Explore Park
| Explore Park | |
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Blue Ridge Parkway Visitor Center at Explore Park
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| Nearest city | Roanoke, Virginia |
| Coordinates | 37°14′17.8″N 79°51′7″W / 37.238278°N 79.85194°WCoordinates: 37°14′17.8″N 79°51′7″W / 37.238278°N 79.85194°W |
| Area | 1,100 acres (450 ha) |
| Created | 1985 |
| Operated by | Roanoke County, Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism |
| Visitors | 18,000 (2014) |
| Open | July 2, 1994 |
| Website | explorepark.org |
Explore Park is a 1,100-acre (450 ha) passive recreation facility operated by the Roanoke County Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism. The park is located at milepost 115 on the Blue Ridge Parkway in Roanoke County, Virginia, with 700 acres (280 ha) of the park lying in Roanoke County and 400 acres (160 ha) in adjacent Bedford County. It includes various restored local historical structures and both hiking and biking trails, along with access to the Roanoke River for recreational use via an external county road. The park is located near the gorge where the Roanoke River leaves the Roanoke Valley.
The River Foundation was formed by Roanoke Valley-area community and business leaders to create a recreational attraction as a hub for tourism in western Virginia. The Virginia General Assembly created the Virginia Recreational Facilities Authority (VRFA) in 1986 to further these ends, and VRFA worked in partnership with the River Foundation. The initial aim was to draw visitors driving on the Blue Ridge Parkway to the Roanoke area. The VRFA acquired the land in 1988 with a US$6,000,000 (equivalent to $12,150,000 in 2016) appropriation from the General Assembly and the site became a Virginia state park. Explore Park has received considerable investment at the federal, state and local levels totaling nearly US$52,000,000 (equivalent to $57,840,000 in 2016) by 2008.
Early ideas included an expanded Mill Mountain Zoo and a historical theme park that would educate visitors on the journey of Lewis and Clark through the American frontier. Roanoke's then city manager Bern Ewart left his post to oversee the park's development. A lack of investment funds led the park to become a more modest living history museum focused on the early history of Southwest Virginia. Today's Explore Park began to emerge on September 10, 1991 when reconstruction began on the 1837 Hofauger House of Roanoke County. The River Foundation transferred operating authority to VRFA on July 1, 1994 and Explore Park opened to the public one day later, on July 2, 1994. Between 1991 and 2002 various other historical structures including a working tavern and grist mill were added to the property.
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Wikipedia