Fort Hunt National Park
Park Overview
Welcome to Fort Hunt Park! The George Washington Memorial Parkway manages this popular area. The park is open year- round, and has several picnic areas with a variety of facilities. Throughout the year,picnic area "E" is available to all visitors on a "first come, first served" basis. April through October, the park administers a picnic reservation program. For a fee, groups may reserve a picnic area for their exclusive use.
History of the Area
Today, the sites and sounds of picnickers camouflage the unusual history of this site. Located along the Potomac River in Fairfax County, Virginia, this area is just eleven miles south of Washington, D. C. Its proximity to the Nation's capital dramatically effected the land use history. What occurred on this site frequently mirrored the political and social history of the United States. From the colonial era to the present, this site was used as a farm, a Spanish American War coastal fortification, the setting for top secret WWII military intelligence operations, and now as a popular picnic area along the George Washington Memorial Parkway.
Be the first to write a review
The park staff has conducted some limited research on the historical uses of this site. If you are interested in more information, you may wish to visit two different extended Fort Hunt pages. These pages are actually research papers from the George Washington Memorial Parkway's historical files. Although each extended page provides a general outline of the historical use of the site, the research papers have a different focus providing more specific information on one era of history. "Fort Hunt, Virginia - A Historical Sketch; focuses on when the site was a 19th century coastal fortification; while "Fort Hunt - The Forgotten Story" highlights the use of this site for WWII intelligence activities.
Nearby Parks
