WE ARE RVF

The  Rockfish Valley Foundation is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization. We strive to make a positive impact on our valley through offering a public trail system, outdoor interactive park, and natural history center. We are sustained by donations and donated volunteer time.

 

Our Valley

The Rockfish Valley is a special place in Nelson County. It extends from Afton to Brents Gap between the Blue Ridge Mountains along which runs the Blue Ridge Parkway and The Appalachian Trail (AT), and the Raged Mountains at the Eastern end of which lies Monticello. The Blue Ridge Mountains are part of the Appalachian chain which continues north to Maine and South to Georgia. The AT itself is over 2000 miles long. The Ragged Mountains extend from Carter’s Mountain and Monticello to Horseshoe Mountain in the South Rockfish Valley. Horseshoe Mountain connects Three Ridge Mountain in the Blue Ridge chain to the Ragged Mountain line. There is only one highway running from north to south: 151. This road, which runs through the Rockfish Valley, is about 15 miles long and the scenery is as spectacular as any in Virginia.

We are awed by its beauties and grandeur every day.

Rockfish Valley Trails Rockfish Valley Foundation, headquartered in Nellysford, Virginia received confirmation of its status as a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization, retroactive to its founding date August 18, 2005. Rockfish Valley Foundation is qualified to receive tax-deductible contributions, bequests, devises, transfers, or gifts. Grant making institutions can issue grants to the foundation. The foundation is further classified as a public charity. The foundation, its officers, and Trustees are proud to accept the responsibilities that accompany non-profit status and will strive to be effective in carrying out its important purposes.

We provide the Rockfish Valley Information Center with maps and info brochures. It is open dawn to dusk.

inside the Rockfish Valley Information Center camille trailhead kiosk camille trailhead kiosk

Our principle resources include:

    • Rockfish Valley Trail System
      • Geology Trail
      • Track Trail- Kids in Parks
    • Spruce Creek Park
      • Children’s Nature Trail
      • Native Plant Walk
    • Natural History Center

RVF Trustees

  • Peter A. Agelasto III – Chairman
  • Betsy Rawls Agelasto – Secretary
  • Peter A. Agelasto IV – President
  • Diane Easley                                                 
  • Sharon A. Hudson                                                                              
  • David Peyton 
  • Leslie Wood – Treasurer
Emeritus Trustees
  • Parker Camp Agelasto                       
  • Paul Davis                    
  • Dr. Chip Morgan                                            
  • Adm. Joseph W. Prueher         
  • Liz Sargent                                                     
  • Dale Weigel                                                                                       
  • Frederick W. Winter
  • Waite Rawls III
  • Chris Gensic – Founding Trustee and Co-Chair of Trails and Park Committee

A Note From Our Founder

Peter Agelasto, III

We are thrilled to have you; thank you for visiting—please come again.

There’s much to explore here. Back in 2005, in order to protect the lands and watershed from development, I put all of our Elk Hill land on both sides of Route 151 into Conservation Easements with the Virginia Outdoors Foundation. Once this was done, creating public trails along the river and through the fields was just a natural and obvious choice. Chris Gensic, now head of the Trails in Charlottesville and a founding Trustee of RVF, helped develop my idea and lay the trails out. We put in a parking area and the people just came!

My wife Betsy and I founded the Rockfish Valley Foundation shortly thereafter. We opened the Natural History Center in 2012 in affiliation with the VA Museum of Natural History and upgraded Spruce Creek Park in 2016. These have developed marvelously over the years. We’ve hosted so many exciting events, academic research projects, and public programs it’s difficult to list them all. Our Tenth Annual Kite Festival drew 2000 participants.

If this is your first time to RVF, or your fiftieth time, know that you are welcome. All we ask is that you enjoy yourselves, treat the property with respect and care, and each other. We have many exciting programs and exhibits in the works. Stay tuned! And if you have the means, donate—any amount—or volunteer. You’ll be glad that you did.

Peter Agelasto, III, Co-Founder and Chairman Emeritus