Bull Run the perfect family vacation site in Northern Virginia

Camping at Bull Run Regional Park has never been better for families. The award winning campground has a great variety of camping options, from rustic cabins with AC/Heat, a refrigerator and microwave, to full hook up sites for RVs to beautiful wooded tent sites.

There is no better way to connect to nature than to camp. Bull Run is an huge park with miles of flat paved roadways inside the park that have light traffic at slow speeds, making it a perfect place for bike riding.

New this year is the Atlantis Waterpark at Bull Run Regional Park. This Greek themed waterpark is fantastic for children of all ages, with a large dumping bucket feature with slides and water cannons, a great tot pool and sand play area, and an enormous pool area with giant slides for those over 48 inches tall.

Bull Run Regional Park is an ideal place for a week of vacation or just a weekend get away close to home.

http://www.nvrpa.org/parks/bullrun/index.php

A review of Atlantis from a seven year old's perspective was posted on Our Kids web site by Amy VanDenburg. She writes:

Breaking news! The Lost Continent of Atlantis has been discovered in Bull Run Regional Park. Well, maybe not quite, but the existing pool at the park has been remodeled into an enormous, incredibly fun re-imagining of the mythical island. Our recent weekday visit elicited the remark “This is the BEST DAY EVER!” from our 7-year-old Our Kids reviewer, which prompts Our Kids to strongly suggest including a visit to NVRPA’s Atlantis Waterpark on your must-do list this summer.

Big Splashes

We were sure that Atlantis was lost again, or that we were, on the long drive (2 miles) through the park to get to the pool area. Just when we were certain it had sunk back to the bottom of the sea, it rose grandly through the trees in front of us. The Atlantis Waterpark has an Ancient Greece theme that uses Greek architecture and images of Neptune, tridents, mermaids and sea creatures to portray the Lost Continent. The theme was quickly lost on our group of reviewers as we entered the pool area after check-in and were happily overwhelmed by the vast size of the facilities and the choices it offered. The complete review is at: http://www.our-kids.com/static/?f=atlantis

Pohick Bay Regional Park in Lorton VA also offers a great campground with rustic cabins and features Pirate's Cove Waterpark as well as many other features. Another perfect destination for your close to home vacation.

For more information on Pohick Bay see: http://www.nvrpa.org/parks/pohickbay/index.php

Michael Nardolilli Appointed to NVRPA Board

Michael Nardolilli, President of the Northern Virginia Conservation Trust has just been appointed to the Board of the Northern Virginia Regional Park Authority by Arlington County. Michael will join Paul Ferguson as the representatives of Arlington County.

Michael will make an outstanding addition to the NVRPA Board. He is an expert in land conservation as the chief executive of one of the first non-profit land trust organizations to be accredited by the Land Trust Alliance. He has spent most of the last 10 years conserving natural areas and historic sites in Northern Virginia. The Conservation Trust has also had a particular focus on conserving lands next to parkland, creating a much larger natural are for wildlife habitat and a much nicer park experience for the public. Under Mr. Nardolilli's leadership the Conservation Trust has conserved properties next to the W&OD Trail, Potomac Overlook Regional Park, in addition to numerous national and local parks in the area.

Mr. Nardolilli recieved his undergraduate degree from Georgetown University and his law degree from the College of William and Mary. In 2007 he was named Hometown Hero by WETA-TV for his long history of community service.

For more information on the Northern Virginia Conservation Trust see: http://www.nvct.org/

Michael Nardolilli succeeds James Mayer who served on the NVRPA Board starting in 2001 and was Chairman of the Park Authority in 2008.

Pirate Day @ Pohick Bay Regional Park

Pirates Attack at Pohick Bay!

June 13, 2009

Since the summer of 2008 Pohick Bay Regional Park has been home to Pirate's Cove Waterpark, a fun and imaginative waterpark that has seen attendance double since the renovation.

Part of the excitement of Pirate's Cove is that one a year we now hold a special Pirate Day at the park complete with a naval assault on the park.

This year's Pirate Day featured 25 authentic living history buccaneers, a pirate camp by the waterfront, and the good ship Explorer, an authentic 17th Century shallop, complete with swivel gun. Twice in the early afternoon there were battles between the ground forces and the pirates aboard the ship. In the end the ship beached and the sailor engaged in sword fighting and hand to hand combat on the beach. Later that day, the pirates payed a visit to the waterpark and were able to find the buried treasure!

Children learn about farming

Every year Temple Hall Farm Regional Park outside of Leesburg is the site Ag Day, when nearly 600 elementary school children learn a little about where their food comes from.

In today's society, many people have only a vague notion where the food on their table or the cloths they ware comes from. At Ag Day children learn about farm animals and can see how fibers like wool can be spun and woven into cloth. This is an eye opening experience for many children.

On any warm weather weekend, the public can explore Temple Hall Farm. The farm features heirloom breed animals that were popular in farming a century ago. The Farm was established in 1810 by William Temple Mason, nephew of George Mason. Having a working farm is a great way to teach about both history and farming.