Taylor Farm Park is now open, featuring an array of nature-centered amenities, including mist mounds, an interactive play stream, an “all-wheel” park and more.
With guests overflowing a tent on the park’s event lawn on July 16, county officials celebrated Henrico’s first new park in six years and the first large community park to open in the Varina District in 42 years.
“Taylor Farm Park – all 99 acres of it – is simply extraordinary. It is carefully designed to complement and blend with nature. It really makes me wish – and many of you will feel the same way when we get to the back – that I and we were younger,” Board of Supervisors Chairman and Varina District Supervisor Tyrone Nelson told the crowd. “It’s truly a place like no other. It’s a place where kids and their imaginations will be able to run wild and where families and friends will be able to create memories that will last a lifetime.”
The park was built on the former Taylor Farm, which was owned by the Taylor family from the mid-1850s until its sale to the county in 2016. Sally Taylor, 97, was among about 25 family members and close friends who attended the event. She stood during the ceremony as she was recognized with applause. County officials later presented the family with a plaque in appreciation for their support for the project.
Seeing the land turned into a park represents “the culmination of my parents’ dream,” said Sallie Cochran, daughter of Sally and the late Samuel G. Taylor Jr. She said her parents had sought to see the land turned into a park as far back as 1990.
“Just what you have done with this is fantastic,” Cochran said of the park. “I wish I were a few years younger, and I could run around and climb the ropes and all the things you put out there.”
Cochran, who had traveled from her home in Caldwell, Texas, said she never lived at Taylor Farm but remembers cutting her first Christmas tree from a pine that her grandfather had planted there.
“This was always where the family was, wherever we lived. This was the real family here,” she said. “The thought of all the memories that I have is marvelous, but the thought of the memories of people who come to this park now and for the generations to come, that’s even better.”
‘Truly a place like no other,’ Taylor Farm Park opens in Sandston
99-acre site is designed to excite imagination, invite exploration with nature and water play, ‘all-wheel’ park, trail, memorial and events lawn
Henrico County officials today cut the ribbon to open Taylor Farm Park, a 99-acre park in Sandston that features an array of nature-centered amenities – including an interactive play stream, treehouses and zip lines – as well as an “all-wheel” park, a memorial to public safety workers and military service veterans, and a lawn for concerts and other special events.
The park, located at 200 Whiteside Road, represents Henrico’s first new park since Glover Park – initially called Greenwood Park – opened in 2018. Taylor Farm Park also is the first new large community park in the Varina District since Dorey Park opened in 1982. With strong community interest in the new park, the Henrico Division Recreation & Parks is commemorating the opening with special events and activities scheduled daily through Saturday.
“Taylor Farm Park has been a dream of the Sandston community for many, many years. It’s safe to say that, in every respect, this beautiful park meets and even exceeds the vision we had created,” said Board of Supervisors Chairman Tyrone E. Nelson, who represents the Varina District. “Taylor Farm Park sets a new standard for parks in Henrico County, our region and perhaps Virginia and beyond. It’s a great place for enjoying nature, recreation and fellowship. It’s truly a place like no other, where kids and their imaginations can run wild and where families and friends can create memories that will last a lifetime.”
Taylor Farm Park cost $26 million and was funded through Henrico’s voter-approved 2016 bond referendum. Its master plan was created with extensive community input. Its development team included the engineering firm Timmons Group and general contractors Loughridge & Co. Construction kicked off in February 2023. The park’s primary features include:
- A fully accessible spray park with “mist mounds” for water play and an interactive play stream, with stepping stones, shallow pools and mini-waterfalls;
- Nature-based play and exploration areas, with rope net climbers, slides, treehouses, towers, zip lines and other features that are integrated into the natural landscape;
- An “all-wheel” park, with a 17,000-square-foot skate park, a 12,000-square-foot pump track/flow bowl, a flat skate area and a BMX dirt skills course. The features are designed to accommodate multiple skill levels on bicycles, skateboards, roller skates and roller blades;
- A 1-mile asphalt trail that loops through the park and includes connections to surrounding neighborhoods;
- A lawn for events and community programs;
- A memorial for public safety workers and military service members; and
- Fallen Heroes Road, a two-lane road that connects the park’s sections.
With its name, Taylor Farm Park honors the Taylor family, which owned the property from 1858 to 2016, as well as its extensive history as a farm. In 2005, Taylor Farm was recognized by the Virginia Century Farm Program, which celebrates farms that have operated for at least 100 consecutive years as well as the families that have worked the land. The property was part of the Civil War’s Battle of Seven Pines, also known as the Battle of Fair Oaks.
Taylor Farm Park is the 56th property in Henrico’s parks system, which now exceeds 3,300 acres and attracts more than 6 million visitors annually.
“We are thrilled to add Taylor Farm Park to Henrico County’s world-class parks system, which contributes to our high quality of life and offers a wide variety of active and passive recreational opportunities and experiences for everyone,” Recreation & Parks Director John Zannino said. “We invite the community to come join our grand-opening events and to visit Taylor Farm Park and our other parks often.”
