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Events Coming Soon
We're busy planning some more great events...
Come to International Adaptive Activity Day
Aug. 1, 2024. 9:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.
Come see what Mason Neck State Park has to offer on International Adaptive Activity Day.
Discover the beauty of inclusive outdoor adventures at our special event celebrating International Adaptive Activity Day! Whether you're a seasoned adventurer or exploring new possibilities, there's something for everyone at Mason Neck State Park.
Activities & Highlights:
Learn about the park's accessible trails and discover adaptive equipment designed to enhance your outdoor experience.
Try out specialized paddling equipment, including adaptive kayaks and canoes, supported by experienced instructors. Kayaking equipment includes hand and wrist adaptation equipment for holding a paddle, seats with middle and upper torso support, stabilizing outriggers, a transfer bench, and kayak chariot for transport. More information about the specific equipment can be found at: https://www.creatingability.com/
You can also get a look at the all-terrain electric powered wheelchair that will be available to the public free of charge later in the summer.
Connect with fellow outdoor enthusiasts, families, and individuals passionate about accessible recreation. Share stories, tips, and inspiration!
The Friends of Mason Neck State Park have been working to improve accessibility at the park for nearly two years. You can read more about accessibility at the park at https://friendsofmasonneckstateparkinc.wildapricot.org/page-1856855
Friends of Mason Neck State Park
2024 "Picture the Magic" Photo Contest
Photo by Randy Streufert
The Friends of Mason Neck State Park 2024 photography contest is now open. We’re looking for images taken in the park that highlight its magic. Winning photos, including honorable mention, will be published in our newsletter, website, and social media.
Eligibility
Anyone other than Mason Neck State Park staff, Board members of the Friends and contest judges, as well as their immediate family (spouses, partners, siblings, and children) and household members is eligible to enter.
Entry Period
The "Picture the Magic" Photo Contest closes on October 15, 2024. Late entries will not be considered. We will notify the prize winners by October 31, 2024.
What Subjects to Enter
Digital photographs taken in Mason Neck State Park anytime in 2022 through 2024 of:
Park Scenery and Park Flora– images showing off the park’s landscape, trees, plants, or flowers.
Fauna – images of the park’s mammals, reptiles, amphibians, birds, insects, or other critters living in the park. Note: Dogs, cats, and other pets/animals not native to the park do not qualify.
Aquatic activities – Visitors enjoying Belmont Bay or Kane’s Creek in canoes, kayaks, or other non-powered vessels.
Contest Rules
You can read the contest rules and download an entry form here.
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.
The Friends of Mason Neck State Park have stopped offering disposable water bottles to Park volunteers and at Friends events. Instead, they are offering free multi-use bottles that recipients can take home with them. Hopefully, people will use these bottles instead of buying more disposable ones.
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.
The Friends of Mason Neck State Park
The Friends of Mason Neck State Park is a Section 501(c) (3) organization that works to conserve, enhance and interpret the park’s natural, educational, recreational and cultural resources. The Friends provide financial support for the park’s activities, and its volunteers assist at the park’s events and activities. The Friends also sponsor events designed to showcase the park; publish a monthly newsletter and website that highlight events at the park; and work to improve the accessibility of the park.
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Mason Neck State Park is located on the Mason Neck peninsula in southeastern Fairfax County, Virginia. The Park's wetlands, forest, water, ponds, and fields are home to a variety of wildlife, including bald eagles, osprey, geese, ducks, swans, and other birds living on or near the Potomac River, Kane's Creek, and Belmont Bay.
The Park has hiking trails, three miles of paved multi-use trails, a large picnic area, a playground, a car-top canoe and kayak launch, and a visitor center. Canoe, kayak, and bicycle rentals are available.
