Rutherford Park Nature Walk

This is the beginning of the Rutherford trail. As the sign in the video reads, the park is maintained by Fairfax County Park Authority. You can hear the noise of nearby cars as the trail head is near a busy parking lot. The trail becomes mu... Read more

This area is where my friend Ryan and I would meet during the pandemic to go on walks together. We would drive to the park separately, maintain at least 6 feet of distance and wear our masks to stay safe. It was comforting to see him in per... Read more

Here is the beginning of the trail. The gravel on this day was a bit slick because of the rain. The Rutherford neighborhood was built in 1965 and the park was built shortly after. The park/trail itself and the surrounding area exist on Mona... Read more

This video shows a glimpse of the vast foliage that surrounds the gravel trail. On this rainy day the trees felt heavy, however I felt comforted by them. They served as a slight barrier to the rain and kept me drier than I would have been w... Read more

This is the stream that flows alongside most of the trail. When I was a kid I remember playing here alongside the water with my neighborhood friends. Because of the rain on this day the water was flowing especially fast. You can clearly hea... Read more

Here is a photo and video of one of the bridges that is in place to cross the river. As a kid I thought of it as a challenge to try and cross the river using the help of a fallen tree like the one pictured. This time I decided to take the s... Read more

Here is a look at the tennis courts and basketball courts that are near the end of the trail. While I have never played tennis here, I have many fond memories playing basketball here with my siblings growing up. We used to play here all day... Read more

Here are some of the gorgeous flowers and plants along the trail. There are mostly smaller flowers like these yellow ones that are pictured as well as some cattails.

Here is a video and picture of where the trail splits into two trails. During the pandemic my friend and I would make a different choice about which way to go each time we went for a walk. Both of the trails have similar nature (trees, flow... Read more

Here are some of the trees along the trail that are covered in thick moss.