The Trails at the MSV

A free-admission art park on 90 acres, The Trails at the MSV features outdoor art installations and miles of trails for walking, running, and bicycling through fields, woods, and wetlands. The park is open daily from 7 a.m. to dusk. Leashed dogs are welcome on the Trails.

The park may be accessed through pedestrian entrances on Amherst Street and Jefferson Street and parking is available at the MSV entrance and the main visitor parking lot, where you may park and enter the Trails network. The park features 3+ miles of paved, ADA-accessible trails and about a mile of turf and mulch rustic trails (not ADA accessible).

Along with encountering art installations, visitors to The Trails at the MSV will find engaging landscape features including a standing stone circle; a fieldstone ha-ha (sunken stone fence); a grouping of 10 hills or “picnic mounds” ranging in height from 10 to 15 feet; an allée with 46 recently planted oak and hickory trees; a treehouse; and, near a renovated 1950s-era silo, a garden with seasonal plantings and an antique tractor.

Operated and maintained by the MSV, the Trails at the MSV offers new experiences throughout the year. Visit to see seasonal changes in the landscape and experience new art installations as they are installed. Share your trails pictures with us #TheMSV.

A free-admission art park, The Trails at the MSV is open daily from 7 a.m. to dusk daily. The Trails are open year-round.

Restrooms for park visitors are located across from the kaleidoscope sculpture and they are open when the park is open (water fountains and a water bottle filling station are located on the exterior wall of the restroom building). In addition, park visitors may use the restrooms in the MSV galleries building 10 a.m.–5 p.m. Tuesday–Sunday (closed Monday). From January–March the galleries building is open from 11 a.m.–4 p.m. Tuesday–Sunday (closed Monday).

Water and a variety of snacks are available for purchase in the Museum Store. MSV admission is not required to use the first floor restrooms or visit the Museum Store.

The Trails at the MSV is a 90-acre art park on the grounds of the Museum of the Shenandoah Valley. Privately operated and maintained, The Trails at the MSV connects to the city of Winchester’s Green Circle Trail on Amherst Street. Parking is available at the Trailhead near the MSV entrance and in the main parking lot. The trails network may be accessed by pedestrian entrances on Amherst and Jefferson Streets and off the MSV main parking lot. See The Trails at the MSV map for details on paved/rustic trails and art installations.

A free admission-art park, The Trails at the MSV is open daily from 7 a.m. to dusk.

Download the Trails Map

 

 

Do you have a question about The Trails that isn’t answered here? We’d love to hear from you at visit@theMSV.org.

Frequently Asked Questions

The park and trails are open daily from 7 a.m. until dusk.

The Trails at the MSV is open to the community free of charge.

The park is made up of a network of trails with several entrances and there is no specific starting point to the Trails. The park has three pedestrian entrances and visitors may also access the Trails from the parking lots near the MSV galleries building. Check out the trails map for details.

Download the Trails Map

There are about three miles of trails in the park. The paved trail around the perimeter of the park is about 1.8 miles in length and the rustic mulch/grass trails (non-ADA) add an additional mile of trail to the park.

Visitors may run/walk/bike a 2.25-mile loop around the property by using the paved perimeter trail and incorporating the .43-mile portion of Winchester’s Green Circle Trail that runs in front of the MSV on Amherst Street.

 

Yes! Leashed dogs are welcome on the Trails.

Only service dogs are allowed inside the galleries building, in the formal gardens, and in the Glen Burnie House.

Yes! Bicycles are welcome on the trails.

Yes, the Trails are connected to the City’s Green Circle Trail system. There is a .43-mile stretch of the Green Circle that runs in the front of the MSV on Amherst Street and that section connects to the MSV at the main MSV entrance and the Wetlands entrance to the Trails on the eastern end of the MSV property.

 

No, the trails are not designed to accommodate horseback riding or recreational vehicle use. Motorized vehicles of any kind are not permitted on the Trails.

An art park is a venue that combines the experience of an art gallery with the setting of an outdoor park. The Trails at the MSV is an outdoor extension of the Museum galleries. Look for additional art installations in the park in the months ahead!

Parking is available at the Trailhead near the MSV entrance, in the main parking lot, and five spaces are located at the Jefferson Street trailhead.

The Trails are a paved tar-and-chip surface, which provides a soft yet stable path for walking, running, bicycles, strollers, and wheelchairs.

The MSV operates and maintains The Trails at the MSV. The MSV does not receive government funding for operations. Contributions to the MSV Fund support operations and maintenance of the trails. The MSV will organize various events, such as 5K races on the Trails, as additional fundraisers to support The Trails at the MSV.

Please donate to the MSV Fund to help the MSV operate and maintain The Trails at the MSV.

Become a Trailblazer! Add a $50 MSV Fund donation to the purchase or renewal of any MSV membership to receive a Trailblazer Badge on MSV Membership cards, invitations to annual Trailblazer Volunteer Days, and a vinyl Trails at the MSV sticker.

Existing members interested in adding the Trailblazer Badge to a current membership may call 540-662-1473, ext. 213, or email membership@theMSV.org.

Join the MSV & Become a Trailblazer

During and after snowfalls, the Trails are not cleared but may be open depending on the amount of snowfall. The park gates may remain closed if the site is not accessible and parking lots have not been cleared. Weather-related closures will be posted on the MSV website.