Last September, Northern Virginia welcomed three new parks: Widewater State Park, River Mill Park and Loudoun County’s first state park. We checked in with the latest developments at those parks, plus even more regional outdoors news.
Loudoun County’s First State Park
At the beginning of last year, it was announced that 600 of the Blue Ridge Center for Environmental Stewardship’s 900 acres would transition into what would become Loudoun County’s first state park. The land was originally donated to the Old Dominion Land Conservancy by the Robert and Dee Leggett Foundation, but in 2016, the Old Dominion Land Conservancy decided to pass it along to the Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation. Since that transfer, the park is awaiting funding to move forward.
According to Dee Leggett, secretary of the board of directors for the Blue Ridge Center for Environmental Stewardship, the Blue Ridge Center for Environmental Stewardship has been working with the state to ensure the property is properly maintained until the area receives the funding that it needs to move forward. According to the Blue Ridge Center, the yet-to-be-named park was not accounted for in the state’s 2017 budget.
While in limbo, the area remains open to the public under its preexisting policies.
Widewater State Park
When we last checked in on Widewater, developers had not yet broken ground. In November that changed when Ashland’s Southwood Builders started renovations.
The park is currently 10-15 percent complete, according to Kelly McClary from the Planning and Recreation Resources Department of the Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation. All the action is taking place on both the Aquia Creek and Potomac sides of the park, and upon project completion, there will be two canoe launches, two bathroom facilities, a visitor center, two picnic shelters, two playgrounds, a contact station, two staff residences, roads and various daytime utilities. If everything goes as planned, work should wrap up by February 2018, and the park should be open for spring/summer 2018.
Reinventing Beaverdam Reservoir
Last year, Loudoun Water decided to close the Beaverdam Reservoir to embark on a renovation project that would put the dam in good standing with state safety regulations. However, safety wasn’t the only improvement on planners’ minds given the three-phase development plan that followed. Phase 1 alone includes a 200-car parking lot, rowing team facilities, an 8-mile mixed-use trail around the reservoir and eco-friendly renovations. According to the Loudoun Tribune, other features include boardwalks; boat storage and a launch area; kayak, canoe and paddleboat rentals; and educational programs.
The reservoir has been drained and is currently closed to the public for repairs. Construction is projected to take place sometime in 2018, so what was once a water source will become a source of education and recreation upon its 2019 reopening.
Additions to the Leesburg Bike Trail Network
This past Saturday, Bike Loudoun held a ribbon-cutting ceremony at Fox Ridge Park to celebrate the addition of two new paths to Leesburg’s Bike Trail Network.
The Blue trail makes its way from the Washington & Old Dominion Trail in Tuscarora Creek Park to the entrance of Ball’s Bluff Regional Park, stretching 5.5 miles. The Green trail spans 2.6 miles from Fox Ridge Park’s Washington & Old Dominion Trail to the intersection of Battlefield Parkway and North King Street.
New Trail Connection
On Earth Day, NOVA Parks held a dedication ceremony for a new trail underpass that connects four trails in the region. The underpass, located under Pickett Road in Fairfax, connects the Gerry Connolly Cross County Trail, the Wilcoxon Park Trail, the Gateway Regional Park and the Fairfax Connector Trail.
