Virginia's Explore Park

Virginia's Explore Park is a currently closed living history museum and recreational facility located at milepost 115 on the Blue Ridge Parkway in Roanoke County, Virginia. It includes various restored local historical structures and both hiking and biking trails, along with access to the Roanoke River for recreational use. The park is located near the gorge where the Roanoke River leaves the Roanoke Valley.

History

Explore Park was founded in 1985 by the River Foundation to develop a tourist attraction to draw visitors driving on the Blue Ridge Parkway to the Roanoke area. Land was acquired and the site became a Virginia state park. 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 in late 1991 when reconstruction began on the 1837 Hofauger House of Roanoke County. Between 1991 and 2002 various other historical structures including a working tavern and grist mill were added to the property.

In 2001 Roanoke County made a long term financial commitment to the park when Virginia reduced the park's annual appropriation. The county later signed a 50 year lease with Larry Vander Maten, a Florida based entrepreneur, to develop Explore Park into a viable business. Vander Maten has not completed development plans as of 2007 and must decide whether or not to exercise his option to lease the property by summer 2008.

Closing

On October 16, 2007, the Roanoke Times reported that the park will not reopen for the 2008 season after the 2007 season ended on November 18 [http://www.roanoke.com/news/breaking/wb/136068] .

References

[http://www.Explorepark.org] Retrieved on 2007-01-08

External links

* [http://explorepark.pbwiki.com/ Explore Park educational site with lesson plans]
* [http://blueridgefriends.org/news/111607PRExploreParkClosing.pdf Virginia's Explore Park to Close Sunday November 18, 2007]
* [http://www.roanokecountyva.gov/Departments/PublicInformationOffice/ExplorePark.html Statement About The Future of Virginia's Explore Park]
* [http://www.gsvsc.org/pdf/2000/2063_ExplorePark_D.pdf Girl Scout Patch for Explore Park]
* [http://www.angelfire.com/journal/millrestoration/slone.html Grist Mill Restoration at Explore Park]
* [http://audiojourneys.podhoster.com/index.php?sid=933&pid=4056 Audio Journey of Explore Park]