MASON
NECK STATE PARK
Oasis on the Potomac
By Loren Anne Barnett
Y
our breathing slows as you leave behind the urbanized metropolis of D.C.
and Northern Virginia. Turning onto Gunston Road in Lorton, a sense of
peace washes over you as you pass horse farms and undisturbed forest.
Ahead lies an oasis. A pleasant change from what is usual. A refuge. Once
destined to be a massive suburban development, Mason Neck is a peaceful, 9,000-
acre peninsula on the Potomac River just 20 miles south of our nation’s capital.
Generations of hard work has put two-thirds of this beautiful and historic land in the
hands of local, state, and national park systems.
