Explore Park is a passive recreation facility operated by the Roanoke County Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism. The park is located at milepost 115 on the Blue Ridge Parkway in Roanoke County, Virginia, with of the park lying in Roanoke County and in adjacent Bedford County. It includes various restored local historical structures and both hiking and biking trails, along with access to the Roanoke River for recreational use via an external county road. The park is located near the gorge where the Roanoke River leaves the Roanoke Valley. History The River Foundation was formed by Roanoke Valley-area community and business leaders to create a recreational attraction as a hub for tourism in western Virginia. The Virginia General Assembly created the Virginia Recreational Facilities Authority (VRFA) in 1986 to further these ends, and VRFA worked in partnership with the River Foundation. The initial aim was to draw visitors driving on the Blue Ridge Parkway to the Roanoke area. The VRFA acquired the land in 1988 with a appropriation from the General Assembly and the site became a Virginia state park. Explore Park has received considerable investment at the federal, state and local levels totaling nearly by 2008. Early ideas included an expanded Mill Mountain Zoo and a historical theme park that would educate visitors on the journey of Lewis and Clark through the American frontier. Roanoke's then city manager Bern Ewart left his post to oversee the park's development. A lack of investment funds led the park to become a more modest living history museum focused on the early history of Southwest Virginia. Today's Explore Park began to emerge on September 10, 1991 when reconstruction began on the 1837 Hofauger House of Roanoke County. The River Foundation transferred operating authority to VRFA on July 1, 1994 and Explore Park opened to the public one day later, on July 2, 1994. Between 1991 and 2002 various other historical structures including a working tavern and grist mill were added to the property. After the plans for Disney's America were unveiled in September 1993, some officials from Explore Park noted striking similarities in proposed themes and rides. Planned partnership with Virginia Living Histories On July 24, 2001 Roanoke County made a five-year financial commitment to the park when the State of Virginia eliminated the park's annual appropriation, starting in 2002. Four years later, in June 2005, Virginia Living Histories (VLH) approached VRFA