Swanfall 2025: Buffet and 

"Trade and Transport on the Potomac River"

Sunday December 7 at 2 PM

We'll celebrate Swanfall at Gunston Hall's Ann Mason Room on Sunday, December 7.

We'll start with a great buffet at 2 PM.

   

  

        

At 2:30 PM, we'll view the winning photos from the Friends' 2025 "Picture the Magic" photo contest.

And at 2:45, we'll enjoy "Navigating Prosperity: Trade and Transport on the Potomac River."

 

For millions of years, the Potomac River has been a life source for inhabitants of the land that became Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland, and Washington DC. Travelling over 400 miles from the headwaters to the Chesapeake Bay, the river has not only provided food and water but was a major thoroughfare of travel and trade. Assistant Park Manager Jamie Leeuwrik will present this history of the Potomac River’s prosperity and how it has impacted the residents of the Mason Neck Peninsula.

Swanfall is open to everyone. Members and one guest can attend for a special price of $15 per person. Non-members can attend for $20.

You can register for Swanfall here.

If you aren't a member or your membership has lapsed, you can join the Friends here.

Friends of Mason Neck State Park Annual Appeal

Please help the Friends of Mason Neck State Park support the park by making a tax-deductible contribution during our Annual Appeal! The Friends is an all-volunteer organization, and our passion is to protect, enhance, and celebrate this beautiful place. We work hand in hand with park staff, providing crucial support for programs, shoreline cleanups, educational events, and infrastructure improvements. Your donations are critical, enabling us to continue our work in the coming year.

The Virginia Inspector General reported that the state park system has a backlog of $360 million in deferred maintenance. Donating to the Friends enables us to provide support to the park for educational programs, events for the underserved, initiatives that make the park more welcoming and accessible for all and other things that improve visitors’ experiences at the park. 

Thanks to the generosity of people like you, we were able to spend $34,000 to support the park in 2025:

•         The resurfaced trail and accessible parking pad at the Marsh View Trail.
•         An accessible parking pad and trail from the picnic area parking lot to the bench overlooking Belmont Bay.
•         Arrangement for the donation of a path from the Visitor Center parking lot to the patio behind the Visitor Center, making it easier for all visitors to enjoy the view over the bay whether the Visitor Center is open or closed.
•         All the expenses of the Park’s annual Eagle Festival, their signature event, including rental of the show tent, programs such as the raptor shows by Secret Garden Birds and Bees, the bands, bus transportation to the park from offsite festival parking, and even the portable toilets – something we have done for many years. 
•         Support for other activities, including refreshments for the park’s First Day Hike, lunch for underserved youth at Lorton Community Action Center Day at the park, trash pickers for use at the park’s trail and shoreline cleanups, and prizes for the Picture the Magic photo contest that highlights the beauty of the park. 

  

We are committed to continuing our work to support Mason Neck State Park in 2026. To do that we are relying on donations from you and others who love the park. As you consider your year-end giving, please donate to the Friends. With your help, we can protect the park's natural resources, expand the educational programs, and ensure that everyone can experience the peace and beauty of Mason Neck State Park.

You can make a tax-deductible donation from your Traditional IRA. Ask your IRA Administrator how to do that. 

You can donate via PayPal here.

Or you can send a check to:

The Friends of Mason Neck State Park, Inc.

7301 High Point Road

Lorton VA, 22079

Thank you, 

 

Steve Levenson

President

The Friends' Accessibility Initiative

The Friends have devoted substantial time and money to improving accessibility at the park, in coordination with park management. You can read more about their projects here. You can also learn about the accessible trails in the park here. 

All-terrain Wheelchair

The Park has a Trackmaster all-terrain battery-powered wheelchair available for guests with limited mobility. The chair can be used on most of the park's trails, and is available without charge. Call the Park at 703-339-2385 for more information.

We apologize, but we have decided to cancel tonight's Owl Moon event. We have received varying weather forecasts, but there is a significant chance of wind guests in excess of 25 mph, and a fair chance of rain. If it rains before or during the event, we'd need to disconnect the electric cords that provide light for our presenters, and high wind gusts are likely to disturb Secret Garden Birds and Bees' owls and hawks. We'll look into having this event at a later date. 

Join the Fight Against Disposable Plastic

The Friends of Mason Neck State Park are doing their part to slow the production and disposal of plastics.  Plastic bottles take as long as 450 years to decompose in the environment.  Before they do, they break down into "micro-plastic" bits that are eaten by animals and can end up in our own bodies.  On land, plastic adversely affects soil fertility, and can choke our streams and rivers.

Mason Neck State Park also is committed to reducing the use of disposable plastic bottles and has installed water bottle filling stations at the Visitor Center and the picnic area.           

Do your part too: find ways to limit your use of disposable plastics, including those grocery store bags that have a typical useful life of 15 minutes -- the time to get from store to home -- and take 1000 years to decompose in a landfill.  

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