Mason Neck State Park | |
---|---|
Location | 7301 High Point Rd. |
Nearest city | Lorton, Virginia |
Coordinates | 38°39′16″N77°11′3″W / 38.65444°N 77.18417°W |
Area | 1,814 acres (7.34 km2) |
Established | 1985 |
Governing body | Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation |
Mason Neck State Park is located in Fairfax County, Virginia. The park is on a peninsula formed by Pohick Bay on the north, Belmont Bay on the south and the Potomac River to the east, which was once known as "Dogue Neck" but now as "Mason Neck". The park adjoins the Elizabeth Hartwell Mason Neck National Wildlife Refuge and encompasses 1,814 acres (7.34 km2). It is home to bald eagles, great blue herons, ospreys, and many other types of wildlife. The park also contains white-tailed deer and many species of lichen.
Mason Neck State Park is one of the best locations to view bald eagles in northern Virginia. Sightings are most common in the mornings and evenings.
The park is day-use only. Park hours are 8 a.m. to dusk. The park administration office is open weekdays from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m., and its visitor center from 9a.m. until 4:30p.m. weekdays and 9a.m. until 7p.m. on weekends. Both are closed on state holidays.
Two archeological sites within the park (but not marked on maps, perhaps because relic gathering within Virginia state parks is illegal) are on the state and National Register of Historic Places, and archeological remains have been identified at approximately thirty other sites within the park. The Taft archaeological site which contains items used by Dogue peoples was listed in 2004. The friendly Dogue people were nearly wiped out in the 17th century, in a key predecessor event to Bacon's Rebellion. The Lexington site, indicating a plantation subdivided from nearby Gunston Hall (on the other side of the peninsula, since founding father George Mason owned virtually all the peninsula, as did his father of the same name and son who operated that plantation using enslaved labor, hence the colloquial name), was listed in 2013. [1] [2] In addition, it is on the Star Spangled Banner National Historic Trail based on a naval battery and fighting nearby during the War of 1812.
A plaque outside the visitor center acknowledges Elizabeth Hartwell, whose advocacy for eagle protection helped create the park. She and several other people who advocated founding the park, including Virginia legislators William Durland and Clive L. DuVal II, are mentioned in a plaque by the flagpole in front of the visitor center.
Middlesex Fells Reservation, often referred to simply as the Fells, is a public recreation area covering more than 2,200 acres (890 ha) in Malden, Medford, Melrose, Stoneham, and Winchester, Massachusetts, United States. The state park surrounds two inactive reservoirs, Spot Pond and the Fells Reservoir, and the three active reservoirs that are part of the water supply system for the town of Winchester. Spot Pond and the Fells Reservoir are part of the Wachusett water system, one of six primary water systems that feed metropolitan Boston's waterworks. The park is managed by the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation and is part of the Metropolitan Park System of Greater Boston.
Chippewa National Forest is a National Forest located in north central Minnesota, United States, in the counties of Itasca, Cass and Beltrami. Forest headquarters are located in Cass Lake, Minnesota. There are local ranger district offices in Blackduck, Deer River and Walker.
Lewis and Clark Lake is a 31,400 acre (130 km2) reservoir located on the border of the U.S. states of Nebraska and South Dakota on the Missouri River. The lake is approximately 25 miles (40 km) in length with over 90 miles (140 km) of shoreline and a maximum water depth of 45 feet (14 m). The lake is impounded by Gavins Point Dam and is managed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Omaha District.
Woodlawn is a historic house located in Fairfax County, Virginia. Originally a part of Mount Vernon, George Washington's historic plantation estate, it was subdivided in the 19th century by abolitionists to demonstrate the viability of a free labor system. The address is now 9000 Richmond Highway, Alexandria, Virginia, but due to expansion of Fort Belvoir and reconstruction of historic Route 1, access is via Woodlawn Road slightly south of Jeff Todd Way/State Route 235. The house is a designated National Historic Landmark, primarily for its association with the Washington family, but also for the role it played in the historic preservation movement. It is now a museum property owned and managed by the National Trust for Historic Preservation.
Belle Isle State Park is located in Lancaster County, Virginia, on the Rappahannock River. It sits between Deep Creek and Morattico Creek and is currently under public ownership. The park has an area of 892 acres (3.61 km2) and has facilities for camping, fishing, boating and picnics. As of 2015, the yearly visitation was 44,502.
Mason Neck is a peninsula jutting into the Potomac River in Fairfax County, Virginia, southwest of Washington, D.C.. It is surrounded by Belmont Bay to the west, the Potomac River to the south and east, Gunston Cove to the northeast, and Pohick Bay to the north-northeast. Mason Neck forms the southernmost section of Fairfax County in Northern Virginia. It comprises an area of 20.0 square miles (51.8 km2), two-thirds of which is preserved as parkland by regional, state, and national authorities. The population of the Mason Neck CDP was 2,005 as of the 2010 census.
State Route 242 is a primary state highway in the U.S. state of Virginia. Known as Gunston Road, the state highway runs 3.58 miles (5.76 km) from U.S. Route 1 near Lorton east to SR 600 at the entrance to Gunston Hall, the plantation of George Mason, on Mason Neck in southeastern Fairfax County.
Leesylvania State Park is located in the southeastern part of Prince William County, Virginia. The land was donated in 1978 by businessman Daniel K. Ludwig, and the park was dedicated in 1985 and opened full-time in 1992.
The Withlacoochee State Forest is 157,479-acre (637 km2) in the western central part in the US state of Florida, near Lecanto, Inverness, Floral City, Brooksville, Ridge Manor, and Dade City. The forest was named for the Withlacoochee River, which passes through some of the major tracts within.
Lexington was an 18th-century plantation on Mason's Neck in Fairfax County, Virginia, United States. The estate belonged to several generations of the Mason family, and is now part of Mason Neck State Park.
Westmoreland State Park lies within Westmoreland County, Virginia. The park extends about one and a half miles along the Potomac River and covers 1,321 acres. The Horsehead Cliffs provide visitors with a panoramic view of the Potomac River, and lower levels feature fossils and beach access. The park offers hiking, camping, cabins, fishing, boating and swimming, although mechanical issues have kept the swimming pool closed since 2021. Located on the Northern Neck Peninsula, the park is close to historical sites featuring earlier eras: George Washington's birthplace and Stratford Hall, the birthplace of Robert E. Lee.
Belmont Bay is a body of water at the mouth of the Occoquan River between Fairfax and Prince William counties, Virginia. The bay covers about 1,500 acres (6.1 km2). The bay adjoins the Elizabeth Hartwell Mason Neck National Wildlife Refuge and Mason Neck State Park on the Fairfax County side and the Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge in Prince William County. The bay was named for the home, "Belmont," which was built circa 1730 overlooking the bay by Catesby Cocke, who was the clerk of the Prince William County court. Belmont Bay is notable for sightings of bald eagles that nest and feed in the refuges and for the numerous Great Blue Herons. Belmont Bay is also a popular destination for pleasure boats. Summer weekends usually attract 40 to as many as 100 boats to this location.
Elizabeth Hartwell Mason Neck National Wildlife Refuge is a National Wildlife Refuge of the United States located in Virginia. It is part of the Potomac River National Wildlife Refuge Complex. It is on Mason Neck, a peninsula in the Potomac River that forms part of the shoreline of Belmont Bay. The refuge is adjacent to Mason Neck State Park.
Caledon State Park is a 2,579-acre (10.44 km2) state park located in King George, Virginia. As of 2010, the yearly visitation was 49,328. The property was initially owned by the Alexander brothers, founders of the city of Alexandria, and was established in 1659 as Caledon Plantation. Ownership passed, in 1974, to the Commonwealth of Virginia.
Staunton River Battlefield State Park is a state park located in Virginia. The park straddles the Staunton River in Halifax and Charlotte counties. The Roanoke visitor center in Randolph, Virginia is a railroad depot which now holds exhibits on Native Americans and railroad history. The Clover visitor center has exhibits on the American Civil War and the battle which took place on this site. It also includes information about the production of electric energy. The park also includes the Mulberry Hill plantation, given to the state in 1999.
Eastern Neck National Wildlife Refuge, a part of the Chesapeake Marshlands National Wildlife Refuge Complex, is a 2,286-acre (9.25 km2) island located at the confluence of the Chester River and the Chesapeake Bay. Established in 1962 as a sanctuary for migratory birds, Eastern Neck National Wildlife Refuge provides natural habitat for over 240 bird species — including bald eagles and transitory peregrine falcons — and is a major staging site for tundra swans.
Taft Archeological Site No. 029-5411 is a historic archaeological site located at Lorton, Fairfax County, Virginia. The site includes a multi-component, stratified, upland, prehistoric and possibly proto-historic (Dogue), American Indian camp covering a 50x80-meter area and dating to between ca. 2000 B.C. and A.D. 1560. The site was excavated in three stages in May through August 1987. The site is located in Mason Neck State Park.
Widewater State Park is a state park on a 1,100 acres (450 ha) peninsula in the Potomac River in Stafford County, Virginia. It and Leesylvania State Park to the north on Occoquan Bay, and several wildlife refuges and regional parks are on the Captain John Smith Chesapeake National Historic Trail. Current facilities include a visitor center and staff building along Aquia Creek, as well as picnic shelters, children's play areas and canoe launches on both sides of the peninsula and a soft boat launch and campgrounds.
Elizabeth van Laer Speer Hartwell was an American conservationist based in Virginia. The Elizabeth Hartwell Mason Neck National Wildlife Refuge is named in her memory.