Winter is my favorite season to get outside and hike. I, like many other Virginians in the Piedmont, was in luck this past season: several new public parks opened in the last year that make for perfect winter hiking. Though the parks are new to me, they were born from years of sustained conservation efforts. The Piedmont Environmental Council’s work building stronger communities with greater access to public natural spaces begins with conservation and advocacy for increased connectivity.

Conserved public spaces have measurable impacts on our lives: research shows that spending time outdoors improves both physical and mental health, and can even improve students’ grades, lower blood pressure and drive economic growth. If you enjoy outdoor adventures like I do, lace up your boots and come with me as we explore a couple of these new parks that opened in 2024, as well as one potential future park.

Biscuit Run Park

Biscuit Run Park in Albemarle County is a gem of forestland, streams, meadows and ponds near the City of Charlottesville. Just inside the trailhead at the parking area on state Route 20, we might see a cerulean warbler on his spring migration or a box turtle digging her way up from her winter resting spot. Along the 8.5 miles of primarily wooded trails, we might pass families walking their dogs or bicyclists out enjoying nature with us.

At nearly 1,200 acres, Biscuit Run Park is notable not only for its large area — twice the size of the next largest park in Albemarle County — but also for its proximity to existing neighborhoods. It’s rare to find so much protected forested land so close to where people already live and work. PEC has championed Biscuit Run for years, from creating the park to making it accessible to public with bridges, trails and greenways linking the park to surrounding neighborhoods. Some of these projects are part of Albemarle’s plans for future phases of Biscuit Run Park, but there is still more work to do.

PEC’s Albemarle and Charlottesville Community Advocacy Manager Peter Krebs has been working to expedite the construction of a second park entrance with a pedestrian and bicycle bridge to cross Biscuit Run Stream and provide access to the adjacent Southwood neighborhood, which holds the largest concentration of affordable housing in the area. PEC hired a local engineering firm to design the bridge, and now Albemarle County has fast-tracked its construction. The expeditious work created savings that were used to design an additional mile of greenway connecting the new bridge to a future Monacan Nation Tribute Park in Southwood. The General Assembly’s final budget, awaiting the governor’s signature, includes $1.3 million for trail construction.

PEC envisions a park that is not only accessible to the residents of Charlottesville and Albemarle, but an integral component of a healthy, thriving community.

Culpeper Battlefields State Park

Let’s travel north to the new Culpeper Battlefields State Park in Culpeper County, where from the crest of Fleetwood Hill we’ll see panoramic views of the surrounding countryside. We might pass a tour guide leading a group on horseback as they learn about Brandy Station Battlefield, the site of the largest cavalry battle in North America. Interpretive signs along the trails tell the story of the battles of Cedar Mountain, Kelly’s Ford and Rappahannock Station, fought during some of the darkest chapters in our nation’s history.

The result of nearly 40 years of hard work, Culpeper Battlefield Park’s first 236 acres opened to the public in June 2024. Like Biscuit Run, it is being built out in stages, and ultimately the state park will encompass 2,200 acres once all of the land transfers are complete. And like Biscuit Run, its realization comes from sustained conservation work.

The American Battlefield Trust and the Brandy Station Foundation conserved and donated much of the land for the park. PEC has long supported the project and helped launch Friends of Culpeper Battlefields, a coalition whose efforts were instrumental in the creation of the state park.

Even with such strong support, Virginia’s 43rd state park almost didn’t happen. Over the years, development threatened to dull or erase the historic context of the land. Thanks to the American Battlefield Trust and partners such as PEC, Virginians now have a new state park in the Piedmont that not only gives us access to nature and outdoor recreation, but also preserves an irreplaceable opportunity to understand our history.

Oak Hill (State Park?)

Now that we’ve visited urban Biscuit Run and rural Culpeper Battlefields, let’s consider the tale of a new state park that almost was, and still could be: Oak Hill in Loudoun County.

As a state park, the historic Oak Hill property could offer Virginians public access to nature and trails to explore more than 1,000 acres of fields, forest, wetlands and wildlife habitat. Visitors could tour the well-preserved home of James Monroe, the last founding father to serve as president, or look for bald eagles and osprey along the miles of Little River frontage. And an Oak Hill state park would open opportunities to enhance wildlife habitat and improve water quality.

While a bill in the 2025 Virginia General Assembly would have created the park with no upfront cost to the state — thanks to over $41 million in contributions from various sources — the Senate killed the bill, fearing future maintenance costs. In doing so, they nearly squandered a once-in-a-generation opportunity to protect a National Historic Landmark and offer easy access to the outdoors for millions of visitors to and residents of Northern Virginia.

Perhaps recognizing the rare opportunity before Virginia here, Gov. Youngkin included as part of his March 24 budget amendments approval of a new state park at Oak Hill, subject to review and approval of final details by both the Secretary of Finance and the chairs of the Senate Finance and House Appropriations committees. His proposals will be taken up for action by the General Assembly when it returns to Richmond on April 2 for a reconvened “veto session.” We are hopeful that Senate and House leadership see their way to approve this solution.

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Parks like Biscuit Run, Culpeper Battlefields, and hopefully soon Oak Hill require years, sometimes decades, of dedicated work by communities, local and state governments, and organizations like PEC and our many partners advocating for shared public spaces. Your voice, too, has the power to make these parks a reality and connect people with nature, with history and with each other. This spring, I encourage you to visit your local parks, and as you take in the fresh air and green spaces, I invite you to consider the many hands and voices that went into creating that park.

This article appeared in the 2025 Spring edition of The Piedmont Environmental Council’s member newsletter, The Piedmont View. If you’d like to become a PEC member or renew your membership, please visit pecva.org/join.