Such a beautiful nature walk. I feel very fortunate to have this preserve so close to my house…read more What a great escapade for me and my dog! Love that there are areas to sit and just enjoy the outdoors and nature. Very well maintained and felt safe for a solo female. Highly, highly recommend!

I look forward to walking through the Preserve with my little dog on a weekly basis. I'm not sure…read moreif it is my dog or myself who likes the Preserve better! Even with the recent hot, humid weather, the hike has been enjoyable because of the shading provided by the beautiful trees and the available resting areas. Parking has never been an issue although I have recently noticed more cars when I visit. It looks like even more people are visiting and enjoying the trails!

LOVE Harper's Ferry. I'm a huge history buff. I used to come here as a child my dad would take us…read more So many memories . Parking is very busy mid day so come early, they also have a parking area then you can shuttle to the town, so check that out before coming. If you love the story of John Brown then this will bring everything to life. When we came the govt was shut down so I couldn't go to the wax museum :'(. I recommend bringing a picnic basket and eating on the grassy area near the river. You can also make a hike day out of everything and hike up the town past the beautiful Catholic Church at the top, hike back down, go over the bridge, and explore over there. Best place ever.

Having lived in Virginia for over three decades, before making the Valley of the Sun home, gave me…read morethe opportunity of visiting incredibly beautiful, vast, extraordinary and historical areas of Virginia, Maryland, DC and West Virginia - some of the most beautiful country America has to offer. West Virginia is by far an underrated state having so many natural and manmade wonders. As well as one of our most adventurous terrains. Harpers Ferry offers something for nearly everyone, from outdoor recreation and history to really quiet riverside walks and ranger-led programs. In historic Downtown, museums and exhibits tell many sides of and dark memories around Harpers Ferry, including the John Brown Museum and John Brown's Fort, Black Voices: African American History, the Industry Museum, and period sites such as the Boarding House, Dry Goods Store, White Hall Tavern, and the Confectionery. Other featured sites include Harper House, the Master Armorer's Quarters, the Civil War Museum, and the Provost Marshal Office. One can stroll the rivers Shenandoah and Potomac converge there and admire the train crossing and the tunnel across the way. Picnicking by the riverside is a wonderful afternoon pastime. Nice and cool streaming waters, especially of a hot and muggy summer's day. Although usually a bustling tourist location, it offers a unique solitude because of its surrounding hills, mountains, trees and overall nature. I have never tired of visiting Harpers Ferry, despite its cruel and violent history, it remains tranquil, beautiful and serene. If you're ever in West Virginia, this is a must visit!

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.

This is a nice park that I enjoy going for walks at, and one lap casually walking on the main track…read moreusually takes me about 10 minutes to go all the way around. In the center of the park is a decent sized fishing pond where I have caught many bluegills, although the sign says it is stocked with trout (so you may catch some here and there). There is also a decent sized playground for kids, a public swimming pool (which you can check times and cost online), and I believe some type of paddle boats (you may have to check the hours and such for that) which is the only watercraft allowed on the pond. They appear to cut the grass on Fridays (so allergy sufferers beware). They have plenty of covered picnic areas, trash cans, and bathrooms.. although I don't believe I have seen any doggy stations (I saw one lady the other day who didn't bother to pick up her dogs poop, yuck). They are open from 8am til Dusk.

Having been here back in late September, I stopped here on the way to Inwood, WV since I heard they…read morehave a trail at this park. And they do; covers about a 2 mile radius that surrounds a few soccer fields and playgrounds. Saw some people flying kites here. While there isn't much else in terms of those, it provides a nice peace of mind when you're here; isn't that why you're here in the first place?

Looks like a nice spot for a big picnic. The air smelled really nice here with the fragrant trees.read more

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

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!

I lived in Winchester and close by surrounding area for about 10 years. Jim Barnett Park was always…read morea great place to go. It's changed a lot, as I went back recently for the first time in about 10 more years! They used to have putt putt, which we liked. Always fun to feed the geese and walk around the pond. A great place to take a very long or short walk. Many options. Many shelters available and most are in the shade. I remember playing handball in the building, where there's now a swimming pool. I don't remember that being there. Plus they updated their sports fields. A big and great park, right on the grounds with the Shenandoah University. (Which also has changed a lot). Due to a lot of parties at the shelters plus being close to the road, I hope they have a park clean up day. Not everyone is so respectful to the land.

Pro: walking trail, open fields, pool. Con: none…read more A good big park with trails and lot of space for your pet to run around and play. Also, has area of memorial monument dedicated to soldiers. Also, this park has a daycare and is next to a university. All in all, an ok place to visit and walk your pet.

Pro: public restroom, playground, benches & panic table. Con: small area, construction, fence…read moreoff area, no walking trials. Let me start by saying that I would not consider this area a park. Just because you build a playground in an area surrounded by some townhouses doesn't make it a park. I wanted to take my dog to a big park for him to roam and play but upon arriving to this place I was met with disappointment. It small, has no walking trails, and half the area is fence off for construction? Also, upon walking I found trash on the ground a used lighter on the ground. There is a basketball court and public bathroom so that a plus. All in all, a pretty bad place to visit and still would not consider this place a park.

I lovely place to visit is you are in this area. The grounds are extensive. You can drive around…read morethe perimeter and stop in designated parking areas, which makes it more manageable to explore all the different parts of the Arboretum in one visit. There is a lively garden near the main building, which was so peaceful to walk through. Wonderful groves of all different kinds of David trees and the bamboo forest should not be missed! It was magical to walk through the tall bamboo.

I was late to enjoying the ginkgo garden but it's still beautiful. The facility was clean and…read moreorganize.