Mason Neck State Park was the scene of a ribbon cutting ceremony on Sept. 25th to showcase the park’s new all-terrain wheelchairs. The new chairs are expected to benefit park guests with mobility issues by allowing access to trails they couldn’t access before.
Arrival of the Trakmaster S2 all-terrain powered wheelchair, was heralded by park management, and State Delegates Rozia Henson (D-19) and Kathy Tran (D-18), before a demonstration of the equipment. Director of State Parks, Dr. Melissa Baker said the accommodation will allow “escape into nature with more access for people with limited mobility; to more primitive trails for greater immersion.” Going where normal wheelchairs cannot, use of the equipment is without charge to adults and children, but must be reserved 48 hours in advance.
Part of a two-year pilot program, the Mason Neck special purpose chair is the first of six being deployed at State parks; one within each region. Capable of handling extreme surfaces for “life off the sidewalk”, the chair can reach speeds of 5.5 miles per hour, and ten plus miles distance on one battery charge. The $20,000 chairs were funded through revenues from specialized Virginia State Park license plates. The funding program, started in 2019, directs $15 from the specialized plates to parks, and has resulted in over $192,000 going to state parks.
The wheelchair caps off an extended effort by the park staff and their support group, Friends of Mason Neck State Park, to review and improve accessibility of the park for all. The Friends of Mason Neck State Park, with help from accessibility advisor Kris Gulden, were instrumental in bringing this and other accommodations to the park. Friends president and founding member Hilary Clawson tells of meeting wheelchair user Kris Gulden on the trail. Gulden became an advisor to the Friends board of directors and an inspiration to adding additional accommodations to those the park staff had already implemented. They were aided park officials and Tran, whose district included the park before the recent redistricting. Tran and her family have long been Mason Neck park users and champions. Clawson shares, “The biggest change is the greater awareness and conversations we’re having about improvements we want to make in the future.”
Recently, the staff improved the handicapped parking space at the Osprey View Trailhead; installed a wheelchair accessible path to the accessible picnic tables; and added a second wooden rail along the Osprey View trail. The Friends of Mason Neck State Park covered the cost of the rail and path materials, and assisted in the installation of the railing.
The park now has three accessible picnic tables with accommodating paths. The park also installed an Enchroma viewer behind the Visitor Center for people with color vision impairments. The viewer supplements the Enchroma glasses previously purchased by the Friends. Accessible kayak equipment, which includes a transfer board, stabilizing pontoons, paddle grips, and a trailer, allows greater water access.
Members of the Friends of Mason Neck State Park, with assistance by Gulden, recently created a trifold brochure that highlights the Mason Neck State Park’s accessibility features. It was distributed to recreation and physical therapists at Inova’s Mount Vernon and Fairfax hospitals, and to a spinal cord injury support networking group. The brochure, available at the park visitors’ center, is another part of the Friend’s continuing efforts to improve accessibility at the park. The park hosted an event for International Adaptive Activity Day on Aug. 1, and holds an annual Eagle Festival held each May.
Wheelchair accessible trails include: Osprey View, High Point Road, Dogue, and Marsh View. There is an ADA-compliant observation deck planned for which design, planning, and fund raising are in progress. For more about the Friends work, see
https://friendsofmasonneckstateparkinc.wildapricot.org/