Alert:
On Jan. 1-2, 2022, the Fairfax County Park Authority joined park systems across the country to encourage everyone to start 2022 with a hike.
As the Lake Fairfax Park Water Mine closed for the season to humans, dogs got their chance to take a plunge, chase tennis balls in the water and make new canine friends.
The thirst for history from a more personal vantage point was on full display July 31, 2021, when a large crowd, including family members from several states, park neighbors, members of the Park Authority Board and staff, local officials, and History Commission members, gathered at Freedom Hill Park in Vienna for the inaugural Untold Stories program.
On January 1-3, 2021, the Fairfax County Park Authority joined America’s state parks including Virginia State Parks to encourage everyone to start 2021 with a hike. In Fairfax County, it’s a great way to appreciate more than 450 miles of trails and to set the bar for a new year of fitness and outdoor activity. This year’s contests included special prize amounts of $70 to commemorate the Park…
On Saturday, February 8, 2020, students from the Oakton High School Environmental Club spent two hours removing invasive shrubs from Difficult Run Stream Valley Park in Oakton, VA. The students removed 15 bags of Japanese Barberry (Berberis thunbergii) as part of the Fairfax County Park Authority…
The Laurel Hill Park Volunteer Team (PVT) has been honored by the Virginia House of Delegates for its service work on behalf of parks. Delegate Kathy Tran proposed a resolution to honor the group for receiving the Park Authority’s Elly Doyle Service Award in 2019, and she presented it to…
More than 30 volunteers bundled up and braved the cold to help Lake Accotink Park on this year’s Martin Luther King, Jr. Day of Service.
Friends of Lake Accotink Park (FLAP) sponsored the volunteer clean-up on Monday, January 20, 2020, at the park’s marina. FLAP board members Jim Hickey and…
On Monday, January 20, 2020, Braddock Supervisor James Walkinshaw, along with the Royal Lake Park Volunteer Team (aka Friends of Royal Lake) engaging more than 60 volunteers, honored Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s legacy with a day of service at Rabbit…
On January 12, 2020, more than 500 people gathered at Burke Lake Park in Springfield, VA, to witness the release of a rehabilitated bald eagle. The bird was recovered by the Fairfax County Police Department on December 12, 2019, after a community member saw the bird on a trail near Burke Lake, unable to…
Lee District community leaders recently honored Transurban, operators of the 495 and 95 express lanes, for significant enrichment of Fairfax County parks through contributions to the Fairfax County Park Foundation (FCPF).
Officials thanked Transurban for its support at a…
Members of the community, local elected officials, and representatives from the Park Authority gathered in celebration this past Saturday at Azalea Park in Falls Church. This small, neighborhood park has been fully redesigned and, with the collaboration and cooperation of neighbors, has become a wonderful…
Five members of the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors who are not returning to their current positions after the fall recently were honored by the Fairfax County Park Authority and the Fairfax County Park Foundation for their contributions to the popular Summer Entertainment Series.
For more than 25 years, the Fairfax County Park Authority in partnership with the Board of…
Thirteen employees from Environmental Quality Resources (EQR), LLC turned out on Friday, April 19, 2019, to provide volunteer cleanup services at Martin Luther King, Jr. Park on Fordson Road in Alexandria, Virginia and Wickford Park on Wickford Drive, also in Alexandria. In cooperation with the Fairfax…
The Fairfax County Park Authority (FCPA) and the Friends of Frying Pan Farm Park signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on Thursday, February 21, 2019, to help guide the group’s efforts at the farm in Herndon, Virginia. The signing took place in the…
Diane Willen’s sunrise photo of Burke Lake Park was named the People’s Choice Winner in the 2019 First Hike…
The Fairfax County Park Authority (FCPA) and the Friends of Colvin Run Mill (FOCRM) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on Tuesday, January 8, 2019, to govern the group’s efforts at the historic mill in Great Falls, Virginia. The document was signed with a quill at the…
The Fairfax County Park Authority (FCPA) and the Friends of Green Spring (FROGS) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on Friday, January 4, 2019, at Green Spring…
Twenty-one volunteers offered their time and energy to the Fairfax County Park Authority on Thursday, January 3, 2019, to provide much-needed help restoring trails at Riverbend Park.
The park’s trails took a beating in late 2018 from heavy rains that caused flooding and…
The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors honored the Fairfax County Park Authority at its meeting on Wednesday, December 4, 2018, for its re-accreditation by the Commission for Accreditation of Park and Recreation Agencies (CAPRA). Becoming accredited is one of the highest benchmarks of excellence that an…
Parks and recreation icon William “Bill” Beckner, who passed away earlier this summer, was remembered fondly and honored on Saturday, November 17, 2018 with a park bench dedicated in his memory at Huntley Meadows Park. Beckner joined the Park Authority in 1977 as the agency’s chief naturalist. Eight years…
Members of the community, local officials and plenty of pooches gathered this past Saturday to celebrate the Fairfax County Park Authority’s official opening and ribbon cutting at Monticello Park located at 5315 Guinea Road in Burke, VA. The just-completed park features a challenge course, off-leash dog…
Members of the community and local officials gathered this past Saturday to celebrate the Fairfax County Park Authority’s official opening and ribbon cutting at Backlick Park located at 4516 Backlick Road in Annandale, VA. Renovations at the park included installation of a new shelter and picnic tables,…
On Thursday, November 1, 2018, Fairfax County’s second Resident Curator was officially approved and appropriate leases signed at Turner Farm Park. Members of the Great Falls community turned out for the lease signing ceremony. Sarah Kirk will serve as the Resident Curator of historic Turner Farmhouse in…
The Fairfax County Park Authority joined with Bike Fairfax on September 29, 2018, for National Bike Your Park Day festivities. This celebration invites novice and experienced bicyclists out to local and regional trails for a day of biking. In this case, participants near the Gerry Connolly…
It’s now official; the Fairfax County Park Authority and the Friends of Pimmit Barn are working together to preserve this community landmark and allow neighbors to enjoy activities at the site. On October 9, 2018, representatives from the Friends group and Park Authority leadership came together to sign a…
Park lovers from infants to octogenarians participated in this year’s Fairfax County Park Authority Discovery Trail Map summer activity, and four lucky visitors whose names were selected in a trail-ending drawing will soon receive a new bicycle and safety helmet donated by Spokes, Etc. and Trek through…
On Saturday, September 29, 2018, the Fairfax County Park Authority celebrated the opening of the Griffith Park playground in Falls Church, Virginia.
Funded via voter-approved 2016 park bonds, the $80,000 project replaced outdated equipment with new play elements, interactive panels and swings…
At its regular meeting on September 26, 2018, the Fairfax County Park Authority Board honored five teams within the Resource Management Division on their efforts to maintain the high standards necessary to achieve accreditation by the American Alliance of Museums (AAM). Colvin Run Mill Historic Site,…
On Saturday, September 29, 2018, Hidden Oaks Nature Center marked the 10th anniversary of Nature Playce and the park’s limited impact development (LID) parking lot with a free, three-hour celebration. Nature Playce is a one-third acre, unstructured, woodland play area near the…
On Saturday, September 15, 2018, the Fairfax County Park Authority cut the ribbon on the newly renovated Valis Family Golf Learning Center at Pinecrest Golf Course in Annandale, Va. The expanded facility was named in recognition of Wayne and Angela Valis’ generous donation of a new TrackMan 4 Golf Simulator. The…
On Saturday, September 8, 2018, the Fairfax County Park Foundation and the Fairfax County Park Authority celebrated the Joey Pizzano Memorial Fund’s (JPMF) 20th Anniversary with a Family Fun Day Celebration at Our Special Harbor in…
On Saturday, September 8, 2018, the Fairfax County Park Authority cut the ribbon on a newly renovated synthetic turf field at Nottoway Park in Vienna, Va. Local officials and field users gathered to celebrate the completion of Field #4.
This field was closed this past spring to allow for the…
The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors, the Fairfax County Park Authority Board, the Fairfax County Park Foundation (FCPF) and members of the McLean community gathered on July 28, 2018 for the “inaugural” ride on a new trackless train at Clemyjontri Park, as well as a ribbon cutting for a new picnic…
On Monday, July 16, 2018, the Fairfax County Park Authority joined Major League Baseball, the Nationals and the Washington Nationals Dream Foundation, plus local players, coaches and dignitaries to dedicate the Bryce Harper All-Star Complex at Fred Crabtree Park in Herndon, Va. Washington Nationals…
At the June 27, 2018 joint board meeting between the Fairfax County Park Authority Board and the Fairfax County Park Foundation Board of Directors, representatives of the Park Foundation presented a check in the amount of $811,803.04 to Park…
The Friends of Green Spring Gardens, better known as FROGS, were honored for 25 years of service to the Fairfax County Park Authority site with a resolution from the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors. At an evening concert and celebration at…
On Saturday, June 23, 2018, park leaders, staff, volunteers and community members gathered at Hidden Pond Nature Center to celebrate the new playground and picnic shelter. The new nature-themed playground features several structures to accommodate play for ages 2 to 12, including swings for all ages. A…
A ribbon-cutting ceremony for Chessie’s Trail at Lee District Family Recreation Area was held on June 16, 2018, as officials, project team members and local children celebrated the completion of the project. Chessie’s Trail was the last component of a robust capital improvement program at the site that…
On Tuesday, May 22, 2018, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) Washington Field Office held a Children's Citizenship ceremony at Sully Historic Site in Chantilly, VA. More than two dozen children recited the oath of citizenship and received certificates at the event, now in its 10th year…
A ribbon-cutting ceremony was held on Sunday, May 6, 2018 for the new playground at Bucknell Manor Park in Alexandria, Va.
Bucknell Manor Park now features two play areas to appeal to children of different ages. In addition to the play structures, the facility includes new borders, subsurface…
On Thursday, May 3, 2018, County leaders gathered to celebrate the opening of the Government Center Farmers Market in Fairfax, Virginia. Fairfax County Board of Supervisors Chairman Sharon Bulova rang the bell to mark the market’s official opening at its new location in the grassy median near the entrance…
On Saturday, April 28, 2018, the Fairfax County Park Authority and TrailsforYouth.Org opened a new bicycle pump track at Brookfield Park in Springfield, Virginia. The track is designed to allow riders of a wide range of abilities to maneuver…
Winners of the Fairfax County Park Authority’s “Celebrate the Senses!” youth poetry contest were honored on Saturday, April 21, 2018, at the SpringFest Fairfax celebration at Sully Historic Site in Chantilly, VA.
In recognition of National Poetry Month in April, the Park…
On Friday,April 13, 2018, Braddock District Supervisor John Cook, Park Authority Executive Director Kirk Kincannon and Park Foundation Executive Director Roberta Longworth joined REI Regional Partnership and Philanthropy Manager Matt Liddle as new wayfinding signs were installed along the Gerry Connolly Cross…
On Saturday, April 14, 2018, the Fairfax County Park Authority renamed South Run District Park Athletic Field #5 in honor of Jack Nolan, a longtime coach, leader and advocate of youth soccer in the Springfield District. In the late 1970s and early 1980s, Mr. Nolan served as a coach for several…
On, Saturday, October 28, 2017, Virginia First Lady Dorothy McAuliffe was on hand at the Reston Farmers Market as Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield (Anthem) President Patrick Sturdivant presented a $15,000 check to the Wholesome Wave “VA Fresh Match Program.” Anthem staff also volunteered…
