Just like nothing (else) on earth: Hal & Berni Hanson Regional Park 

By Tim Jon

I was so anxious to explore this place, I arrived long before sunrise and forced myself to wait in my car until I could at least justify the camera in my pocket; I’d made the discovery – just a few days before my visit – of a new ‘sleeping giant’ of a location, and tried to keep my excitement in check as I made my preparations, drove to the site and awaited the day. 

You see, my quick research on Hal and Berni Hanson Regional Park showed merely a lot of ‘undeveloped land’ in South-Central Loudoun County. The aerial views on any internet maps – quite literally – revealed a bare-bones landscape. Even I can recognize good, old Virginia clay from the sky. 

How could this be a park? Well, I’ll leave that one for the ‘slide rule boys’ to answer, but my early morning walk turned up a massive collection of brand spanking new facilities: a lodge big enough for hundreds of visitors, a nature center on the opposite end of the largest body of water in the park, an administration building near the entrance and parking lots, a series of pavilions and other small shelters across the landscape – a mind-boggling array of sporting fields, for various uses – and maybe the coolest feature of all – a playground built for the kid in all of us, put into practice – one recent morning – by an aging, but willing, story teller. 

And this rather lengthy description paints only about one-third of the picture; Hanson Regional Park spans over two hundred and 50 acres. The boundaries of the facility stretch out on both sides of Evergreen Mills Road (I explored only a portion on the eastern side), reaching up to Creighton Road in the North and down to the intersection of Arcola Mills Drive (the Route 659 split) in the south. 

It’s a hefty expanse of land – and water: I skirted the largest of at least a half-dozen ponds within the Park boundaries, each featuring wooden docks to take the visitor right out over the surface. 

And, about half-way ‘round this little lake, I noticed an impressive stand of mature trees – mostly hardwoods – on the other side of the paved trail; I even noticed – to me – an impressive sign posted: Tree Conservation Area. 

In my quarter-century-plus timeline in Loudoun County – seemingly Ground Central for the housing (and just about any other use they can think of) development world, I had not once seen – or heard – this exact phrase. I recall much smaller (miniscule, in fact) Tree Save Areas within other building projects, but Hanson Regional Park has ACRES of trees – vast enough to feature walking trails which I placed on my wish list of activities for my next visit. 

I also missed out on getting a closer look at the historic Mansion House on the southern end of the facility. And I never crossed the highway to even get a good look at the western portion of the Park. Just a cursory look at my printed map (created by Loudoun County Parks and Recreation) shows multiple sporting facilities, pavilions, maintenance buildings, more ponds, and walking trails over there. 

Like I said, this is a BIG place, and I just happened to see it (on my computer) while doing an aerial search of that part of the County, scouting out new territory for this series of stories. Go figure. And I did. 

And, during that walk along the edge of ‘the woods,’ I noticed a vast difference in the smells – even the tastes – of the air. I felt privileged to share this little portion of the atmosphere with these (mostly) silent beings, and slowed down to my ‘listening speed’ in walking. You know how people usually move slower in Church? That’s how I am in the wild. It’s a reconnection with things spiritual. Maybe this is where at least parts of the spirits of Hal and Berni Hanson like to reside. 

I’ll be back to visit them as soon as I can. And, if you should make an extra-early morning trip to the Park Playground, and you happen to see an ill-balanced, aging story teller, camera in hand, giving the textured slopes and other equipment a try – that just may be yours truly. Or – hopefully, someday – the better portions of my spirit.