page_title: Belle Isle (Richmond, Virginia)
section_title: Belle Isle Park today
hierarchical_section_title: Belle Isle (Richmond, Virginia) / Belle Isle Park today
caption_attribution_description: English: View from north shore of belle isle, Richmond, VA.
context_page_description: Belle Isle is a small 54-acre island in the city of Richmond, Virginia. Belle Island lies within the James River, and being owned by the city it serves as a city park. It is accessible to pedestrian and bicycle traffic via a suspension footbridge that runs under the Robert E. Lee Memorial Bridge from the northern shore or via a wooden bridge from the southern shore. Except when the water level of the James is high, it is also reachable by foot from the southern shore via easy boulder-hopping. From Belle Isle, one can see Hollywood Cemetery, the old Tredegar Iron Works, and Richmond City's skyline. Belle Isle has many bike trails around the island, and has a small cliff used for rock climbing instruction.
context_section_description: Belle Isle was formally made into a park in 1973. 
  Belle Isle offers Richmonders the opportunity to view wildlife in its natural habitat, at a location only a few minutes from the heart of the city.  Songbirds,  ducks, cormorants and blue herons are a common sight. Squirrels, other small mammals, amphibians and reptiles also inhabit the island.
  Belle Isle is a great place for people with a love for the outdoors. Popular activities of adults and youths alike include walking the trails, swimming in the James River, rock jumping, sunbathing, birdwatching, kayaking in the James, and boulder-top picnicking only feet away from fierce rapids. The island also offers many old and ruined buildings, among other run-down sites along the trails.
  Sections of trail are a part of the East Coast Greenway.
  Because it contains many trees and is remote from constant human presence, the island is home to some animal wildlife, an uncommon presence within the city's borders.
caption: Herons fishing in the rapids.  A view from the northern bank of Belle Isle, across the James River, to the bluffs of Hollywood Cemetery.
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