Enchanted Forest

A walk in the woods takes on a whole new meaning in Warsaw where a path in The Enchanted Forest leads hikers on a magical quest. The challenge is to follow
the winding trails and spot all of the characters hidden among the trees.

Thor, Harry Potter, Winnie the Pooh, Shrek, the Cat in the Hat and Elmo alongside landmarks and wildlife carved into trees await visitors in the wooded wonderland. It’s a magical place, full of wonderment for kids of all ages.

Brothers Walker and Mason Jones of Heathsville sprinted from one carving to another during a visit in August, rushing from tree to tree, yelling out the names of the characters they saw. I was just as amazed at the treetop treasures.

The Enchanted Forest is tucked away on a side street in Warsaw, accessed from Wallace Street or The Bounds. There are no glaring signs that mark its entrance, no roadside advertisements as visitors get close. It’s truly a hidden gem, its entrance marked only by the face of the Wood Spirit, which was creator Tom Rhodes’ first carving in the forest.

A retired Virginia Department of Transportation engineer who served for 22 years as the highway resident engineer for the Northern Neck, Rhodes bought an 11.5-acre tract of wooded land on Wallace Street in 1986 where he and his wife had originally planned to build a home and retire. He has carved and whittled since he was a child and in 2004 took that hobby to a grander scale, carving his Wood Spirit into a tree at the entrance to his property.

He explained that the superstition of knocking on wood for good luck stems from an ancient belief that spirits live in trees, and if you knock on the tree, you were seeking help from the good spirits.

“I’ve got the luck, I’m waiting for the wisdom,” said Rhodes, who’s more than happy to give a guided tour of the forest if visitors are lucky enough to catch him there either repairing or creating a new carving.

“Some I do almost daily, painting them. Some will go five or six years without any attention,” said the active octogenarian.

At the small forest entrance, Rhodes has a hand-written map, with a drawing of the trails. His carvings are noted with an X. Some are tricky to spot.

They total 91 in all, including the latest additions Jack Skellington of the Nightmare Before Christmas, Russian cartoon character Cheburashka, Elsa from Frozen, Disney’s Dumbo, a seahorse and an oyster shell.

He has fine-tuned his craft and can create a tree carving from start to finish, including chiseling and painting, in about five hours.

“I’m almost always working on a new one,” he said.

The 84-year-old creates a template or pattern first for shape and size. “I’m not an artist. I’m not talented that way at all. I don’t have any skills,” he says modestly. His creations—with intricacy and attention to detail—tell a different story.

His characters are whimsical and fun, even his slithering snake makes visitors smile rather than cringe.

“Everything here is nice and friendly, even the bat and tarantula,” said Rhodes.

All the carvings start out an inch deep into the tree. Visitors can spot the newer carvings by their depth of the halo surrounding the character. Rhodes has to cut the halos back about every three years as the tree grows over the carvings.

Before beginning the forest, Rhodes consulted with the state arborist to ensure he wouldn’t harm the trees.

“I was told if I damage less than half the circumference of a tree, I wouldn’t damage the tree. So I’ve tried to keep it to less than a third of the circumference.”

As Rhodes added more carvings to the forest, public interest increased and it quickly became a destination for families, school groups and field trips. The forest, which he calls his therapy, is open dawn til dusk and is free. It’s never been about making money, but more about spreading joy through his gifts.

“Really, it’s always open. The woods never close,” he said. “Bring a flashlight and search for [the carvings]. Just don’t have a party or burn the woods down.”

Rhodes sold the acreage five years ago to a local realtor, who graciously has decided not to develop the tract but instead allows Rhodes to maintain it as the magical forest it is.

Although a few trees have been lost to natural circumstances, Rhodes has preserved the carvings. A chunk of tree containing a bald eagle is mounted to the back of a small storage shed on the property. It was one of his rescues. The property owner has five or six others.

The forest is also home to carvings of a few Virginia state symbols—the cardinal, dogwood and tiger swallowtail butterfly.

There’s about a mile of twisting trails through the dense woods, where art meets nature and wonderment comes to life, where cartoon characters pop out of the trees and superheroes reside. Try to find them all in the twisted maze that is Richmond County’s best kept secret.