Alert:
Into the Woods! Hidden Pond Nature Center may appear to be another house on a cul-de-sac, but this house is surrounded by woods and water. At HPNC you'll find isolation in nature through woods, streams, a pond and hiking trails. The park has a small butterfly garden near the office headquarters, and wildflowers bloom throughout the natural areas. You'll find an amphitheater, an education shelter, a playground and tennis courts. There are exhibits and restrooms inside the nature center, which has a viewing window that can help orient you to the park and that looks out onto bird feeders that must have good food, because the locals often park there. The nature center sits in the Pohick Stream Valley, so it attracts a good population of wildlife, including deer, fox, turtles and substantial numbers of birds. Coyote have been heard.
The park offers a broad range of public programs on nature topics. There are nature camps, school field trips, and scout programs. The site also hosts birthday parties.
Hidden Pond offers a variety of volunteer opportunities. Volunteers lead public programs, staff the visitor center's information desk, and lead school programs, campfires, birthday parties, camps and workshops. Scouts and corporations conduct volunteer projects in the park. The park's Pohick Rangers program, now in its third decade, has been a major development stepping stone for the park's volunteers.