Eakin Park gets a picnic shelter

Work is expected to begin soon on a new picnic shelter at Eakin Community Park in Annandale.

The project includes four picnic tables, a grill, and an accessible trail, as well as a 20 by 24-foot pavilion near the Tobin Road entrance. Construction is expected to be completed by the end of December.

Construction hours will be 8 a.m.-4 p.m. on weekdays and 9 a.m.-5 p.m. on weekends.

Funding for the project comes from the Eakin Park Family Trust and a Mastenbrook Volunteer Matching Fund Grant.

Eakin Park was the first park under the jurisdiction of the Fairfax County Park Authority. It was created in 1951 on land donated by Leroy Eakin Sr., a developer who built Pine Ridge, Mantua and other communities. He later established the Eakin Family Trust to support the continued maintenance of the park.