Brush Mountain Park, Meadowbrook Greenway

Overview: Brush Mountain Park

In 2018, the New River Land Trust (NRLT), an organization dedicated to protecting farmland, forest, open space, and historic places in Virginia’s New River Region received a $1.2 million grant award from the Virginia Outdoors Foundation’s Forest CORE Fund. This grant allowed the purchase of two properties located at the foot of Brush Mountain totaling 552 acres. These properties would become McDonald Hollow and Stonecutter’s Hollow.

In 2021, the Town of Blacksburg was awarded a $210,000 grant from the Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation that allowed the NRLT to purchase and protect a third property of approximately 205 acres.

Protecting this land in conservation easements; voluntary, legal agreements that permanently limit the usage of land to protect it for future generations; these parcels are known collectively as Brush Mountain Park. On each parcel, the NRLT is constructing a collection of multi-use recreational trails for public use. Once finished, Brush Mountain Park will provide a total of twenty miles of multi-use trails throughout the 700+ acres of the park. Additionally, Brush Mountain Park serves as a connection to the National Forest, allowing for continued recreational opportunities. Upon the completion of trail construction at each site, ownership of each property will be transferred to the Town of Blacksburg.

One of the properties acquired in 2018, known as McDonald Hollow, covers approximately 200 acres.

The NRLT placed the land in a conservation easement and developed six miles of multi-use trails for public use. After trail development was complete, ownership of the land was transferred to the Town of Blacksburg. McDonald Hollow is now owned by the town and is currently open to the public.

The NRLT replicated this project model with the 2018 purchase of Stonecutter’s Hollow, a parcel that covers approximately 220 acres. There are currently five trails open for use with ongoing trail development. In 2023, the NRLT purchased an additional 20-acre parcel that was added to the larger Stonecutter’s Hollow property with help from community donations. The land ownership transfer for Stonecutter’s Hollow is slated for late 2024.

The third property acquired in 2021 is yet to be named and spans approximately 200 acres. This property is currently co-owned by the NRLT and the town. Trail development is underway on this property.

To view an interactive map of each property, click the hyperlinks for each, above.

Overview: Meadowbrook Greenway

To enhance the accessibility and connectivity of this town parkland, staff have begun design work on the Meadowbrook Greenway, a project that will provide a pivotal, connective link in the town’s outdoor recreation network. Town staff received two grants from the Virginia Outdoor Foundation along with American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding to design and construct this greenway. Once completed, the greenway will connect Heritage Park to the parking lot at the corner of Glade Road and Meadowbrook Drive, allowing seamless access to and from Brush Mountain Park.

Once a design is finalized, it is anticipated that construction will be complete by December 2026.

An additional supportive project will include enhancements to the existing parking lot to accommodate horse trailers and additional vehicles, ensuring accessibility for all visitors.

Survey:

The Town of Blacksburg is seeking feedback from the community about the Brush Mountain Park and its network of natural surface trails. In addition to the community meeting that will be held on Thursday, Sept 5, at the Town Annex from 5:30 – 7pm, residents can also share their feedback via survey through Thursday, September 12. Take the survey here.

Input from the community meeting and the survey will be used to help inform decision-making for the remaining build-out of the trail network and management of the park going forward.

Project Partners:

New River Land Trust: NRLT is an organization dedicated to protecting farmland, forest, open space, and historic places in Virginia’s New River Region. The NRLT purchased and developed each land parcel and continues to do so. Once construction is complete on each parcel, ownership will be transferred to the Town of Blacksburg.

Town of Blacksburg: The Town of Blacksburg will ensure long-term stewardship of Brush Mountain Park by protecting area viewsheds, preserving ecological diversity, and offering recreational opportunities throughout the park.

Virginia Outdoors Foundation: The Virginia Outdoors Foundation (VOF) was established by the Virginia legislature in 1966 “to promote the preservation of open-space lands and to encourage private gifts of money, securities, land or other property to preserve the natural, scenic, historic, scientific, open space and recreational areas of the Commonwealth.” VOF has protected more than 910,000 acres across Virginia, making it one of the largest land conservation organizations in the nation.

The Poverty Creek Trails Coalition: The Poverty Creek Trails Coalition is instrumental in maintaining existing trails, constructing additional trail mileage, and contributing to the design of future trail systems.

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