Category Archives: General Info

Construction Starting – Impacts to Access.

Construction will be starting soon – Water access is closing on Oct 17, impacts to trail access:

Reservoir Park Construction Getting Underway!

After many years of community input, stakeholder feedback, careful planning and design, construction for Reservoir Park is finally underway! Reservoir Park will be situated on the southeast side of Beaverdam Reservoir. The park is being funded and constructed under a partnership between Loudoun Water, which owns and maintains the 300-acre reservoir as a source of drinking water for Loudoun County residents and NOVA Parks, a regional park authority in Northern Virginia.

The innovative park design includes an entrance road, parking lot, welcome center, restroom building, crew facility, boat rental facility, several pavilions, trails, waterfront boardwalks, a bridge, plantings, site utilities, educational exhibits, and various other site features — all designed with source water protection in mind.

With the project starting, there will be new rules for public access. Beginning October 1, reservoir water levels will be drawn down to facilitate construction.  To ensure the safety of park users, water access will be closed beginning on Monday, October 17.  Fishing, boating, paddling or other water activities will not be permitted. Once construction activities allow for the reservoir to refill naturally, and the water reaches a safe level, access will be re-opened sometime in third quarter of 2023. This timeline is based on various conditions and is not definitive.

During construction, NOVA Parks will continue to manage public access of the surrounding property. Trails near the southeast portion of the reservoir will be closed during construction. Restricted areas will be well-marked for visitor safety by Meridian Construction Co., Inc. 

At this stage, it is anticipated that substantial completion of Reservoir Park will be in the first quarter of 2024 and the park grand opening will take place in Spring/Summer 2024.

Park construction progress, announcements, and schedule updates will be posted on www.loudounwater.org and www.novaparks.com.

Together, Loudoun Water and NOVA Parks have developed Reservoir Park to promote the health and wellness of local citizens and visitors. Interpretive destinations will focus on their strong partnership, highlighting the connections between ecological health, human health, and recreation — as well as their mission to protect the national resources entrusted to their care.

If you are visiting to hike the 2.3-mile long Reservoir Trail, please park at Brambleton Community Park West (22389 Belmont Ridge Rd.) and access the trailhead as shown here. The community park trailhead has plenty of parking available. Please do not access trails or park in local neighborhoods. 

Park Approved!

On March 26th the Loudoun County Planning Commission approved NoVA Parks and Loudoun Waters Plan for the Beaverdam Park. There was a large crowd and the meeting ran past 10pm. Concerns over boathouse location and county liability brought a good amount of discussion. Due to zoning, the boat house’s location is approx 600 feet from the water. A solution of dollies/carts was given and the commission approved the project with a vote of 8 to 1.

Beaverdam Open House 12/14/16

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Slide Show Presentation from the Meeting from Loudoun Water

Loudoun Water and Nova Parks held the second Beaverdam Open House Wednesday December 14th. There was a good crowd though not as big as the first session. The purpose of this meeting was to show the plan that was developed based on our input. I have attached an audio recording of the session above.

The highlight of phase 1 (of 3 planned) is a large 200 car parking area, eco-learning features, and facilities for the rowing team. Welcome news is the plan to develop a mixed use trail all the way around the reservoir for a total length of 8 miles. The car top launch sites (Mt. Hope and Reservoir Rd) will remain as they are now with no planned improvements for Phase 1. While the walk from the parking area to water looks pretty far, this will be an option if parking at Mt. Hope is completely filled.

This is a nice step towards making the area a destination beyond simple paddle sports. There does seem to be a strong emphasis on rowing in Phase 1, but the takeaway is this is going to be a facility for all to enjoy and part of a larger network of parks and water access in Loudoun.

Official Closing Date Announced – Nov 1, 2016

Enjoy the reservoir all you can this summer, in November it will be shut down for scheduled repairs. I just recieved notification from Chris Pauley, director of park operations at NOVA Parks.

Loudoun Water is on schedule with their planning and preparations for the required repairs needed at Beaverdam Reservoir. Loudoun Water will close and begin drawing down the reservoir on November 1st, 2016. The reservoir will remain closed to public access in 2017 and 2018 with the permanent reopening in 2019.

While two years is a long time to not use the reservoir, there are other great alternatives in the area such as Algonkian and the Occoquan. We’re looking forward to the improvements and the permanent opening in 2019!