Hemlock Overlook Regional Park
Hemlock Overlook Regional Park is a multi-use park near Clifton, Virginia, one of several parks lining the Bull Run. The 400-acre park offers dense forests, hilly woodlands, and floodplain scenery. Hemlock Overlook is named after the grove of hemlock trees above the banks in the northern section of the park.
| Hemlock Overlook Regional Park | |
|---|---|
Hemlock grove in Hemlock Overlook Regional Park | |
| Location | Clifton, Virginia, U.S. |
| Coordinates | 38°46′13″N 77°24′35″W |
| Area | 400 acres (161.87 ha) |
| Operated by | NOVA Parks |
| Open | year round access |
| Website | |
At the northern edge of the park is the site of the Union Mills and the bridge crossing for the Orange and Alexandria Railroad over the Bull Run; both of these sites have high significance in the Battles of Bull Run. The site of a dam that supported the first hydroelectric power generation to Fairfax County, Virginia, is also on the Hemlock Overlook site. A permanent orienteering course, built with the support of the Quantico Orienteering Club, sits in the southern end of the park, south of Yates Ford Road. The Bull Run-Occoquan Trail (blue trail) is maintained by the PATC.
From 1984 to 2009, Hemlock Overlook operated as a university outdoor education center, through a partnership between George Mason University and the Park Authority.[1][2] In 2009, the Park Authority engaged a partner, Adventure Links, to operate the facility.[3][4] In 2021, the Park Authority put out a Request for Proposal for new operating partners.[5][6] A new operator, Horizons at Hemlock Overlook, part of Endless Horizons, has been chosen to partner with the Park Authority.
References
- Berg, Scott W. (August 14, 2003). "Smells Like Team Spirit". Washington Post. Archived from the original on March 19, 2024. Retrieved March 19, 2024.
- Sagon, Candy (November 18, 2009). "For their Thanksgiving feast, they buried the birds". Washington Post. Archived from the original on March 19, 2024. Retrieved March 19, 2024.
- NOVA Regional Park Authority PPEA Archived June 21, 2023, at the Wayback Machine- Retrieved March 19, 2024
- Hemlock Overlook Swings Back into Operations Archived March 19, 2024, at the Wayback Machine- Retrieved March 19, 2024
- "Request for Proposals" (PDF).
- "Request for Proposals2" (PDF).