By Maddax Winston-Evans

Deep Run Park, located in Henrico County just four and a half miles from Collegiate, is a child’s paradise. Playground sets stand tall like castles. In the summer, the birds chirp, the wind blows, and kids are running around playing soccer and Pokemon Go. Or, at least it used to be like this. Before COVID-19, Deep Run Park was filled with energetic kids, dog walkers, athletes, and bikers. Once COVID-19 hit, for a while the park became a ghost town. After many months, as more of the world opens back up, the usual visitors of Deep Run Park are slowly returning.

There is something for everyone at Deep Run Park. For the younger children, there are playgrounds that are especially enticing. There are slides and rock walls and ropes and, of course, swings. There are always many children on bright summer days sprinting away from the swings after getting burned by the rubber seat that’s been sitting in the sun for too long. These characteristics cause this to be a great place for a small gathering or birthday party.

One of the numerous playgrounds at Deep Run Park.

For the hoopers, there are basketball courts where pickup games are held regularly. The games are entertaining to watch and participate in, until the ball ricochets too hard off of the rim and rolls away from the court into the bushes or the pond. The only time the games in the summer stop are for brief water breaks, where all the players try to fit into the sliver of shade that is left on the court. I used to play pickup games at Deep Run with friends and family. Depending on who is playing, the games can be casual or extremely intense. There are many competitive players of all ages that play at the basketball courts.

Basketball court at Deep Run Park.

For the older kids, there are fields for soccer and football. There is also an exercise trail that can be walked by anyone, with many different stations along the way. Some of these stations include pull up and monkey bars. My brother, Cooper Winston-Evans (‘24), says, “the exercise trail at Deep Run Park is a great way to get a nice workout in while enjoying the outdoors. It is always fun walking through the trails to each piece of equipment, like the pull up bar, and seeing how many I can do. It is even more fun when I get to exercise with my family.” There really is something quite magical about working out in the woods while the crisp air blows past. While walking through the trail, you can find many biking and jogging the paths as well.

Not only is Deep Run Park an outdoor getaway for families, but it was also a hotspot for the video game Pokemon Go at the height of its popularity in 2016. The trails would be flooded with gamers staring at their phone as they wandered throughout the park, searching for these animated creatures. The Pokemon Go app was the perfect combination for video game lovers and nature lovers, as they could enjoy the outdoors while playing their game. I was one of those Pokemon Go fans roaming Deep Run Park. My brother and I would venture through the trails, catching Pokemon and fighting various battles throughout the park. We would also use this time to walk our dogs. 

There are usually enough dogs walking around Deep Run Park to properly fill a dog park. Some people even sit by their dogs while they fish in the pond, which looks too murky and disgusting to have any living fish in it at all. Zach Darling (‘22) has fished at Deep Run, and he says, “Honestly, the fishing was some of the worst around, but that allowed for a lot of fun shenanigans with some friends.” 

Fishing pond at Deep Run Park.

As someone who used to visit Deep Run Park frequently, it is evident now that the playgrounds are not as large as they used to seem. The fields aren’t as vast, and the trails aren’t as long. However, the memories that are made at Deep Run Park have lasted forever. The next generation of kids that are growing up around this park are now running through the fields and playgrounds and trails. 

As COVID-19 restrictions have become less strict, spending a day at Deep Run Park is a quality way to spend time, especially on the weekends.

All photos by Maddax Winston-Evans.