
NORTH STAFFORD, Va. -- Stafford residents, local park staff and elected officials gathered on Tuesday to discuss the development plan for the 1,100-acre Widewater State Park. The land, a peninsula surrounded by Aquia Creek and the Potomac River, has been marked for the placement of a new state park since Virginia bought the land in 2006.
State parks officials call Widewater it’s top priority, and presented their final master plan to the public this week, created by Virginia’s Department of Recreation and Conservation and pushed forward by Delegate Mark Dudenhefer, R – Stafford, Woodbridge, who’s been a longtime advocate of building the park.

It includes three phases would cost an estimated $43 million to complete. Much of the development is to take place on the shoreline of both Aquia Creek and the Potomac River, with boat and canoe launches, fishing access, a 150-foot fishing pier, picnic shelters, a playground, trails, two staff residences, a 50-space parking lot, and pay-to-access the park stations as part of the first phase.
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