I love Huntley Meadows! It's a little gem tucked away into the middle of Fairfax County that almost nobody knows of. The nature center is quite nice, and the walk over the boardwalks is well worth it. You'll see loads of wildlife, from turtles, more birds than you can shake a stick at, to snakes, fish, and if you're lucky even a beaver or two! Go for sunrise and take some pictures from the platform - you won't regret it!
One of the best parks in the DC metro area. Very well Incorporated into a wetland with beaver, muskrat, geese, water snakes, alligator snapping turtles, deer, the very rare otter, and much much more. It is a favored stop of migrating bird and so constantly has different assortments of bird through the seasons.
Not a bad place to go if you like wetland wildlife. My personal experience has been more wildlife activity in the morning hours. I love the boardwalks and observation tower.
The area is classified as a hemimarsh, so the water can and should range between full and empty. In the warmer level you will see turtles sunning on logs. In the water you can see massive snapping turtles swimming just under the surface. Frogs and tadpoles are plentiful and make huge rackets in mating season. If you are lucky, you might see a muskrat swimming in the bushes. Deer roam around so you have a fair chance of seeing one, potentially with a faun.
The trail on the north side is packed, not paved, and is more meandering. It is still suitable for walking, strollers and dog walking. It performs one of a few loops around, one leads to the boardwalk. The boardwalk goes over the water (no strollers or dogs are allowed on). From there you can get a better view of the wetlands life. I recommend bringing binoculars.
Very nice nature park. Hard to believe how relaxing it is to be away from all the cars, traffic etc.
The south entrance has a straight paved track to the water. This is suitable for foot traffic, bikes, strollers and dog walking (all animals must be on a leash). There is about a mile from the parking to observation deck at the water.
Beautiful country park with two entrances. It almost seems as if we see or hear a new bird each time we are there.
As with any pond in the area, you can also find heron, ducks and of course geese. I've seen coot in the water as well. Redwing blackbirds are fairly common in the park, as well as cardinals. You can also find many woodpeckers. A birder once had a scope on a redheaded woodpecker that stayed posed for most of us once. I've seen a wild turkey in the park. It had quite a reaction when it walked out on to the paved path. I've seen an ibis eating in the marsh.
All and all a beautiful park in southern Fairfax County.
The north entrance is tucked away in a corner. It has a visitor center there with water fountains and public rest rooms. There is a small shop with a park ranger on duty. Other than that, there is an informational room with stuffed versions of some of the critters in the area. Outside is a pavilion available for rent.
Huntley Meadows Park is a US Park based in Alexandria, Maryland. Huntley Meadows Park is located at 3701 Lockheed Blvd, Alexandria, VA 22306, USA.
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