NOVA Parks News
THROWBACK THURSDAY—STARTING WITH NUMBER ONE
In the beginning there was one. The first regional park, that is.
Northern Virginia residents Gardner Means and his wife Caroline Ware always hoped to see their land put into service for public use and preserved from development. Back in 1959 the couple began to make that dream a reality. They sold a large part of their land to Northern Virginia Regional Parks (NVRPA). With a down payment of $5,000 NVRP purchased its first ever holding. The land bought from the Gardner Means and Caroline Ware was essentially a grass farm. This grass farm would eventually become Bull Run Regional Park.
Bull Run Regional Park opened in 1960 and offered camping and picnicking. This would be the beginning of NOVA Parks’ devotion to conservation and preservation of land in the Northern Virginia area. NOVA Parks developed trails and facilities throughout Bull Run Regional Park that offer hundreds of possible activities and outdoor adventures within the space. Today Bull Run Regional Park is 1,500 acres and includes hiking trails, a campground, a waterpark, picnic areas and shelters, disc golf , a shooting center and a special events center. It is also home to the Bull Run Festival of Lights, one of the area’s most popular holiday light shows.
NOVA Parks has 5,000 acres of continuous parkland along the Southern border of Fairfax County from Bull Run Regional Park in Centreville all the way to the town of Occoquan. NOVA Parks is committed to preserving this land and protecting the flora and fauna as well as beautiful flowing rivers found on this land.
