PRINCE WILLIAM FOREST PARK

VIRGINIA

Prince William Forest Park is one of the largest NPS natural areas in the National Capital Region and the third largest in the State of Virginia. The 15,000-acre park preserves an example of the forest cover that once blanketed the entire Piedmont and Costal Plain physiographic provinces. European settlers in the 1600's viewed this expanse of woodland as a major farming resource because of its close proximity to the Potomac River. As farming of tobacco, cotton and corn continued, so did the depletion of vital nutrients. Recognizing the need for growing urban populations to have recreational opportunities, the Franklin Roosevelt Administration set this land aside in the early 1930's. To provide outdoor education experiences, the Civilian Conservation Corps constructed five cabin camps and several small lakes. In 1936, legislation established the area as the Chopawamsic Recreation Demonstration Area. With the advent of WWII, the park was closed to the public. From 1942-1945 the newly constructed cabin camps were used to house and train allied spies for Office of Strategic Services (OSS), the precursor to the CIA. The park was returned to the National Park Service after the war and has been used continuously by several generations of hikers, bicycling enthusiasts, tent, RV and cabin campers.

DID YOU KNOW

• Chopawamsic Recreation Demonstration Area was renamed Prince William Forest Park in 1948.
• Prince William Forest Park conserves the largest inventory of Civilian Conservation Corp structures (157) in the National Park System. Four of the five cabin camps are listed on the National Register of Historic Places as historic districts.
• Prince William Forest Park protects the largest expanse of Piedmont Forest, (the most heavily altered North American ecosystem) in the National Park Service.
• Prince William Forest Park has been shaped by thousands of years of human use, including Native American encampments, plantations, farms, mineral mining operations, recreation demonstration projects, and military operations.
• Prince William Forest Park protects the federally threatened orchid Isotria medeoloides, small whorled pogonia, of which several colonies have been identified in the park.

DON'T MISS ATTRACTIONS

• The five Civilian Conservation Corps cabin camps can still be rented by groups of up to 200 people for short or long-term events and programs. A portion of Camp Orenda is set aside for cabin rentals by families or individuals who wish to rent only one or two cabins. Over 60,000 overnight stays take place in the park each year through the cabin camps, tent campgrounds, and the concession-operated Travel Trailer Village for recreational vehicles.
• The park provides over 40 miles of hiking and biking trails located in one of the largest remaining expanses of Piedmont Forest in Virginia. Visitors see wild turkey, beaver, deer and other native wildlife and spectacular fall colors set in 15,000 acres of forest less than an hour from Washington, D.C.
• Popular day hikes include the Pyrite Mine area, where visitors can see remnants and foundations of the Cabin Branch Pyrite Mine that operated from 1889 to 1919. The Quantico Falls hike takes visitors to the fall line where the Quantico Creek transitions between the Piedmont and the Coastal Plain.

NATIONAL PARK SERVICE PRIORITIES

With funding provided from the regional repair/rehab fund, B-unit of Cabin Camp 2 is being restored from poor condition to operational levels. The 11 buildings in B-unit were closed in 1988 due to severe deterioration and would have been lost without major restoration. The project will encompass clearing vegetation around the cabins, rehabilitation of bath facilities and lodges, repair of the wooden timber frames, floors and siding with in kind materials and appropriate techniques. When repairs are complete, this element of the park maintenance backlog once again will be available as a part of the camp. Cabin Camp 2 is one of five cabin camps in the park that were built in the 1930's by the Civilian Conservation Corps.

Prince William Forest Park is designated as one of the pilot Environmental Management System (EMS) parks. By implementing sustainable and green practices, the park staff builds short and long-term efficiencies that allow for the more effective completion of various projects. Partnerships with the Prince William County Clean Community Council and volunteer events such as National Public Lands Day and Take Pride in America programs have resulted in removal of over 3,000 tires that were illegally dumped on park lands.

Finally, the safety of the visitors and employees is the number one priority at Prince William Forest Park. Park staff has dramatically dropped the number of lost time accidents and work injury time loss, winning the regional safety award for two out of the last three years.

LINKS:

Prince William Forest Park Home Page»

Partnering & Managing for Excellence Report»