Photos by Lori Graham
Lori Graham
Contributing Writer
CHRISTIANSBURG – The Christiansburg Huckleberry Trail Park, located at 300 Peppers Ferry Rd. and just past the Uptown Christiansburg mall, is a 50-acre all-inclusive park packed with fun for all ages.
Designed for best practices for play and recreation, the playground equipment, obstacle course, dog park, mindfulness relaxation area, splash pad, picnic pavilions, restroom facilities, and multipurpose playing fields invite local and visiting families and individuals to exercise or just relax in the outdoor environment.
Christiansburg recreational sports are one attraction for the park, as local children can have practices and play games on the multipurpose fields.
“It’s a large, inclusive park with a lot of amenities and well landscaped,” Bobbie Moulton of Christiansburg said.
Moulton’s son plays recreation football at the park.
“There are lots of walking spaces, and the turf is nice,” Moulton said. “Some basketball courts would be a welcomed addition.”
The park also provides a place for homeschooled children to play or meet up with other families for community interaction and socialization opportunities.
“We really enjoy it because, where we homeschool, we can come here any time during the day and let the kids play and be outside and enjoy the nice weather. The facilities are really, really nice,” Sarah East said. “They really like the obstacle course, and they love this soccer game.”
The soccer pad is an electronic, interactive game that children can play by kicking the ball into a square that lights up in different colors. To score points, children have to hit the appropriate color that matches up with the colored triangles while still defending their own goal.
“Here, it is very good for kids of all ages; big kids, little kids,” East said. “They also have a thing where you can race and do a 40-yard dash and it times you and tells you how fast you ran.”
The mom of four girls shares that the splash pad is a lot of fun for kids as well but encourages parents to remember to bring extra clothes because children love to get wet.
The water for the splash pad is not circulated producing fresh, clean water for children to run and splash through. The water facility is cleaned with eco-friendly solutions according to conveniently located fact sheets found on the fence line near the splash pad. Additional information about the cleaning and maintenance of the attraction is also provided on the fact sheet.
The park hosts special events for the community and visitors to the area as well.
On Oct. 28, the Christiansburg Recreation Department will be hosting Getting Scary on the Huckleberry with a trunk or treat event, 5K race, games, activities, and of course, candy. The Recreation department encourages everyone to come dressed in a favorite costume with the event kicking off at 9 a.m. with trick or treating and the kids’ fun run/walk. The 5k will follow immediately after the fun run. The kids run is free for ages 10 and under, and the 5K is $30 for ages 9 and older.
A bonus for race participants will be pumpkin pancakes.
On Nov. 5, 2-5:30 p.m., the Huckleberry Fall Hat Tournament 2023 will take place. It is an ultimate Frisbee competition. The event is free, and participants should bring cleats, a dark and a white shirt, and water. Registration can be found on the Christiansburg Parks and Recreation Facebook page.
