Outdoor Adventures

Eagletree Farm & Vineyard
15126 Harrison Hill Lane
Leesburg VA 20176 (map it)
(703) 777-5954

Loudoun Valleys Office of Rural Economic Development says:

Eagletree is a private setting with a personal touch.

These folks are right. Located off Rt. 15 north of Leesburg — you turn off 15 like you are going to Temple Hall Farm and then follow the U-PICK signs — the setting is so private that I at first felt like I was trespassing in someone’s back yard, but that is exactly what makes the picking experience so wonderful.

Eagle Tree’s pick your own blueberries are $4 per pound this year and worth every cent. They are tasty and the experience of picking is perfect. I have been twice and both times it was a serene experience. No chaos, no crowds, no shortage of blueberries… just a nice little family experience and some yummy blueberries to boot.

If you are looking to round out your blueberry picking experience with some literature for little people, check out Robert McCloskey’s Blueberries for Sal. It’s been a favorite since my childhood… so much so that I feel I am shortchanging my children if I don’t manage to hunt down their little metal buckets so that they can hear their blueberries go “Kerplunk!”

43546 Partlow Road
Ashburn, VA (map it)

Ashburn (aka Dinosaur) Park made it onto About.com’s best playgrounds in Virginia list. Who knew we were so lucky?

This playground holds a special spot in our hearts as it is one of the first places we visited when Peter was trying to sell me on the prospect of a move here so he could take a job in Ashburn. So, yes, we were the fools who drove straight from the cross country red eye to the playground on a cold, snowy day in February and suggested to our 15 month old that it might be fun to play while we waited for the rest of Loudoun County to wake up… and yes, he did play, and the park did impress me, and we did move to Virginia. My husband is a wise, wise man who knows me well.

My only complaint about this playground is that it might be a tad too big. It’s so big that independent preschoolers can accidentally wander out of sight… This is not an issue if you are only chasing one kid or have kids who listen all the same or if you don’t plan on letting down your guard. And, perhaps more to the point, it is not something that bothers the kids. 

Its a fun, well shaded place to play year round, plus the last time I checked the porta potties were pretty well maintained.

20375 Clairborne Parkway
Ashburn (Ashburn Farm), VA (map it)

We had a great time at Trailside Park in Ashburn today! As its name suggests, there is access to the W&OD trail there, but in our half-dozen visits we have never made it past the playground. We like that it is set away from both the street and the parking lot. It is fenced, but there are gaps and the park is just big enough that it can be tricky to keep two busy preschoolers in eyesight. The only things that would improve this park would be a real bathroom with a sink and a nearby drinking fountain.

227 Maple Avenue
Vienna, VA 22180 (map it)
(703) 255-1566

Now that I have been to three of the weekday morning Tot Rock shows that Jammin’ Java offers, I feel somewhat qualified to talk this venue up. I get the sense that Jammin’ Java would be a great place for a night out sans kids, but I haven’t gotten there in that capacity yet! Maybe the grown up venue is part of what I like about taking the kids there. Despite my uncool clothes and my permanent post-partum tummy, I feel hipper the moment I walk in the door. We have seen Rocknoceros, The Banjo Man, and Mr. Knick Knack. All are totally different types of shows, and either have been or will be reviewed individually on our blog.

The more kids you bring, the steeper the $5 per kid entry fee feels, but in my opinion it is a great morning out so is totally worth it. If you need a place for a picnic afterwards, check out Glyndon Park. It’s been a few years since my kids and I have been there, but we remember it fondly.

Speaking of eating, Jammin’ Java sells snacks geared towards kids and asks you not to bring your own food and drink, but no one is checking your sippy cups at the door. As with many cafes that offer more than just food and drink, the coffee service is slow, but that’s OK by me.

Bonus tidbit: Since they offer beer, wine, and liquor during their evening shows, Jammin’ Java also falls into my new unofficial category of bars with changing tables. I wonder if there’s a demand for a nationwide listing of these? www.barswithchangingtables.com might be a profitable endeavor….

Check out this article in today’s Washington Post! After reading it you’ll probably be interested in advice regarding what to do when you encounter a bear.

21085 The Woods Road
Leesburg, VA 20175 (map it)
(703) 669-0316

Banshee Reeks is another one of Loudoun’s secret treasures. When I first heard about Banshee Reeks at an EcoStewards Alliance event a few years ago the name threw me a bit. Banshee Reeks? Sounds kind of wild and scary…. Truth be told, due to its nature preserve status and limited hours Banshee Reeks does feel a little wilder than the regional parks we explore more often, and that is a good thing.

Driving to the preserve this morning we passed a wild turkey and while walking we saw frogs or toads of various sizes. We also saw lots of poison ivy and finished the hike by removing ticks — more than I have ever collected from a single walk — from ourselves and my dog. We barely even had to look for them this time as dozens were in plain sight. Only one of the buggers got past my initial check and needed to be removed with tweezers. If that’s not a successful tick check then I don’t know what is.

I am a Master Naturalist Program dropout, and while I did not stay in long enough to learn all the local species and volunteer along side all my cool classmates, I did stay long enough to get a sense of how important the nature preserve status is. As a result of that orientation I feel compelled to treat visits to Banshee Reeks a little differently than our other romps in the wilderness. Banshee Reeks exists not for our entertainment and exercise, but for the land itself, for the plants and critters that dwell there, and for the folks who learn from it. As parents and caregivers it is our job to teach our kids a leave no trace attitude, to really commit to staying on the trail and following the leash laws, and also to think about things like how the noise we make while exploring may affect the wildlife and other visitors.

I think the preserve used to be open just one weekend a month, which kept me from going for a long time because it was too much work — talk about a lazy mom — to keep track of which weekends it was open. Now it appears to be open every weekend from 8am-4pm, but is not always staffed. This simpler schedule will definitely lead my family to visit more often.

17501 Franklin Park Drive
Purcellville, VA 20132 (map it)
540-338-7603

Franklin Park will deserve another entry once I have explored it more, but in the meantime it is worth checking out for yourself. It has a pool (which I have heard good things about), a fenced playground away from the parking lot (good for folks with runners), lots of open green space, and lots of sporting events which gave the park a busy feel on our first weekend visit.