Occoquan

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October 1
Sunday

This Sunday event requires pre-registration, opening Monday, Sept. 25 at 6pm and closing Saturday Sept. 30 at noon.
There will be no day-of registration.

Welcome back to Occoquan Regional Park for this Sunday, Oct. 1 event, as we enter the most enjoyable part of the year for orienteering. Just to be clear up front, don't confuse this Sunday event with our Jump to Orange training event taking place the day before (Saturday Sept 30). Of course, all those who did Jump to Orange are invited to attend this event to put their new skills to use!

This park affords a combination of fast, open woods along with recreational fields (and some thick vegetation if you wander off course). Course designer, Victor Lin will provide a full set of classic courses (white through blue).

Event check-in is at Shelter 4 where there is plenty of parking space; a locator map is here. In the unlikely event the hard-surface lot should fill up, there is another (unpaved) lot 200 meters back along the park road. Rest rooms are 100 meters from Shelter 4.

Keep in mind:

• All participants must pre-register; there is no day-of registration
• No food items will be provided.
• Participants are responsible for meeting all their own hydration needs before, during and after their courses.
• Nearby Eats & Sweets! The nearby Brickmaker's Cafe is located in Occoquan Park and is open from 11 am to 8 pm, so orienteers have the opportunity to enjoy food and drinks either indoors or on their outdoor terrace overlooking the Occoquan River (mention 'QOC' to get a 10% discount!)
• As always, please be off the course no later than 3pm and remember to download at our e-punch station even if you did not finish.
• Beginner's instruction will be available.
• For those new to orienteering, make sure to check out our Your First Event and Orienteering Techniques For Beginners webpages, and if they don't answer any question you have, just use our Contact Form and ask.
• Group Leaders (of larger groups): please contact the Event Directors so they are aware of your plans.
• Rest rooms are located near Shelter 4.
• Dogs are allowed in the park but must be on the leash at all times.

Historical footnote: In the middle of Occoquan Regional Park is a beehive brick kiln you will pass on your left as you drive into the park. It was used by prisoners at the start of the 20th century to make red bricks. The bricks produced were used to build the nearby maximum security Occoquan Workhouse itself, and many public buildings in Washington, D.C. between 1910 and 1998. The then-adjacent Lorton Work House Prison served as home to many prisoners over the years, including approximately 168 women who were detained in 1917, the result of the pickets of the women's suffrage movement in the Washington D.C. area.