We're excited to announce the creation of a new community resource: the RTF Community Email List, community@rivannatrails.org. This mailing list is intended to facilitate community discussion about and activities on the Rivanna Trail and other area trails.

This list is for members to discuss trails needs, upcoming events and activities (group walks, runs, rides), and any other trails-related matters that you wish to share with the wider community. To subscribe to the list, please fill out the following form and you will be added within 24-48 hours:

http://communityemailsignup.rivannatrails.org

Please note that you must sign up to the list in order to post messages or read replies. Only emails from subscribers will be accepted. 

We look forward to your participation!

Note: This list is not intended as a means to communicate with the RTF. To write us directly or to report trail maintenance issues, please continue to use info@rivannatrails.org.

Oboz Footwear and Public Lands are inviting friends of the Rivanna Trail to complete as many selected trails in the Charlottesville area as you can in the month of October - and the RTF will receive a donation for every trail you complete!

The Oboz Trail Experience: Charlottesville is open to hikers, walkers, runners, and those utilizing mobility assistance devices. All participants will receive various swag from Oboz Footwear, Public Lands, and other supporting partners, and you can unlock other rewards by completing Promoted Trails. Everyone who completes even just one trail will be entered to win one of five pairs of Oboz shoes at the end of the Experience.

• September 1 - Registration opens
• October 1 - Oboz Trail Experience begins
• October 31 - Last day of the Oboz Trail Experience
• After-Party date TBA

Details on how to register and how to track your hikes are at: https://charlottesville.oboztrailexperience.com/Welcome. Register by the end of September, and then start exploring the RT and other local trails in October - you'll get the thrill of discovering some great local trails, and the RTF gets a donation!

The Belvedere development is starting a new construction phase and needs Rivanna Trail users to stay on the new reroute (blue). We are hoping to work with the neighborhood in the future and build some amazing public trails, so help us maintain good relationships and avoid the old, closed section (red). Thank you.  

The Rivanna Trails Foundation is expanding our Board of Directors and seeking new members with diverse perspectives and backgrounds to join us in our mission to connect communities and people to one another and to nature. We are especially seeking candidates for the Board of Directors who can help manage and organize our growing volunteer base, lead Saturday work parties, take charge of small projects and community outreach events, and connect with land owners and developers to discuss trail planning.

Details here.

This year is the Rivanna Trail's 30th Anniversary, and to celebrate that milestone (as well as National Public Lands day, which is September 24), we are expanding our annual Loop de Ville hike into a full weekend of events. In partnership with Rivanna River Company and the Wool Factory, we're offering not only a series of hikes, runs, and rides on the trail, but also a couple events with live music, and local beer, wine, and food trucks offering their wares.

Our guided hikes and rides are free, though tickets are required for some of the after-hike festivities. Full details and registration forms are at this link.

This survey only occurs once every five years. Your answers will help ensure that Virginians have what they need to enjoy the commonwealth's great outdoor spaces. Survey findings will help shape DCR’s Virginia Outdoors Plan, a blueprint for the state’s future outdoor recreation programming and infrastructure.
www.dcr.virginia.gov/2022virginiaoutdoorssurvey

The Daily Progress reports that the Albemarle County Board of Supervisors has supported applying for a planning grant for $1.5 million to $3 million for the Three Notched Trail. The grant would pay for a feasibility study and initial design work. The full story here: https://dailyprogress.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/albemarle-to-apply-for-planning-grant-for-three-notched-trail/article_b624519e-b5eb-11ec-9412-9b2fccfdc7b4.html.

The Thomas Jefferson Foundation, who own and operate Monticello, recently acquired a riverfront property linking the historic parcels known as Lego and Shadwell. This critical acquisition allows the Foundation and Albemarle County to move forward with Greenway dedication that will allow for the extension of the County’s Old Mills Trail.

This Old Mills Trail will roughly travel the same route as the historic 3-Notch’d Trail on the north bank of the Rivanna River. The TNT passed through land that had comprised part of Thomas Jefferson’s original 5,000 acre plantation, including the Shadwell Mill. When constructed, this section of trail will essentially create the first leg of the Three Notched Trail in Albemarle County.

Please note that this proposed trail extension is not yet open. Some unauthorized trail work and tree clearing has already occurred, which cannot continue. We do not want to jeopardize this important new trail link with premature work, however well intentioned, and ask that nothing be done in this area without authorization from Monticello.

The Charlottsville-Albemarle Metropolitan Planning Organization completed a feasibility study in 2020 that identified two potential alignments for a bicycle and pedestrian bridge across the Rivanna River between Woolen Mills and Pantops, which would directly connect the Rivanna Trail to the east bank of the Rivanna. CA-MPO is conducting stakeholder and public engagement to determine which alignment is preferred by the community.

• Visit tinyurl.com/rivannabridge to take a survey and share your preference on the location
  
• Register for a public webinar on February 22 at 6:00 pm to discuss relative differences between the two alignments, answer questions, and receive public input on preferences. Meeting details at tinyurl.com/rivannabridge
• Submit a comment at campo.tjpdc.org/smart-scale/

Early morning users of the River North segment of the Rivanna Trail should be alert to the presence of bow hunters in parts of the Dunlora community to reduce the size of the deer herd. Culling areas are the four numbered sections shown on the map below. (Deer taken will be removed intact from Dunlora property by the hunters, and the meat donated to Hunters for the Hungry.)

Hunting may occur in marked areas between 5 AM and 9 AM. The hunting area will be marked with signs; please use extreme caution in those areas during hunting hours. Please keep pets on a leash and wear bright clothing if in the vicinity of hunting areas during hunting hours.

Any questions may be directed to the Dunlora Community Association Board via e-mail to the community manager, TimDurrer, at tdurrer@communitygroup.com.