Northern Fauquier Community Park opened some time earlier in the year. I've been interested in this…read morepark for a while as it looks really nice when driving by on Route 55. But it was closed last time I went through Marshall as construction was not yet completed. It's located just off of Route 55 just east of beautiful, downtown Marshall, VA. It's open now, I visited yesterday as my neighbors were holding a birthday party for their 3 year old daughter at the park. They reserved a covered pavilion which had plenty of tables, a grill, and was close to lots of playground equipment for the mass of writhing kids attending the party and now running amok through the park. The park offers a lot of park amenities - from the park web site: "Open year-round, the park boasts 8 athletic fields including baseball, softball, soccer and football. The park also features two concession stands, 8 picnic shelters, an amphitheater, three playgrounds, a two mile paved multi-use trail, 3 indoor restrooms, fishing lake, meeting room and plenty of beautifully landscaped open space. Recreational programs are available for your enjoyment." I plan to come back to walk and hike, fish the lake, and maybe even grill out some time!

Impressive and beautiful regardless of the drizzly, foggy day. Out to jog someplace new, plus get…read moremy steps in. (fitbit). This park was one I had not yet been too and today I was on my own, so, NFCP it was! Pulled into the office area on the left at the enterance and read the map. 1.75 mile trail. Perfect. I wan't the only one out jogging in the rain either. - I was impressed that this park has 4 different locations with playground equipment. One with swings. 3 right next to restrooms that are actual builings. Not porta potties. I think I counted 2 consession stands next to 2 of the 4 playgrounds. Many shelters and standup grils to use. Some of these grills look huge! Very impressive; especially in the shelters by the lake. picnic tables outside the shelter areas as well. Also on site is an ampitheatre. I'm pretty sure this place gets crowded in the spring and summer just like the Warf in Warrenton. Today...it was not. - While jogging I could hear the trains whistling in the near distance. Ducks/geese wadling and quacking nearby. Even with the fog and being December you could see the beautiful ( I think ), Hawthorne trees (?) with their bright red berries. I had to google the tree. It was so pretty. -Check out my pictures but please note--It is Dec 26th and very foggy with a drizzling rain! If I hadn't already mentioned that!

This review is for the splash pad and playground. The incredibly awesome and very, very free splash…read morepad and playground. This new splash pad and playground serves as a reminder that damn Loudon County has some money. We got here at noon with our toddler and only planned to spend a couple of hours and ended up basically being here until they closed in the middle of summer at 8 PM. I think it's an amazing design to have three playground design for different ages right near the splash pad. Luckily it was like 5000° out so kids dried off the minute they left the waterpark to go to playgrounds. So being a wet mess really wasn't a concern. There are a few rules to the waterpark that includes no toys and no dogs and the standard diaper requirements for the incontinent , but otherwise it's pretty open and people were really really well behaved. The bathrooms are amazingly clean for a public bathrooms and offer wide enough stalls to change in. It's highly recommended because of temperatures and the fact that most of the place is concrete to wear water shoes. The only issue we had was that a baby kept putting wet banana peels like this was Mario kart in the splash pad and people kept tripping on them. Most of the water features are well functioning and a lot of fun. The playground themselves range from ages 5 to 12, and have a lot of hills with Astroturf, which is kind of fun to just roll down and they have slides built into them. There are a lot of climbing activities. The slides do get hot on a sunny day, but since the kids are already wet from the waterpark, they seem fine. And the park is very clean. We went on a weekday and it wasn't really that crowded, but I can see how weekends could be pretty full. They also have lots of tables for our families to sit down and enjoy some picnic items.

My kids love it. It's clean and lots of parking space and well maintained. It's worth visiting.read more

We decided to join the 1st Hike of the Year and had a great time. The county led the hike on a path…read morethat is going to be built up. After the hike we took a quick peak down at the river and want to come back for some more outdoor activity.

I'm so glad I came here this morning. I am truly grateful this land has public access and rendered…read moreas a preserve. Fauquier Co is beautiful already and then to come here and walk a trail by the Rappahannock River; It was gorgeous. I loved the rock jutting out into the river. The tall trees, so silent. I felt like I was far from home but it only took me 12 min to get here. I followed the red blaze trail. 2.5 miles maybe? Creeks, ferns, and singing birds all around. Very nice. DYK, the Rappahannock River is 195 miles long? Starts in the Blue Ridge Mountains and empties into the Chesapeake Bay. That being said, please keep Virginia beautiful. Pack it in, pack it out. Give a hoot, don't pollute!

Really close to my daughter's house, she runs here often and said she feels safe and hadn't had any…read moreissues. It was clean, well taken care of. There's even an area that's wheelchair accessible and over 7 miles of trails. Lots of signs explaining the history of the area and bridges and paths were well taken care of. We also noticed they had been planting and working on reforestation. It's a beauty natural setting only 45ish minutes from DC.

Lots of great options on this hike, a few trails to choose from (short and long), lots of great…read morescenery and historical markers along the way. We just did it this last weekend, and the whole trail is just under 5 miles. Highly recommend to families, as it is mostly flat. Meet my hiking partner....he's loving the scenery.

A great day for a hike on the A.T. This one is just o/s Fauquier County on Mt Weather. I took the…read moreSOBO trail a couple years ago. This time I went North to the waterfall. Let me give some mad respect to whomever dug out the spot to put in a rather large parking area for us! For years we've been on side of this narrow dirt road. * Thank. (Virtual fist pump). This was 3 miles out and 3 miles back. The waterfall is around 1 mile mark. It's off to the right. *please understand, ricks are slippery whether they're wet ot not. How someone brings three toddlers here with no backpack, water or first aid is beyond me. I had to leave the area. But it was really nice. Very relaxing and you did have to hand/foot climb to get up there. Be careful please. I double backed and got on the A.T. Couple more miles to the secret cliff I saw in another Yelp post. :) . Lots of people walked by, no one knew I was there. I had it all to myself. Its better than the actual lookout. Anyway. I scanned the rocks for danger, shot some pics and sat down for water and dry crackers. I look over and there are 2 snakes curled up by a small tree about 6 feet from me. I spoke to them. "Thought you'd hide from me. I got you!" It was funny. I took a couple pics and kept my eyes on them. Only takes a second to lose track and they end up right at me saying, "HA got you back!" I sat a while then headed back down. I enjoyed it! I'd like to section hike and have a car waiting to take me back to my own car where I started. They should have an Uber Hikes App available for that. ;) This way I can hike for as far as I want without turning around to come straight back.

Short trail, pretty and cool, but the waterfall wasn't what I expected. The trail was well kept,…read moreand trimmed back, some areas were steep, and can be slick if it rains.

Amazing hiking trails! Trails are pretty accessible for all levels…read more The trail maps need updating as there are some new trails.

It's closed for months to repair a sewage siphon in spring, which is ridiculous. There's a sewage…read morepipe that empties into the waterfall area, but people don't seem to care and they swim, even though you can smell the sewage. The whole place and even the forest is littered with hard lemonade and beer bottles, babies diapers, dog poop and all kinds of food wrappers.

Often times, the national parks get the best territory and the states get leftovers. However, the…read moreShenandoah River State Park, down the mountain from well known Skyline Drive and its accompanying federal parkland, is by no means inferior. A rural drive leads to a visitor center, trails, an overlook, river access, and campgrounds. I had time for only a brief visit, but the views were majestic. It would be an excellent place to return for a hike. As with most of Virginia's state parks, there is a modest entrance fee, but I'm sure it's well worth it.

I travel and stay at a lot of parks during the course of the year, and I have only repeated a few…read moreof them. This location is incredible, rich with things to do, views to see, and adventures to have with enough time. The cabins are gorgeous, fair warning that there is no television, but honestly who cares?! I had great phone signal which almost never happens on these excursions, and I loved making a fire in my fireplace and sitting on the porch with coffee for sunrise, which I could see from Cabin 11. This cabin also was at the end and felt private, even though I could see my neighbors (who had set up Christmas lights! How fun!) There's also a wonderful hiking trail right by these cabins, 10 and 11, the Red Tail Ridge, that was semi-short (2.5 miles or so if desired to create a loop with Big Oak) and had views of the river and Shenandoah valley below!

I went on one of the monthly astronomy nights. The program was great and it was wonderful to see…read morethe stars at night I. This dark sky area. It was also exciting to look through the telescopes that many volunteers brought to share and see things like Jupiter and its moons, Venus in phase, and double stars! If you come for an astronomy nights, I recommend downloading an app about constellations and bringing a red light flashlight or using a red light app on your phone.

We stumbled upon this gem after visiting a nearby orchard. Just a gorgeous autumn afternoon to take…read morepictures. The Love sign is near the parking lot. We did not take advantage of the trails, but is definitely something to do in the future!

Not a destination park. It's full of geese (read: goose poop), there are wasps by the canoe/kayak…read morerentals (which is right by the watercraft launch area), and there are no trash bins so of course people leave trash behind. Very unfortunate. Nice small lake that would be great for paddle boarding if not for the other points. I had high hopes. There are better spots in NoVa.

Hidden gem that is great for fishing. Not too much else to do here except fish and take in the view…read moreof the lake, but it is a great area to fish that is pretty quiet. Be careful driving during the early morning or evening hours as I've seen a lot of deer during those times.

great lake for paddling or fishing…read more lots of smaller largemouth bass, but a developing population of larger ones. no gas motors are allowed. concrete boat ramp with a small floating dock and attached canoe/kayak launch. even when the parking area is crowded, I've never seen it full. & the lake looks empty even when the parking is full. limited shore fishing. some picnic tables & such. there are restrooms on the hill above the boat ramp. only flaws are a population of wasps at the dock that repeated complaints to the County have not resolved, and a tendency for all-about-me folks to park along the ramp (which is NOT a parking area, except for the small handicap area) or leave their vehicles there for extended periods.

Lake Mooney is technically a reservoir but it definitely has that lake feel and is perfect for…read morefishing or kayaking. Gas motor boats are not allowed; only electric motors are permitted on the lake. There's a boat ramp that is easy to get to. A few benches also line the shore. This is a great place for a picnic. I personally enjoy visiting late in the afternoon, as you can watch the sun set.