Open fires are prohibited throughout the park from midnight to 4 p.m. through April 30 per the 4 p.m. Burning Law. This includes wood and charcoal. Gas is permissible. Campground fires are allowed during the restricted time if a camp host is on duty and signage to that effect is posted in the campground. Failure to observe the 4 p.m. Burning Law can result in a fine. Contact the Park Office for additional information.
The Future State Park at Culpeper Battlefields
A new Virginia State Park at Culpeper Battlefields, comprised of more than 1,000 acres at the Brandy Station and Cedar Mountain Civil War battlefields and three other sites, is in development and is set to open on July 1, 2024. This new park will be located in Culpeper County.
Much of the land is already open to the public and includes trails and interpretive signs maintained by the American Battlefield Trust (ABT), Friends of Cedar Mountain Battlefield or the Brandy Station Foundation.
The park is being created from land donated to the state by the ABT and its partners. The Trust has made acquisitions of battlefield lands in Culpeper County dating back to 1997. The legislation was approved by the Virginia General Assembly in June 2022 and signed by Gov. Glenn Youngkin. It includes a $3 million appropriation that will allow ABT to acquire up to 800 additional acres to expand and enhance the park.
Culpeper County was a contested theater during the war because of its strategic position between the two capitals (D.C. and Richmond). It was also an important transportation hub because of the railroad.
In the Battle of Cedar Mountain on August 9, 1862, more than 3,600 soldiers were killed, wounded or missing as Gen. Thomas J. “Stonewall” Jackson’s Confederates stopped the Union army’s advance deep into Virginia and forced it into retreat. Then, on June 9, 1863, more than 17,000 mounted cavalrymen clashed in one of the largest cavalry battles at Brandy Station.
The park will also include parts of the battlefields at Kelly’s Ford and Rappahannock Station, as well as a well-preserved site that contains the remains of a Union winter encampment on Hansbrough’s Ridge near Stevensburg.
Key Contacts
- Ken Benson, District Manager, Potomac Region, Virginia State Parks, ken.benson@dcr.virginia.gov
- Timothy Shrader, Eastern Field Operations Manager, Virginia State Parks, timothy.shrader@dcr.virginia.gov
- Dave Neudeck, Communications & Marketing Director, Department of Conservation & Recreation, dave.neudeck@dcr.virginia.gov
