Taylor Farm Park in Sandston, Virginia is Henrico County’s newest park, and its water play area shows how a spray park, mist mounds, and an interactive play stream can work together in a public setting. Timmons Group, one of the leading landscape architects we partner with, designed the park, and Roman Fountains brought the water play features to life.
The 99-acre park sits at 200 Whiteside Road in Sandston, Virginia 23150, and Henrico County opened it to the public in July 2024. Along with water play, it includes an All Wheel Park, a nature play area, an event lawn, and a memorial area.
This case study covers the design goals for the water play area, the features it includes, and what the project shows landscape architects and parks departments who are planning accessible water play for a public park.
A New Kind of Park for Henrico County
Henrico County describes Taylor Farm Park as a one-of-a-kind regional destination, unlike any other park in the county. The land was a family farm for generations before the county acquired it in 2016, and the project was funded primarily through a voter-approved bond referendum. It is the first large community park built in the county’s Varina District since 1982.
The park brings several types of recreation together on one site.
- All Wheel Park: A skate park, pump track, and BMX dirt course.
- Nature Play Area: Play structures set into the natural landscape.
- Water Play: A spray park, mist mounds, and an interactive play stream.
- Event Lawn: Open space for movies, programs, and community gatherings.
- Memorial Area: A place that honors public safety workers and military service members.
The water play area is part of the nature-based play experience, and it introduced a type of feature that had not appeared in Henrico County parks before. For visitor information, see the Henrico County page for Taylor Farm Park.
Designing Water Play for Visitors of All Ages and Abilities
Timmons Group designed Taylor Farm Park around a clear goal. The park should give people of all ages, backgrounds, and abilities a place to play together. Taylor Farm Park serves a part of Henrico County that had not had a new community park in decades, so the design needed to work for a wide cross-section of the community and hold up under heavy daily use.
The water play area had to meet several goals at once.
- Accessibility: The splash park is fully accessible, and the park as a whole offers the largest number of accessible play features in the county.
- Variety: Younger children, older children, and families each needed different ways to engage with water.
- Integration with nature play: The water features sit within a landscape of natural materials and play structures, so they needed to feel like part of the park.
- Summer comfort: Mist and spray give visitors a way to cool off during the hottest months.
We worked with Timmons Group so the water features could meet these goals and run reliably through the busiest days of the season.
The Water Features at Taylor Farm Park
The water play area combines three experiences, each suited to a different kind of play.
Spray Park
The spray park is the most active part of the water play area. Ground-level spray features let children run, chase, and cool off, and the fully accessible design lets visitors with a range of abilities take part alongside their friends and family.
Mist Mounds
The mist mounds are small landscaped hills where water rises from the surface. They give younger children a gentle way to play with water and give families a place to cool down on hot days. Their forms echo the natural landscape around them.
Interactive Play Stream
The play stream flows through the middle of the children’s play area. Stepping stones, shallow pools, and small waterfalls invite children to wade, climb, and explore. The stream gives the area a natural look and supports the kind of open-ended play that nature-based parks aim to encourage.
What High-Use Public Water Play Requires
A public water play area is a piece of civic infrastructure. It serves large crowds, operates for long hours, and needs to stay safe and available from opening day through the end of the season. Projects like Taylor Farm Park depend on five qualities that landscape architects and parks departments should plan for early.
- Accessible layout and controls: Routes, surfaces, and any activation controls need to work for visitors of every ability.
- Reliable equipment: Pumps, valves, and controls are sized for the number of visitors the park expects, with room for peak days.
- Water quality and treatment: Systems that meet local health department requirements and keep water clean through heavy use.
- Automation and monitoring: Schedules and controls that reduce daily work for county staff and make problems easy to spot.
- Serviceable design: Equipment placed where technicians can reach it, so routine service and seasonal winterization stay efficient.
These are the same priorities we bring to every public water feature, and they are easiest to address when the water designer joins the project during design development.
Results and Recognition
Taylor Farm Park has drawn large crowds since opening, and the project has earned national attention.
- Visitors: According to LandscapeArchitect.com, the park drew nearly one million visitors in its first year of operation, beginning in summer 2024.
- Local impact: The same report notes that park visitors spend money at nearby Sandston businesses, giving the community an economic benefit in addition to a new place to gather.
- National award: The National Recreation and Park Association named Taylor Farm Park the recipient of its 2025 Innovation in Park Design Award. According to Henrico County, it is the first time a county park has received a national award.
We are proud that our water play features are part of a park that families, county staff, and the design community have embraced so strongly.
Plan Your Next Water Play Project With Us
If you are designing a park, plaza, or community space with water play, bring us in while the concept is still flexible. Our design team can review your site, recommend features that fit your goals, and provide the engineering details your project needs.
Contact our design team to discuss your project, use our project estimator for early budget guidance, or read our FAQs for answers on process, pricing, and design services.
More Water Play and Public Space Projects
Explore other projects and case studies from our portfolio.
- Sandy Springs City Center is a case study of a civic center water feature in Georgia.
- Powder Springs Community Splash Pad is a community splash pad with interactive water play.
- Peachtree Corners Splash Pad brings a splash pad to a town center setting.
- Woodruff Park includes interactive water features in an Atlanta urban park.
- Plant Riverside Interactive Water Fountain is an interactive fountain in Savannah’s Plant Riverside District.
- Fourth Ward Park features water in an Atlanta urban park.
Browse more than 50 additional installations in our project gallery.
Plan Your Next Water Play Project With Us
If you are designing a park, plaza, or community space with water play, bring us in while the concept is still flexible. Our design team can review your site, recommend features that fit your goals, and provide the engineering details your project needs.
Contact our design team to discuss your project, use our project estimator for early budget guidance, or read our FAQs for answers on process, pricing, and design services.
