Fort Huger

Fort Huger (FH) was a strategic Civil War fort and was built to defend Confederates and Richmond. Six months ago, I tried to visit FH with my boys on our way home from another trip. We ended up turning back because they have one of the roads blocked. (Make sure you check out their website and get the alternate route:
.) We didn’t feel like trying to find the alternate route, so I bookmarked it and knew I’d come back at some point. Today was that day. It was a gorgeous Monday, I packed a picnic lunch, and hit the road for an adventure.
My first stop was Fort Boykins (FB) – I would definitely check that out since they’re fairly close by (
). When you walk in the parking lot, there are placards with information about FH. They even have brochures out for you to take along. However, there are no restrooms and no picnic tables. There is a short walk to the archaeological site, and there are more placards throughout the trail. At the top, there are cannons and the James River below, but you can’t get too close or barely see the water because of the trees. There are some benches scattered around.
Honestly, I would probably skip FH. You’re really here for the idea of what took place all those years ago – not to see actual artifacts. Yes, there is some historical information here, but nothing you can’t find online. If there was something else here to entice us, that might be different (like FB). I did find out that the Isle of County Museum offers free guided tours on FH. The information is available on the website and I posted a tip with the dates. If I were to return, I would do it for a free guided tour.
Here are some websites mentioned at FH:
Civil War Trails
Chesapeake Bay Gateways Network
Captain John Smith’s Trail
National Register of Historic Places
Virginia Landmarks Register