Rutherford Park Nature Walk Preview

1

The Beginning of the Trail

This is the beginning of the Rutherford trail. As the sign in the video reads, the park is maintained by Fairfax County Park Authority. You can hear the noise of nearby cars as the trail head is near a busy parking lot. The trail becomes much quieter and the sound of traffic and cars cannot be heard as you continue on.

2

More of the Parking Lot

This area is where my friend Ryan and I would meet during the pandemic to go on walks together. We would drive to the park separately, maintain at least 6 feet of distance and wear our masks to stay safe. It was comforting to see him in person even though we were physically distant. These long nature walks were critical to my mental health during this time.

3

Beginning of the Trail

Here is the beginning of the trail. The gravel on this day was a bit slick because of the rain. The Rutherford neighborhood was built in 1965 and the park was built shortly after. The park/trail itself and the surrounding area exist on Monacan land. In this video you can see an example of one of the placards that are found along this trail. I've attached a closer picture of the placard where you can read that it encourages trail visitors to keep our streams clean.

4

Foliage

This video shows a glimpse of the vast foliage that surrounds the gravel trail. On this rainy day the trees felt heavy, however I felt comforted by them. They served as a slight barrier to the rain and kept me drier than I would have been without them.

5

The Stream

This is the stream that flows alongside most of the trail. When I was a kid I remember playing here alongside the water with my neighborhood friends. Because of the rain on this day the water was flowing especially fast. You can clearly hear it rushing by when you listen to the video. I find most connected and at home when I am near a body of water. In Charlottesville I enjoy going to the Rivanna and listening to the sound of the water go by. It was very peaceful to come back to this stream after a year or so of not visiting the park.

6

Bridge

Here is a photo and video of one of the bridges that is in place to cross the river. As a kid I thought of it as a challenge to try and cross the river using the help of a fallen tree like the one pictured. This time I decided to take the safer option of the bridge instead.

7

Tennis & Basketball Court

Here is a look at the tennis courts and basketball courts that are near the end of the trail. While I have never played tennis here, I have many fond memories playing basketball here with my siblings growing up. We used to play here all day and in the summer we would occasionally hear the bells of the ice cream truck coming by. It was comforting to see children and parents riding their bikes around these courts and playing outside during the height of the COVID pandemic.Another feature that I noted and photographed was the moss growing between the cracks of the pavement on the court. It feels poetic that the leaves are growing through the manmade asphalt that is meant to be stopping it from coming through.

8

Flowers

Here are some of the gorgeous flowers and plants along the trail. There are mostly smaller flowers like these yellow ones that are pictured as well as some cattails.

9

Fork in the Road

Here is a video and picture of where the trail splits into two trails. During the pandemic my friend and I would make a different choice about which way to go each time we went for a walk. Both of the trails have similar nature (trees, flowers, etc.) but they have different end destinations.

10

Mossy Trees

Here are some of the trees along the trail that are covered in thick moss.