bike trails around washington

Hey..

This has been an awesome sports weekend. Super Saturday with some amazing display of tennis by Agassi, Ginepri, Federer, Hewitt, Pierce and Clijsters. Then was the wonderful Formula One with Kimi and Alonso still continuing their fight for the driver and manufacturer championships at Belgium. And of course, an nailbiting 2 point win of our local team Redskins over the Chicago Bears in the NFL season kickoff...

I also did some good biking over the weekend and I thought I will quickly summarize some of the exciting trails in and around Washington, DC.

The ACCONTIK CREEK TRAIL is located just off the 395/495 junction 20 miles south of Washington, DC. This trail starts from outside Franconia/Springfield metro and goes uptill the Accontik creek along the Fraconia Springfield Parkway. The creek is silent and wonderful and undistrubed with a lovely stream running across. The trail is small and about 5 miles out and back.

The ACCONTIK LAKE TRAIL is a 5 mile loop around the Accontik lake. It is located near the Orange & Alexandria Railroad line. The trail has some steep climbs and gravel path. The lake is located near the Beltway near Braddock Road exit.

The WASHINGTON & OLD DOMINION TRAIL is a 45 mile trail running from Shirlington-Alexandria off 395 to Purceville, 10 miles west of Leesburg. This was originally a Alexandria-Fairfax-Leesburg railroad converted to a biking trail in 1988. You will pass former railroad stations along the way including Bluemont junction, Dunn Loring Station, Vienna station (photo right) etc., At certain places, caboose are placed (photo left) and they add a lovely touch to this trail. The trail is mostly flat and paved. It is full of greenery all the way. The initial 10 miles intersect with local roads and it is better to stop and go. The trail intersects Gallows road and Maple Avenue and the traffic here is heavy. There are not sufficient water fountains however the trail passes through several shops on the way. The trail also is connected with several other trails like Curtis trail, Four Mile Run trail etc.,

The MT.VERNON TRAIL is by far the best trail for beginners in DC area. Starting from near Rosslyn Metro, it is a 19 mile trail to Mt. Vernon - home of George Washington. The trail runs alongwith Potomac river all the way and passes though several points of interest - Ladybird Johnson memorial, Navy memorial, Roosevelt memorial, Gravilly point, Jones point lighthouse, Dyke Marsh, Old Town Alexandria Belle Haven Marina and of course Mt. Vernon. The trail is equipped with several fountains on the way and there are shops (even Starbucks!!) at Old Town. One can get down and wet his feet in the Potomac at certain places. Make sure you carry a camera - the Gravilly point landing zone is a glorius sight. So are the backyard-river of rich old town bungalows and the Jones point. (The photo right is one of the backyards of old town bungalows. People have their kayaks anchored there and use it as if they were getting out and taking a car from their garage. The Wilson bridge is in the background.)

[Thanks to my friends E- for the book on VA trails, Mr & Mrs S- for the hitch and an awesome summer of 2005.]

Chao..