Despite wandering all over New England in his lifetime, Henry David Thoreau professed to do most of his travels is his hometown of Concord, Mass.

When he said in the timeless Walden, "I have traveled a good deal in Concord," he meant this literally, but he also had a larger point to make: There is much to see - a lifetime of exploration, in fact - in one's back yard. More important than how far to get away is how open is the mind and how wide the eyes.

It's this Thoreau-like approach that should guide the following nature walks in and around Richmond. From sea to mountains, Virginia is brimming with natural wonders, but too often we overlook those all around us. We take our back yard for granted.

The focus here is on "nature" and "walk." These aren't meant to be strenuous hikes. They can be time-consuming; in fact, they should be. Patience will be required and rewarded. Maybe you'll see a fledging heron chick or a Chesapeake Bay blue crab, a wild turkey or a towering red oak. With enough time and the right mindset, you just might see things and places you thought you knew differently. Or maybe you'll just see different things.

If done right, walks such as these bring to mind another of Thoreau's enduring observations: "I have never got over my surprise that I should have been born into the most estimable place in all the world, and in the very nick of time, too."

Dutch Gap Conservation Area

This walk is no secret to dedicated bird-watchers in the Richmond area, but there are more than just birds at Chesterfield County's Dutch Gap. Located on an abandoned channel of the James River just south of Richmond, Dutch Gap's treats begin even before starting your walk. On your way in, you'll pass freshwater Aikens Swamp. There are two viewing platforms on the edge of the swamp. It's not uncommon to see furry critters such as river otters, muskrats and beavers, as well as great blue herons and various migratory waterfowl here.

The conservation area's Dutch Gap Trail starts next to the visitor center and is 4 miles each way, an out-and-back walk that is best strolled at a leisurely pace with a trusty set of binoculars. The variety of avian species available to the watchful walker is impressive. The trail runs through hardwood forest and meadow habitats with views of an old channel of the James and the tidal lagoon. Somehow even seeing the usual suspects - chickadees, pileated woodpeckers, sparrows, buntings, herons - is thrilling at Dutch Gap. Barred owls and prothonotary warblers make more rare appearances. A 10-stop ornithology tour along the trail is an informative bonus for fledgling birders.

James River Park System - Pipeline Walk

You know the Buttermilk-Northbank loop trail. You've done Huguenot Flatwater, Pony Pasture and the Wetlands. You think you've seen all the James River Park System has to offer. You would be incorrect.

Drive, bike, walk or otherwise get yourself to Brown's Island. On the eastern edge of the island, where the concert stage is set up, walk under the bridge stanchion and down to the river's edge. Here you'll find Pipeline Trail. It's short enough that downtown workers can do this on their lunch break. But there's plenty to see for someone with many hours, too.

Along the banks, says Lorne Field, the JRPS' head of environ mental education, you'll encounter pawpaw trees and purple-and-white passionflower vines starting to bear their fruits. Both are edible. Eventually, you'll arrive at the metal catwalk on top of the pipeline that gives this walk its name. Walk along the eponymous rapids in the James and watch kayakers do their thing.

Vauxhall and Baileys Island out in the river are home to a heron rookery. Look for herons, cormorants and ospreys fishing in the James. Now look down into the water in shallow but swift areas where the turbidity of the rapids has petered out. There they are: Chesapeake Bay blue crabs.

"It's a great place for them to find food, where the water is shallow and warm," Field says. "Some of them are as big as a dinner plate."

It's the males that spend their summers here before heading back into the bay to find a female. Field recommends, if you have more than a lunch break, getting some water shoes, a cheap snorkel and a life vest and floating around the channels between the small islands out there.

"You don't have to look hard," he says. "You'll see them right away."

When you're done, hop back onto the pipeline, climb the ladder at the east end and follow the trail in front of you back to Brown's Island. You'll be in the shadows of tall buildings but engrossed in riverine wonder.

Wahrani Nature Park

About 30 minutes from Richmond hides 138 pristine acres of towering hardwoods and pines, cool, sandy rivulets, deer, wild turkey and wildflowers. On a recent 2½-mile stroll through the New Kent County park, the only thing I didn't see any of was humans.

Tree-lovers will find this walk especially rewarding. Signposts identify trees next to the path in many places and offer information on their history and human usage. Houses for songbirds often appear in the middle of the forest, as well.

It's a good thing Wahrani Nature Park is such a good place to lose yourself because confusing trail markers make that a distinct possibility. If you don't mind wandering, however, Wahrani's modest size means you'll never be truly lost. In some ways, this puts you in the best frame of mind to discover.

If you prefer a set route, ignore the painted-on blazes and follow the metal diamonds tacked onto trees. The trail forks soon after starting. Follow it to the right with the red diamonds. You'll soon pass between two small ridges. This is the first surprise: You're in the coastal plain, but Wahrani offers much topography change. At times, you'll look down more than 20 feet to a streambed blanketed in ferns and club moss.

Take the red diamond to the yellow, then the white back to the red. For an extra spur, add an out-and-back on the blue. No matter where you go, you'll be in the shade of the tall loblolly pine, tulip poplar, oak and hickory canopy. Dogwoods cling to hillsides in the understory. Crisscrossing streams offer toads and frogs a cool home.

On the white trail, don't miss (trail left) the moss-covered eroding boulders made entirely of accreted seashells and other ocean-bottom fossils, evidence of a prehistoric sea that once existed here. Like the park itself, they're a reminder that mystery exists where you might not first expect it.