Audrey Moore RECenter: Outdoor Activities, Fairfax County Park Authority

Audrey Moore RECenter - Outdoor Activities

In addition to its RECenter, Wakefield Park offers a mix of outdoor activities from athletic fields, basketball courts and tennis complex to trails and picnic areas.

Some of the Wakefield's outdoor features include the following:

Birding and Wildlife Trail...

In the late 1990's the Commonwealth of Virginia set a goal to establish a state-wide birding and wildlife trail divided into three geographical regions. Although officially in the Piedmont Region, Wakefield Park has been grouped into the Coastal Region because of our closeness to the Chesapeake Bay and the types of birds the bay attracts.

Wakefield attracts a large number of unusual breeding birds during the summer. These include 26 species of warblers that are very accessible for viewing, even for beginners. Wakefield Park is a very good birding spot due to its closeness to the Chesapeake Bay and the rough woodsy areas near the ballfields, where the birds can find seeds and insects for food and trees to nest in. While the Bird Trail has not been formally marked at this time, access to the areas of the park well suited for birding can be achieved from the Cross County Trail within Wakefield Park.*

Wakefield's bird trail was officially designated Stop #12 on the Great Falls loop in the Spring of 2006. This loop starts in Alexandria and ends in Riverbend Park. For more information about this loop and other Virginia bird trails, check out this website: www.dgif.state.va.us/wildlife/vbwt, and follow the links.

Natural Surface Trail Activities...

Over five miles of natural surface single-track trails exist within Wakefield Park and are utilized by mountain bikers, runners, hikers, and nature lovers. Please contact Audrey Moore RECenter at 703-321-7081 for more information about these activities.

Specific activities that are coordinated on the natural surface trails include the following:

Night Riding - Wakefield trails are open to night riding from dusk to 10:30 pm on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday nights throughout the year. All vehicles must leave the park by 11:00 pm.

Night riding is not allowed on any other nights or in other parks under the jurisdiction of the Fairfax County Park Authority. Monitoring of night rides is provided by volunteers from the Mid-Atlantic Off-Road Enthusiasts (MORE).

Trail Rules must be followed at all times and high intensity helmet lights must be worn for visibility on the trails. Night riding will be cancelled in the event of wet trails or inclement weather.

Mountain Bike Races - Mountain bike races are conducted throughout the summer by Ex2Adventures and Potomacvelo. Advanced or race day registrations are available for beginner through expert racers.

Trail Races - Trail running races are conducted within Wakefield Park as a part of the Backyard Burn race series coordinated by Ex2Adventures in the spring and the fall.

Bluebell Walk - During the Spring (late March to early April) the bluebells are in bloom along the creek trail within Wakefield Park and provide a wonderful exposure to natures beauty within the park.

Athletic Fields...

Wakefield park maintains seven athletic fields. These include five softball fields, a football field and a soccer field. Reservations for use of the fields may be accomplished by contacting Community and Recreations Services at 703-324-5522.

Athletic Field Rules as defined under Park Rules must be complied with at all times.

*This map is available for download in Adobe Acrobat portable document format. You must have the Adobe Acrobat Reader 4.0 (or newer) installed on your computer to view and print these files.