Hikers at Turkey Run Park now have safer access to trails alongside the Potomac River, thanks to the hard work of more than 100 volunteers.
The National Park Service and the nonprofit Potomac Appalachian Trail Club officially reopened a half-mile section of trail in the McLean park with a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Saturday (March 5), the NPS announced.
It was the federal agency’s largest volunteer-designed and built project in the D.C. area, according to a press release.
“This project is a great example of the success we can have when park staff work together with partners and volunteers to meet the needs of visitors,” George Washington Memorial Parkway Superintendent Charles Cuvelier said in a statement. “We embrace the collaboration, trust, and open communication we have with partners and are grateful to PATC and the volunteers for making this project possible.”
According to the NPS, it took more than four years and over 1,000 volunteer hours for the Potomac Appalachian Trail Club to rebuild a section of trail that had eroded due to its age and location on a gorge leads to the Potomac River.
The project was intended to provide safer and easier access to the Potomac Heritage National Scenic Trail, a regional network that follows the river and runs along the northern edge of Turkey Run Park.
Founded in 1927, the Potomac Appalachian Trail Club consists of volunteers and a professional support staff who manage over 1,000 miles of hiking trails across Virginia, Maryland, D.C., and Pennsylvania.
Among other challenges, the Turkey Run project required constructing a wood staircase with over 100 steps that enables trail users to climb almost 170 feet in less than two-tenths of a mile, according to PATC President Joe Lombardo.
“This daunting task required the skill and dedication of experienced crew leaders to design and execute a unique trail rehabilitation plan that provided improved access and was sensitive to the natural setting of the park,” Lombardo said in the NPS news release.
George Washington Memorial Parkway, which encompasses Turkey Run Park, did not immediately return FFXnow’s request for additional comment on the trail project and an update on its plans for the former Claude Moore Farm, which is being revamped as South Turkey Run Park.
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Camps are just the beginning of what’s in store at Art House 7 this summer. We’re thrilled to offer an array of exciting classes for both kids and adults!Rediscover your creativity with some of our AH7 favorites, such as drawing, hand-sewing, modern embroidery, and our popular 3-week Jump into Crochet classes. But that’s not all! We’ve added some fresh and exciting options to our summer class selection, guaranteed to spark your imagination.
To enhance your artistic journey, we have intensified some of our Ceramics: The Wheel classes to a full 3-hour duration. This extended time allows for more creativity and skill development in each class session. If you’re eager for a captivating twist, give Contemporary Still-Life Drawing & Painting a go. Or why not try an immersive outdoor painting adventure? We have a unique opportunity for you to bring your painting skills to life while learning and creating in the great outdoors with our Landscape Painting: Studio and Plein Air class!
We invite you to visit our website and explore our full Summer Session schedule, brimming with a diverse range of classes and camps. Classes and camps begin June 20th. Unleash your inner artist, broaden your horizons, and embark on a summer adventure like no other. Let’s make this a summer to remember at Art House 7!
Potomac Harmony Chorus has a new director! We’re ready
to kick off the season with new music, a new approach, and YOU!
Potomac Harmony is one of 500 choruses in Sweet
Adelines International. We’re a vibrant,
contemporary, inclusive, welcoming, and open community of women singers who
perform four-part harmony, barbershop style, committed to a high level of
achievement through teaching, mentoring, personal growth, and performance. Our vision is to entertain, educate, and
enrich lives through musical expression while promoting the barbershop art
form.
Potomac Harmony recently had our first performance
with our new director, receiving rave reviews! We invite you to stop by any Wednesday
evening and be part of the fun and harmony!
Army Birthday Festival – Free and Fun
Make Saturday, June 10, 2023 a great day!
Come celebrate the Army Birthday Festival at the National Museum of the U.S. Army from 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. Rain or Shine!
• Experience outdoor and indoor fun activities, for all
Unveiling of West Ford historical highway marker
Gum Springs will be celebrating 190 years of its founding by freedman West Ford on Saturday, June 17, 2023. To kick-off the celebration, there will be an unveiling of a Virginia historical highway marker for West Ford on Fordson Road
