Virginia is writing its first Outdoor Recreation Economy Strategy, and the statewide listening tour shaping it, led by Director of Outdoor Recreation Heather Barrar, stops in Harrisonburg on Tuesday, November 10, 2026. Here’s how the process works, what happens at the open house, and how to weigh in even if you can’t be there.
By Kyle Lawrence, Executive Director
TL;DR · Key Takeaways
Heather Barrar, Virginia’s first Director of Outdoor Recreation, is leading a statewide listening tour this fall to shape Virginia’s first Outdoor Recreation Economy Strategy. The Shenandoah Valley open house is free and drop-in on Tuesday, November 10, 2026, from 4:30 to 6:30 PM at Shenandoah Bicycle Company, 135 S. Main St., Harrisonburg, and the Shenandoah Valley Bicycle Coalition is helping host it. Can’t make it? The state’s online survey asks the same questions and is open through November 18, 2026.
What is the Virginia Outdoor Recreation Listening Tour?
Trails, rivers, campgrounds, hunting and fishing access, and public lands are part of daily life in the Shenandoah Valley. They also support local businesses, from bike shops and outfitters to the restaurants and lodging that visitors fill on weekends.
In September, Virginia appointed Heather Barrar as its first-ever Director of Outdoor Recreation, a role in the Office of Governor Abigail Spanberger. She is leading work on Virginia’s first statewide Outdoor Recreation Economy Strategy: a plan for how the Commonwealth supports outdoor access and the communities and economies built around it.
Before that plan is written, she is asking the people who use and care for these places what’s working, what’s missing, and what should come next. That’s the listening tour: nine in-person open houses, one in each region of Virginia, plus a virtual session, all asking the same set of questions.
Fall 2026 tour schedule
- Oct. 14: Southwest Virginia, Abingdon
- Oct. 26: Northern Virginia, Vienna
- Oct. 28: Chesapeake Bay, Warsaw
- Nov. 2: Central Virginia, Henrico
- Nov. 4: Eastern Shore, Melfa
- Nov. 5: Coastal Virginia and Hampton Roads, Norfolk
- Nov. 9: Virtual session, online
- Nov. 10: Shenandoah Valley, Harrisonburg
- Nov. 11: Virginia Mountains, Roanoke
- Nov. 16: Southern Virginia, South Boston
Full details for every stop, including the virtual session, are on the state’s listening tour page.
What happens at the Harrisonburg open house?
There’s no program to sit through and no speech to wait for. It’s a drop-in open house:
- Come anytime between 4:30 and 6:30 PM. Stay ten minutes or the full two hours.
- Walk the presentation boards. Each one poses a question, and you add your ideas right on the board.
- Talk with the people listening. Heather Barrar, state staff, and local partners will be there to hear what you have to say.
- It’s free and open to everyone. RSVPs aren’t required, but they help with planning.
The questions cover four big areas: outdoor access (how easy it is to reach the places you love), trails (where you walk, ride, and explore, and what’s missing), recreation opportunities across the region, and the role the outdoors plays in communities and local economies.
Why Shenandoah Valley voices matter
The Valley sits between the George Washington National Forest and Shenandoah National Park, with the Shenandoah River and its forks running through the middle. Few regions in Virginia offer more hiking, biking, paddling, hunting, fishing, and camping within a short drive of town.
That access doesn’t happen on its own. Volunteers maintain miles of trail on public land, landowners and agencies negotiate access, and towns decide whether a greenway or river put-in gets built. A statewide strategy will shape which of those efforts get attention and support in the years ahead.
The most useful thing you can bring is a specific example: a trail that needs work, a river access point that’s hard to reach, a connection between town and trailhead that doesn’t exist yet, or a project in your community that could use support. For the Coalition, that includes trail work on public lands like the Massanutten Western Slope and Seven Bends, and safer ways to walk and bike between neighborhoods and the outdoors.
Three ways to make your voice heard
- Come to the open house on Tuesday, November 10, 4:30 to 6:30 PM, at Shenandoah Bicycle Company, 135 S. Main St., Harrisonburg. RSVP on the event page.
- Take the online survey by November 18, 2026. It asks the same questions as the open house boards. Take the survey.
- Join the virtual session on November 9 if an evening in Harrisonburg doesn’t work. Registration details are on the state’s tour page.
Then share this post with the people you hike, paddle, hunt, fish, and camp with. The more Valley voices in the record, the better the strategy will reflect this place.
RSVP for November 10Take the Survey
The Shenandoah Valley Bicycle Coalition builds and enhances trails on public lands, advocates for safer walking and biking, and connects communities across the Shenandoah Valley region. Want to keep that work going year-round? Become a Trailkeeper.
Kyle Lawrence is the Executive Director of the Shenandoah Valley Bicycle Coalition.
