The visitor experience at Wilderness Road State Park recently received an upgrade thanks to their Friends of Wilderness Road State Park citizen support organization.

The Friends Group purchased upgraded audio and video equipment for the park’s 50-seat theatre, which is a multi-use tool for the park with its main purpose to orientate guests to the history of the fabled Wilderness Road.

The multi-use theatre hosts programs, presentations, videos and more

When the park’s Visitor Center opened in 2005, the theatre was the envy of many local museums and parks because of its state-of-the-art screen, high-definition projector and massive sound system. But the times, they are a changing. Technology moves swiftly and soon, the park’s state-of-the-art equipment was no more than yesterday’s news.

The expense with old equipment also escalates over time, as parts get scarcer and some of that new technology fades or no longer exists. To replace the entire system was going to be costly, but the park understood the key role it played in its overall visitor experience. That’s where the Friends Group came in.

Friends of Wilderness Road State Park agreed to purchase a new projector, which despite being 1/10^th the size of its predecessor and a small fraction of the cost, is quite a bit more advanced and more powerful. They also purchased a new video source and audio source. The total cost to upgrade the theatre was barely more than the cost of two replacement bulbs for the original projector. Go figure!

The box of the new projector versus the size of the old projector

So now, equipped with a new LED-Laser hybrid projector, new video source and new audio receiver, the park once again can boast a state-of-the-art visitor experience inside its theatre.

The award-winning docu-drama, Wilderness Road: Spirit of a Nation plays daily in the Visitor Center theatre, acquainting guests with not only the fabled path carved by Daniel Boone in 1775, but also with Joseph Martin and his outpost that was constructed in the shadows on the Cumberland Gap. The film prepares visitors for the ultimate historical experience of traveling back in time to the park’s replica of Joseph Martin’s Station, known along with the Cumberland Gap as the nation’s first gateway to the West.

A scene from Spirit of a Nation showing Daniel Boone leading settlers westward

The film looks so much better through the lens of the new projector

For more information about Wilderness Road State Park, call 276-445-3065. For more information about Virginia State Parks’ activities and amenities or to make reservations in one of the more than 1,800 campsites or 300 climate-controlled cabins, call the Virginia State Parks Reservation Center at 800-933-PARK or visit the Virginia State Parks website here.

Enjoy the teaser trailer for the park's film below:

We hope to see you soon at Wilderness Road State Park in Southwest Virginia!