Colonial National Historical Park ⓘ

Over 1000 species of vascular flora inhabit the 15 square miles of Colonial National Historical Park. All the major vegetation groups are represented. Beaches, forests, tidal wetlands, streamside communities, and open fields define the character of the park and give the visitor sweeping views over the rivers and into the enclosed woodlands.

The reddish flowers covering maple trees are a first sign of spring. Early spring wildflowers like golden ragwort and may-appleare abundant in the woods along the Colonial Parkway. Then redbuds and dogwoods bloom on either side of the roadway, creating an avenue of white and pink blossoms.

The tall, purple-headed Yorktown onion blooms in early summer along the Yorktown portion of the Colonial Parkway and in the battlefields. In Yorktown, fields of thistle attract hundreds of goldfinches in the summer, and in the fall the fruits of persimmon litter Jamestown Island.

The Colonial Parkway and the park tour roads traverse many of these plant communities. Mixed native and non native grasses grow tall to provide cover for newly born fawns, and food and nesting sources for birds requiring open field habitat. In the fall, golden blooms of wingstem and goldenrod are seen from the tour roads, and the ripe pawpaw fruits, dropped from the trees, are food for small animals. By frost, persimmon fruits are quickly eaten by a number of mammals.

Road bridges cross extensive marshlands and parallel sandy beaches vegetated with grasses and wetland plants. From the Jamestown Island tour road bridges big cordgrass fills the marshes while arrowhead and pickerelweedbloom along the edges. Calico asters brighten the roadways until late fall. Many fern species form drifts along the waterways in the park.

Several federally-listed threatened and endangered plant species have been identified within the park, and are being closely monitored. Among them are pondspice,mountain camellia , sensitive joint-vetch, and gaping panicgrass .

White-tailed deer graze along the edges of woodlands, bald eagles and osprey feed their young in nests, and turtles cross the roadways. Salt marshes along the York River provide homes for fiddler crabs, while dragonflies and beavers are active around freshwater ponds. Over 200 species of birds, 40 mammals, 90 fish, and 50 amphibians and reptiles, as well as hundreds of species of insects, live in the park at least part of the year.

Native Americans and colonists used an abundance of game, fish, and shellfish to feed their families. Over time, colonists converted forests into farm fields. Colonial National Historical Park's trails and roadways are designed to allow you to experience a rural agricultural setting similar to that of the Colonial period. Since the forests and fields are protected, the park now supports a relatively large number of animals. Some species, such as otters, bobcats and beavers, have rebounded. You can help us protect turtles in the park !

Surveys conducted within the park report several rare animal species. You may see abundant wildlife from the Jamestown Loop Trail and the Yorktown Battlefield Tour Roads. Overwintering seabirds and ducks bob in the York River, while winter egrets and herons fish in the the freshwater marshes bordering the James River.

The park's waters, woodlands and fields support nearly 50 species of mammals, including eight species of bats. White-tailed deer, fox, raccoon, and rabbits can be frequently seen from roadways and in the fields. Muskrat, mink, otters, and beavers are more elusive and use the creeks and rivers as their habitat and travel way. Muskrats live in or near marshes along the parkway and in the marshes bordering Wormley Creek in Yorktown. Downed trees along the marsh/forest edge in Jamestown and dams along creeks in Yorktown signal beaver activity, and river otters have been seen swimming under parkway bridges and in the marsh creeks on Jamestown Island. It is a rare delight when a park visitor or staff sees a bobcat or its tracks along a sandy beach.

At dusk, bats, opossums and skunks come out to forage and hunt. The smallest mammals are rarely seen by the casual visitor because the move through tall grasses, under forest litter, or underground. The most abundant and widely distributed mammal in the park is the white-footed deermouse. Mice and northern short-tailed shrew live in the old fields in Yorktown while mixed forest habitat supports two other species of shrew. Moles, voles and mice are important recyclers in the ecosystem, feeding on dead plant material and insect grubs, while they furnish food for foxes, snakes and hawks.

A small population of bobcats exists within the park. The bobcat is the most common wildcat in the United States and has the greatest habitat range of any cat native to North America. Found in almost any climate, Bobcats will eat a variety of prey, generally small woodland animals such as rabbits, squirrels, birds and rodents . Because they hunt at night, they are not likely to be seen by visitors .