We see you weekend warriors! We know you’re hungry for new things to try and cool places to get out and stretch so, we’ve compiled a short list for your wilder ramblings. Here are five places for outdoor recreation, from quiet pursuits like kayaking and bird watching, to adrenaline-fueled hunting, archery, and hiking.
Many efforts to conserve the landscapes of Loudoun County are tied to hunting and gun sports. The Pittman Robertson Act of 1937 provides aid to states for management and restoration of wildlife. The funds includes fees charged for hunting licenses, and taxes on equipment like arrowheads, safety vests and duck blinds.
“Saving open land from development is important and is also part of managing for healthy ecosystems,” says Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources’ Wildlife Biologist, Jordan Green. “Keeping the deer herd in check is tied in with having access to open lands, with benefits to both the sportsman and the landowner.”
1. Loudoun County Chapter of The Izaak Walton League of America
19237 Mountain Spring Lane, Leesburg
This membership-based facility is one of America's oldest conservation organizations. It’s 200+ chapters offer opportunities to enjoy their outdoor spaces, and protect them for others to enjoy. The Loudoun Chapter owns 88 acres including a stocked pond. They offer a variety of classes and firearms training, archery, a sight in range, shotgun range with skeet and sporting clays, camping and fishing. Members have a photography page to show off native plants, animals and insects: Eighty-eight acres at https://lcc-iwlaconservation.smugmug.com
2. Banshee Reeks Nature Preserve
21085 The Woods Road, Leesburg
Spanning 695 acres, Banshee Reeks Nature Preserve is hiding in plain sight, tucked back along Goose Creek off of Evergreen Mill Road. Visitors can explore the fields, forests, wetlands, pond and river banks along 20 miles of trails, a Visitor’s Center, and several historical sites on the property. Dogs are welcome but bikes and horses are not. The Preserve hosts managed hunts and a novice hunters’ program that matches adult hunters with a more experienced hunter for mentoring and learning.
3. Beaverdam Reservoir
42400 Mt. Hope Road, Ashburn
https://www.novaparks.com/parks/beaverdam-reservoir
You may have driven by but until you’ve walked the reservoir’s 6-mile trail or floated on the water, you haven’t seen the best of Beaverdam. The Reservoir is run as a partnership between Loudoun Water and the Northern Virginia Regional Park Authority (NOVA Parks) for boating and fishing. Beaverdam allows kayaks, canoes, jon boats and stand-up paddleboards, but not swimming. Some local high schools even row crew there.
4. Bull Run Shooting Center
7700 Bull Run Drive, Centreville
https://www.novaparks.com/
Outside of Loudoun’s borders, the Friends of Bull Run Shooting Center (FoBRSC) bring shotgun shooting sports to the general public, including sporting clay, skeet, trap, wobble trap and five stand. The facility hosts tournaments, teaches “learn to shoot,” “learn the game” and safety courses and has archery ranges too.
5. Thompson WMA
https://dwr.virginia.gov/wma/?pid=31
The G. Richard Thompson Wildlife Management Area (WMA) is among the most popular of Virginia’s game areas, says Jordan. The nearly 4,000-acre area is located in Fauquier County along the Blue Ridge Mountains. Thompson WMA offers hunting, fishing, and wildlife/bird watching as well as hiking along a 7-mile stretch of the Appalachian Trail. The area is known for its spectacular spring wildflowers including large-flowered trillium.
Before you go…
- Protect yourself against ticks. Wear light-colored, long sleeved shirts and pants, and closed-toe shoes when possible and apply repellent with at least 20 percent DEET.
- A Virginia fishing license is required for those ages 16 and older.
- To get a hunting license, first obtain a Virginia Hunter Education certificate by completing a hunter education course. See: https://dwr.virginia.gov/.