The Poplar Forest Parkway, a new two-way entrance road and accompanying trail system, opened for public use at Thomas Jefferson’s retreat home in August 2022. From its inception, the Parkway was designed to complement the historic landscape, blending seamlessly into the natural surroundings, while providing a gentle transition from the modern, suburban landscape into the serene setting of this National Historic Landmark. As we hoped, the Parkway and trail have transformed the visitor experience at Poplar Forest. Visitors arriving for daily tours and special events appreciate the greatly improved access, and the community has openly embraced the new trails, using them daily regardless of the weather or season for walking, running and enjoying time with family and friends.

The construction design for the Parkway dictates building up the layers of paving over time, in order to provide ongoing stability and to periodically renew the surface appearance. Poplar Forest plans to improve the road with another layer of paving in the spring of 2025. Prior to that work, beginning this fall, we will pave the steep sections of the trails that are susceptible to erosion during heavy rains. The cost to complete this work is $150,000 and these improvements are critical to sustaining the integrity of the road and trails for future use.

A generous donor has offered $100,000 to support the paving projects if Poplar Forest can raise $50,000 by October 1, 2024. We are grateful to the donors who have contributed or pledged funds to help kickstart our fundraising effort and bring us closer to meeting this exciting challenge, and we hope you will consider joining them!

Your gift also entitles you to benefits as a member of the Friends of the Parkway – detailed here.  For more information, please contact Renée Flowers, Director of Development at 434.534.8129 or renee@poplarforest.org. Thank you for your support!