The Blue Ridge Center
The Blue Ridge Center, now a new Virginia State Park
USTR developed and nurtured a partnership with the Blue Ridge Center for Environmental Stewardship (BRCES) for decades by maintaining the trails through the land conservancy, coordinating a trail tag and orientation ride program for park access, as well as providing financial donations from our annual public trail rides at the Center. Now that the land is becoming a new Virginia State Park, USTR has become a Virginia State Park Friends Group to continue assisting in trail maintenance and equestrian related projects at the park.
The trails at the park are an amazing resource for USTR members. With nearly 900 acres of protected land, it affords equestrians a peaceful place to ride and take in the beauty of this area. There are meandering trails and streams lined with beautiful ferns. There are deer, birds, butterflies, flowers and a beaver pond as well as interesting old cabins and homesteads.
USTR continues its commitment to be good trail stewards at the park. To this end, orientation rides will continue to be offered to new members upon request, to help educate on the trail system and what it means to be good stewards of the trails.
We ask that you not ride on the trails when they are wet or muddy, and that you report any trail issues to club leadership so that we can liaise with the park to coordinate resolution.
As a USTR member, we ask that
helmets and member trail tags be worn at all times while riding at the Blue Ridge Center. We also ask that you not ride on the trails when they are wet or muddy, and that you report any trail issues to club leadership.