Story

The new Rollins Ford Park is an inviting destination playground and community park with a barn-theme located in Nokesville, VA. The park was completed in September 2023 after over a decade of planning and funding by Prince William County. The 10,000 SF playground was designed on the 72-acre park along with multi-purpose athletic fields and walking trails. The imaginative design was facilitated with community engagement to incorporate and reflect the area’s culture, history, and natural environment. Rollins Ford Park boasts an expansive and colorful display of custom playground structures separated into areas for various age groups. A large red barn with a tunnel slide is the prominent feature of the playground designed for ages 5-12 with natural wood climbing structures and a swing set. The tot lot for ages 2-5 has two black and white cow-shaped climbing walls, a barn playhouse with dual slides, a flat spider web swing, and a natural wood climbing structure with beams. The playgrounds were constructed over a rubberized surface floor for safety. An enormous red wooden Northern Cardinal climbing structure is adjacent to the tot lot. The park has two rectangular multi-purpose athletic fields with natural Bermuda turf grass and fence enclosures that can be used for soccer, lacrosse, and football. A basketball court is located next to the playground and features a full court in addition to a shooting area with a third basket. More than one mile of asphalt and gravel walking trails surround the perimeter of the park and can be used by visitors for biking and skateboarding. Two covered pavilions with paved flooring and electricity were constructed near the playgrounds. The pavilions will house up to 27 picnic tables between them. A comfort station with restrooms is located next to the pavilions. The park offers three separate fenced dog parks, one for small dogs and the other two for both small and large dogs. A water station provides access to refill water bottles and has a low water fountain for dogs. A large, paved parking lot is central to the park’s amenities. Landscaping with wildflower meadows and trees enhance the park with its views of the nearby waterway. While several challenges arose in the construction of Rollins Ford Park, Project Manager Mary Penn and Superintendents Riley Johnson and Russell Teague worked with the architects, local county, and permitting offices to quickly rectify and resolve issues so the park opened on time for the community. Obstacles related to the site included rocky soil that affected the landscape plantings, invasive plants surrounding the silt fencing, and the erosion of topsoil on slopes which was resolved with the use of curlex erosion control. Through effective project management and solid subcontractor relationships, the Rollins Ford Park project was able to stay within budget, and the county is now planning to add a future pump track to the site for the community.