URGENT: CANCELLATIONS - Winter Activities
As of March 16, 2020
As new details have become available on COVID-19 (Coronavirus), ALL Culpeper County Parks & Recreation Winter Season programs and activities have been CANCELLED immediately. Below is the list of impacted classes. In addition to programming, the Department will not accept any facility rental applications for event dates that occur prior to May 1, 2020.
- Youth Hoop Shoot Basketball (Monday)
- Coed Adult Basketball (Tuesday & Wednesday)
- Pickleball (Saturday)
- PGA First Tee (Wednesday)
- Charter Trip to NYC
- Silver Citizens Club (Wednesdays)
- Little Tiger Karate Level I, II, and III (3/16 – 4/8)
- Tai Chi (3/16 – 4/8)
- Art Jam: 3D Academy (3/6 – 3/24)
- Drawing & Painting (3/17 – 4/14)
- Zumba (3/18 – 4/8)
- Intermediate French (3/12 – 4/23)
- Yoga (3/19)
- Rolled Paper Art (3/20)
- Fish Abstracts (3/21)
- Fox in Socks (3/21)
- Meditation for Everyone (3/21 – 4/4) and
- Square Foot Gardening (3/23)
***All participants will receive a full or pro-rated refund – if applicable. Receipts will be emailed to the email address on file within the next day or two as they are processed.
As of this time, classes beginning in April have not been affected and registrations are still being accepted.
As new updates become available, the Department will notify all participants via email and announcements on Facebook: Culpeper County Parks & Recreation. We thank you all in advance for your understanding and patience with this process.
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact Culpeper County Parks & Recreation at 540-727-3412 or by email at parks@culpepercounty.gov.
March 13, 2020
Culpeper County Parks & Recreation Participant(s),
With the health and safety of our residents in mind, the County of Culpeper and the Parks and Recreation Department has cancelled the following programs until further notice; Coed Adult Basketball (Tuesday & Wednesday), Pickleball, Sunday Funday, PGA First Tee, Youth Hoop Shoot Basketball, Charter Trip to NYC, and the Silver Citizens Club. All participants will receive a full or pro-rated refund – if applicable. These refunds will be processed on Friday, March 13, 2020.
Please note that all other Parks and Recreation activities/programs will continue as scheduled. As new updates become available, the Department will notify all participants via email and announcements on Facebook: Culpeper County Parks & Recreation. We thank you all in advance for your understanding and patience with this process.
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact Culpeper County Parks and Recreation at 540-727-3412 or by email at parks@culpepercounty.gov.
Congratulations on your retirement, Mike!
In July 2004, construction began on Culpeper County’s first ever Sports Complex. As construction was winding down and planning for the grand opening was underway, the question was left of who was going to maintain the new facility. At that time, the Culpeper County Parks & Recreation Department consisted of (4) employees; a Director, Programs & Facilities Supervisor, Recreation Coordinator and an Administrative Assistant. So, in 2005 the Board of Supervisors approved the funding for a new position - Parks Superintendent. With a diverse background ranging from being a retired airplane mechanic for the United States Air Force, former golf course assistant superintendent, and previously serving as the President of the Culpeper Little League organization, Mike brought a diverse set of skills and qualifications that made him the ideal candidate for the newly created position.
In 2006, Mike took the reins of maintaining the Culpeper Community Complex (re-named to Culpeper Sports Complex), just a month before the Grand Opening on April 1, 2006. When the Sports Complex opened, the 59-acre park featured 16 athletic fields (6-soccer, 3-football / lacrosse, 2-softball and 5-baseball). However, the Sports Complex had no additional amenities – scoreboards or concession stands. To assist with the installation of these amenities, the Culpeper Recreation Foundation, in a working partnership with the County, was able to fund these improvements. During this process, Mike was instrumental in assisting in the supervision of these projects in order to ensure that they became a reality.
In the beginning, Mike worked many times independently at the Sports Complex grooming all of the baseball and softball fields while overseeing and implementing the turf management program. These efforts and his unwavering commitment ensured that the youth of Culpeper had the best playing conditions possible.
Then in 2013, 2015, and 2017 the Board of Supervisors approved funds to support additional Park maintenance staff for the ever-growing Park operations. Today in 2020, the Parks Services Division maintains a variety of park sites including; Spilman Park, the County’s 29-acre park located in the Jeffersonton District and built around 1998 which 22 years later now host a multi-purpose field, picnic shelter, playground, walking trails and 18-hole disc golf course and Lenn Park, an 84-acre park located in the Stevensburg District that now consists of 2-adult softball fields, lacrosse field, multi-purpose field, picnic pavilion, 2 playgrounds, walking trails, sand volleyball court, agility dog park and plenty of bird watching opportunities.
In the 14 years that Mike Skelton has overseen the County’s park system, his ability to utilize his creative energies while collaborating with the park service’s staff and Department has resulted in the addition of many unique assets that can be seen throughout our wonderful parks today. These unique assets are - the miles of walking trails, Purple Martin Colonies, horseshoe pits, quality Bermuda athletic turf located at Spilman, Lenn and the Sports Complex, meditation labyrinth, Bluebird trails, additional practice fields, and practice pitching mounds.
Mike, you will be greatly missed, but we wish you all the best in your 2nd retirement! Your efforts along with the park services staff have made our facilities a true gem within the region and State. Thanks to your leadership, the park service’s team has become the shining example of what can be done with hard work and ingenuity.