoping to break ground on the project, which has been years in the making, this summer with everything done by the end of 2024 or early 2025.

“These trailheads, such as our signature trailhead at Plum Point Park, were always a part of the larger vision for the trail,” she said.

The grant money is The Virginia Outdoors Foundation Open Space Lands Preservation Trust Fund Grant and is the largest amount the trail has ever received. The Norfolk City Council approved passing through the funding from the state to the trail foundation at its Feb. 27 meeting.

“This trailhead will change the trail user experience by improving a highly used section of the trail, making it safer, and more accessible, and increasing public access to our waterfront,” Willett said.

The popular multi-use trail runs through several parks and neighborhoods, spanning from Norfolk State University to the Lochhaven neighborhood near the Hermitage Museum and Gardens. The new trailhead construction is the latest in a series of upgrades to the trail. Recent additions include the opening of an obstacle course at Plum Point Park and the creation of a glow in the dark section of pathway, dubbed the Glowline, in Jeff Robertson Park.

Ian Munro, 757-47-4097, ian.munro@virginiamedia.com