RAMBLER FEATURE: Come With Us for a Walk in the Woods at Franconia Park
Did you know Franconia Park has more than five miles of walking trails? Since April 2022, volunteers have been hard at work removing brush and marking pathways to provide a safe place to enjoy a quiet walk in the woods.
Trail entrances are not yet clearly marked but can be found at several spots along the newly built Chessie’s Trail, which is paved, and along two busy roadways: Telegraph Road near Split Rock Road and South Kings Highway near Vantage Drive. Another trail entrance is in the vicinity of the outdoor basketball courts located behind the Rec Center gymnasium.
On the second Saturday of every month, the Trail and Property Beautification Team brings together volunteers, from grade school and high school students working towards service hour goals to adults and retirees who love nature and enjoy making their community more beautiful, to work on pruning trees, clearing paths and adding mulch to flower beds in the park and around the Rec Center.
“I just love being out here,” says Stephanie Smith, a volunteer who leads the Trail Team. Stephanie earned a degree in Forestry from Virginia Tech and is the Rec Center’s Volunteer of the Year. “These trails are so close to our neighborhoods; being out here takes you away from the busyness (of life). We’ve marked the trail, so you can’t get lost . . . even if you wanted to!”
Each month we have a plan of action based on supplies on hand, activity at the park and weather conditions. We have worked to widen existing trails, paint hash marks on tree trunks to lead you through a trail, cut back fallen trees, and with the help of Alexandria resident Elijah Wilson as part of his Eagle Scout project, built a culvert to prevent erosion. The U.S. Coast Guard delivered river rocks to an area of the trail for their monthly service project and Dominion Energy built a stairway on a steep portion of the trails as well.
If you would like more information about the Trail and Property Beautification Team, please reach out to me, Franconia Rec Center’s volunteer coordinator, at Julie.Margolis@fairfaxcounty.gov
On the second Saturday of every month, the Trail and Property Beautification Team brings together volunteers, from grade school and high school students working towards service hour goals to adults and retirees who love nature and enjoy making their community more beautiful, to work on pruning trees, clearing paths and adding mulch to flower beds in the park and around the Rec Center.
“I just love being out here,” says Stephanie Smith, a volunteer who leads the Trail Team. Stephanie earned a degree in Forestry from Virginia Tech and is the Rec Center’s Volunteer of the Year. “These trails are so close to our neighborhoods; being out here takes you away from the busyness (of life). We’ve marked the trail, so you can’t get lost . . . even if you wanted to!”
Each month we have a plan of action based on supplies on hand, activity at the park and weather conditions. We have worked to widen existing trails, paint hash marks on tree trunks to lead you through a trail, cut back fallen trees, and with the help of Alexandria resident Elijah Wilson as part of his Eagle Scout project, built a culvert to prevent erosion. The U.S. Coast Guard delivered river rocks to an area of the trail for their monthly service project and Dominion Energy built a stairway on a steep portion of the trails as well.
If you would like more information about the Trail and Property Beautification Team, please reach out to me, Franconia Rec Center’s volunteer coordinator, at Julie.Margolis@fairfaxcounty.gov
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